Education Fellowship – Job Opening (August 2022)

Type: 8-month Fellowship to start in August 2022

Experience: Undergraduate degree, or 2 years of equivalent experience with teaching and data-focused research preferable

Division: Global Education and Rural Development (non-profit sector)

Positions Available: 1
This is a full-time, unpaid fellowship, with room and board provided.

Co-founded by a native of the village where we are based, Oda Foundation builds local leadership and supports health and education, for those who need it most. Since 2013, we have taken a long-term approach to building relationships, hiring a 95% local, Nepali team. In 2016, the Kalikot District Development Committee recognized Oda Foundation as Kalikot’s most effective health and education organization.

Oda Foundation in located in Nepal’s Kalikot District, a remote patchwork of villages. Rigorous topography, impacts of Nepal’s civil war, and meagre economic opportunity make the Karnali Zone one of the most impoverished and forgotten regions in all of Nepal, said by UNICEF to be an area enduring a “Silent Emergency.” The mountainous region is accessible by only one road, with many villages like Oda only accessible via hours on foot. Nepal is the 12th poorest country in the world, and on many measures, Kalikot is its most deprived region. Our communities struggle with malnutrition and extreme poverty, and they have difficulty accessing professional health care and education. Gender and caste discrimination block women’s access to economic opportunity, education, and equal healthcare. 

The Oda Foundation began its impact in education by running a tutoring program for the local community in 2014. In 2018 we began an ECD program which in 2019 then merged with our local government school, with whom we now have a Private Public Partnership (PPP). Our current role is to support the school by providing extra resources, including teachers and training. Moving forward, our goals within education are to monitor and evaluate our impact and continue developing the capacity of our local school to provide quality education. 

A critical part of the Education Fellow’s role will be engaging in strategic discussions that will dictate the trajectory of the Oda Foundation’s approach to education. Because of this, Education Fellows should have, or should be ready to obtain prior to the Fellowship, a strong understanding of global education policies with an emphasis on education policies and initiatives within Nepal.

Much of this job entails working with and communicating effectively among marginalized Nepali communities with little to no English comprehension. Thus, the Education Fellow will arrive in Kathmandu, Nepal in early August and will take an intensive Nepali language course before traveling out to the Oda Foundation’s site in Kalikot. The intensive language course will be taken in a group setting with all Fellows participating.

While Education initiatives will be the this role’s primary focus, it is a strength of the Oda Foundation Fellowship program that Fellows understand the integrative nature of Oda’s work and their role within it. Maintaining their immediate responsibilities, the Education Fellow is strongly encouraged to pursue any interests they have outside of education that may align with ongoing Oda Foundation programming. In previous cohorts, Fellows have also supported in an operational fashion through: social media management, media content generation, report and grant writing support, participation in quarterly board meetings, strategic partnership generation, and more!

Key Responsibilities:

  • School management support: working in our local public school, alongside Oda Foundation’s Education Program Manager and public school staff, to enhance policies, procedures, student retention, and management

  • Needs assessment: assessing the needs of the Education Department and finding solutions to fill those gaps

  • School staff development: developing strong relationships with teachers and supporting the Education Department in teacher and staff professional development (such as running workshops on preparing quality lesson plans)

  • Education Department monitoring and evaluating: gathering data on the school’s impact and supporting the Education Program Manager in developing and implementing necessary impact-evaluation indicators and tools

  • Running the Oda Foundation Youth Program: designing and implementing the 2x / week Youth Program to facilitate a safe space that teaches students to speak about and address about the challenges they face in their community (note: A translator will support these sessions)

  • Optional: Teaching: teaching 1-2 classes daily; this is a great opportunity to get to know the students, classroom needs, and the teachers’ perspective

Preferred Qualifications and Experience 

  • Strong written and spoken English language

  • University degree in one of the following (or a related) field: International Development, Education, Teaching, Social Work, Anthropology; we are also open to other degrees or background that supports the experiences in an Education Fellowship

  • A strong desire to work on sustainable community development approaches

  • A strong interest in developing the education sector within Nepal

  • Ability to walk 30 minutes up-hill everyday

  • Enthusiasm and a connection with Oda values as listed below

Desired Qualifications and Experience

  • Experience designing and/or implementing monitoring and evaluation methods

  • Experience working within schools

  • TEFL qualification

  • 1-2 years of professional experience

  • Experience living in a rural community (preference given to experience living in a rural community in a developing country)

