Job Description

Role: State Literacy Specialist – Patna, Bihar
Experience: 6-8 years
Salary: 10 to 12.5 LPA
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About the Organization

We are an education nonprofit that partners with state governments to strengthen Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) outcomes at scale. In Bihar, the organization serves as a technical partner to the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), Patna, supporting the design and implementation of state-wide FLN initiatives under the NIPUN Bharat mission.

Role Purpose

The State Literacy Specialist is a senior technical role and the primary subject matter lead for literacy and language pedagogy within the embedded team at SCERT Bihar.

The role’s principal responsibility is state-level academic support — working alongside SCERT, DIETs, and the district academic system to co-develop instructional materials, strengthen teacher training systems, build DIET and DRG capacity, and design multi-modal CPD frameworks for FLN teachers across Bihar. Where district-level demonstration projects are implemented, the Specialist also provides direct academic support to those districts, deepening the state-level work with on-ground evidence and practice.

This role is ideal for someone deeply committed to improving literacy outcomes for children, capable of working effectively within government systems, and bringing both intellectual rigor and a practical field orientation to their work.

Key Responsibilities

1. Technical Leadership for Foundational Literacy (State Level)

• Provide technical inputs to SCERT and state institutions on foundational literacy, early language learning, and FLN pedagogy.
• Support the development and implementation of state FLN strategies, academic plans, and NIPUN Bharat-aligned initiatives.
• Ensure coherence across academic inputs by aligning them with NEP 2020, NIPUN Bharat, and Bihar state priorities.
• Represent the organization in state-level academic consultations, reviews, technical working groups, and government meetings.

2. Strengthening Teacher Training Systems

• Lead the design, development, and review of literacy-focused teacher training modules, facilitator guides, and learning materials.
• Support the planning and execution of large-scale teacher training programs, including cascade training models.
• Build the academic capacity of DIET faculty, master trainers, Block Resource Persons (BRPs), and other education functionaries.
• Promote practice-oriented professional development through demonstration lessons, peer learning circles, and mentoring.
• Improve training effectiveness through systematic observation, structured feedback, and continuous academic support.

3. Academic Support to State and District Systems

• Work closely with district teams to strengthen training delivery, improve classroom practices, and develop local academic leadership.
• Support district-level officials (BEOs, BRPs, DIET faculty) in academic planning, review processes, and on-ground problem-solving.
• Facilitate contextualized, responsive solutions to FLN implementation challenges at the block and cluster level.

4. Strengthening Classroom Practices

• Guide district and block-level teams on effective classroom observation and structured academic support processes.
• Strengthen teacher practices across oral language development, reading fluency, comprehension, vocabulary, writing, and multilingual approaches.
• Identify persistent classroom challenges and design targeted academic support interventions to address them.

5. Academic Resource Development

• Lead or contribute to the development, contextualization, and quality review of teacher training modules, teacher guides, TLMs, assessment tools, and academic frameworks.
• Ensure all materials are pedagogically sound, contextually appropriate, and aligned with state curriculum and FLN frameworks.
• Work collaboratively with SCERT and internal teams to iteratively refine and improve academic resources.

6. Institutional Capacity Building

• Support SCERT and DIETs to strengthen their academic leadership functions and teacher support systems.
• Design and implement capacity-building initiatives for DIET faculty, BRPs, and academic support cadres.
• Mentor government functionaries to improve training quality, classroom support delivery, and academic monitoring.
• Contribute to building sustainable, government-owned systems for continuous professional development.

7. Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning

• Support the use of classroom observation data, training assessments, and learning outcomes data to inform academic decisions.
• Analyze implementation evidence and surface priorities for academic improvement.
• Prepare academic reports, case studies, technical briefs, and learning documents for internal and government audiences.
• Contribute to organizational learning and knowledge management processes.

8. Support to Demonstration Districts (where applicable)

• Where district-level demonstration projects are implemented, provide intensive on-ground literacy academic support to selected districts alongside the state-level role.
• Work with DIET faculty, BEOs, and BRPs in demonstration districts to strengthen planning, training delivery, classroom support, and academic review processes.
• Document innovations, field challenges, and learnings from demonstration districts to inform and strengthen state-level academic strategy.

Key Deliverables

• Strengthened literacy-focused teacher professional development systems at state and district levels.
• Improved quality of literacy instruction and classroom practices across districts.
• Enhanced academic capacity of SCERT, DIET, and district-level structures.
• High-quality academic resources, training modules, and support tools, developed and reviewed periodically.
• Regular academic reports, documentation, and technical inputs for state stakeholders and leadership

Required Qualifications & Experience

• Education: Master's degree in Education, Language Education, Elementary Education, Linguistics, or a closely related field.

• Experience: 6–10 years of relevant experience in education programs, with a strong focus on foundational literacy and language learning.

• Demonstrated experience in teacher professional development, academic support, and instructional design.
• Prior experience working with government education systems, particularly SCERTs, DIETs, or large-scale state programs.

Key Skills & Competencies

• Deep understanding of foundational literacy and language pedagogy, including multilingual and early childhood approaches.
• Strong instructional design and academic content development skills.
• Proven ability to design and facilitate effective teacher training programs.
• Skilled at facilitation, mentoring, and coaching, including of government functionaries.
• Ability to engage constructively and build credibility with senior government stakeholders.
• Strong analytical, documentation, and report-writing skills.
• Excellent communication skills in both Hindi and English.

Preferred Experience

• Prior experience working with SCERTs, DIETs, SIEMATs, or within government academic systems.
• Hands-on experience with FLN implementation under NIPUN Bharat.
• Involvement in state-level education reform, technical assistance, or system-strengthening projects.
• Multi-district program implementation experience.
• Familiarity with the Bihar education landscape and ecosystem.

Hiring Note: Applications will be reviewed on rolling basis. This job is first posted on June 30th, 2026 on Ground Zero

For any questions, ping us on WhatsApp chat: +91-8058331557