Additional, once-in-a-lifetime experiences that you will gain

  • Learn a new language, including funded language classes in Kathmandu at the start of the fellowship

  • Expand your knowledge of rural development through first hand experience

  • Collaborate on research projects

  • Have the autonomy to decide where you make impact

  • Explore your passions within the field of rural community development

  • Work with an energetic and incredibly inspiring team of Nepali professionals

What previous fellows went on to achieve:  

  • Admission into top graduate programs at Harvard, Columbia, Cornell, Johns Hopkins, Institute of Development Studies, and more

  • Promotion to full-time work with the Oda Foundation

  • Impactful careers in arts and education sectors

How To Apply

For more information about our organization please follow us on Instagram, @odafoundation. You can also look around our website - blog posts from many previous Fellows are a helpful resource that show the breadth of work possible, and the impact of this once-in-a-lifetime Fellowship! Please contact Oda Foundation Fellowship Coordinator, Lucy Martin-Patrick with any questions or comments during the application process at lucy@odafoundation.org.

Applicants should send a resume and cover letter outlining how they meet the specific requirements of the position to info@odafoundation.org by May 15, 2022.  Application materials will be viewed and interviews will be determined on a rolling basis. 

While we sincerely appreciate all applications, only those candidates selected for interview will be contacted. Please note the selected candidate will be required to submit a liability waiver and proof of international travel insurance.

Oda Foundation Values

Before sending in your application, please review our team values listed below! Oda’s values were created with the purpose of cultivating a positive working environment for all team members. In order to do so, when hiring, we look for candidates who represent these values.

Care and Compassion

  • We will demonstrate our compassion and caring through our action and words

  • We will take time to ensure each person feels listened to, secure, understood and is treated compassionately

  • We will be approachable and contribute to creating a calm and friendly atmosphere

  • We will provide a safe and caring setting for patients and staff, and an efficient, effective experience

  • We will meet people's needs for information and involvement

  • We will be considerate, calm and proactive in solving problems

  • We will not be aggressive or passive aggressive to anyone

Respect, Dignity & Justice

  • We will demonstrate respect for all staff through our words and actions

  • We will all follow Oda rules, policies and procedures

  • We will accept fair and equitable punishment for all

  • We will be polite and courteous in our communications and actions

  • We will demonstrate respect for dignity, choice, privacy and confidentiality

  • We will recognize and value uniqueness, diversity and different cultures

  • We will be sincere, honest and constructive in giving, and open to receiving, feedback

  • We will maintain a professional attitude and appearance.

Effectiveness

  • We will demonstrate a commitment to doing our best

  • We will be proactive in problem solving and above all, our work commitments. 

  • We will be responsible and reflect on our actions

  • We will be accountable for our actions

  • We will focus on our work and practice time management by meeting all proposed deadlines.

  • We will encourage and explore ideas for improvement, innovation and creativity.

  • We will seek out opportunities to enhance our skills and expertise

  • We will work together to achieve high quality services

  • We will use our knowledge and enthusiasm to implement positive change and overcome challenges

Teamwork & Communication

  • We will understand and value each other's role and contribution

  • We will be fair, thoughtful, welcoming and kind to colleagues, fellows and guests.

  • We will communicate with each other and express our successes and our concerns.

  • We will offer support and encouragement to others

  • We will maximize each other's potential and contribution through shared learning and development

  • We will recognize, share and celebrate our successes, big and small

  • We will practice coordination and collaboration interdepartmentally

  • We will have a positive outlook and motivation

  • We will demonstrate commitment to the Oda foundation, patients, staff and our guests.

Honesty and Responsibility

  • We will build trust by displaying transparency and doing what we say we will do

  • We will commit to doing what is right

  • We will welcome feedback as a means of informing improvements

  • We will use our resources and each other's time efficiently and wisely

  • We will maintain and enhance public confidence in our service

  • We will be a positive role model

Thank you for your interest! We can’t wait to hear from you. In the meantime, please follow us on Instagram @odafoundation for more updates and news from Oda.