About Pratham and ASER Centre
Pratham was founded in 1995, to provide pre-school education to children in Mumbai slums. Over the last 30 years, Pratham has grown to be India’s largest NGO working to provide quality education to underprivileged youth and children in over 28 states and union territories across the country, with a range of interventions.
Established in 2008, ASER Centre is Pratham’s autonomous research and assessment unit. ASER conducts the largest citizen-led annual household survey of children in India. The ASER Centre promotes a culture of evidence-based decision-making and seeks to develop and use simple yet rigorous methods to generate evidence on the scale of the outcomes of social sector programs, especially education. It also aims to strengthen the link between evidence and action by building the capacity of individuals and institutions to design, conduct, understand, and communicate the results of assessments that focus on key outcome indicators.
Assessment Unit
The assessment Unit at ASER Centre designs assessment tools for National and International Programmes across subjects/domains for Early Childhood Education (ECE), Primary and Upper-primary age groups, and EdTech programmes.
Additionally, assessment tools to measure teachers’ effectiveness have also been created and are evolving continuously. In recent times, the unit has also started developing tools to measure the impact of technology-led learning interventions and adaptive assessment tool design on Android applications.
Job Summary
We seek a candidate who is analytical, detail-oriented, and passionate about educational transformation. The ideal candidate should have strong research and problem-solving skills, the ability to design rigorous assessment tools, and the flexibility to work with diverse stakeholders.
Key Responsibilities
- Conducting literature reviews and research related to child development; early childhood care and education; parenting; sociocultural factors influencing child development; government laws, policies, and schemes related to early childhood, etc.
- Developing assessment frameworks, specifications, and items for child development tools and contextual questionnaires
- Translating and validating items and content to enhance the quality of the assessment tool
- Facilitate pilot testing of the tools to enhance the quality of items, monitoring, and enumerator training as and when required
- Drafting and contributing to project & technical reports, theory of change, articles, and presentations, including creating appropriate visualisations for data presentation
- Developing project timelines, budgets, and operational plans
- Train varied stakeholders on the tool administration processes and data collection
Minimum Qualifications and Skills
Essential Qualifications: Graduation or Post Graduation in Early Childhood, Psychology, Human Development, Education, or related field.
Language Proficiency: Fluency in English and Hindi (reading, writing, and speaking). Knowledge of other Indian languages is a plus.
Essential Skills: Knowledge of Child Development, Understanding the diversity of learners, Effective Communication and Collaboration skills, Analytical and Problem-solving skills
Desirable Qualifications and Skills
- At least 1-2 years of experience in assessment development, teaching early years, implementation, or analysis.
- Familiarity with assessment frameworks, test development, educational measurement theories and psychometrics will be given advantage.
- Technical skills: Proficiency in MS Office, Google Suite, or statistical software (e.g., R, SPSS, Stata, jMetrik), and assessment platforms.
- Attention to detail: Meticulous attention to detail and ability to maintain high-quality standardized assessments.
Other Requirements
- Ability to work collaboratively with stakeholders, including educators, policymakers, and other assessment professionals.
- Collaboration: Ability to work collaboratively with stakeholders, including educators, policymakers, and other assessment professionals.
- Adaptability: Willingness to learn new skills, adapt to new assessment projects, and navigate changing priorities.
- Data-driven decision-making: Ability to collect, analyze, and interpret data to inform assessment decisions.
- Extensive travel to rural locations: Be comfortable with traveling extensively to rural locations across the country, sometimes at short notice. Travel, food, and accommodation for work-related travels outside the base location shall be separately borne or reimbursed on actuals by ASER Centre.
What We Offer
- Competitive salary based on experience and qualifications
- Health insurance and wellness benefits
- Professional development opportunities, including training and workshops
- Learning environment with opportunities for field engagement
- Access to mentorship and learning sessions with education and assessment experts
- Opportunities to lead projects and collaborate with national and international partners
Number of vacancies: 1
Employement type: Full time
Reports to: Unit Head/Senior Research Associate
Duration: Minimum 2 years’ commitment
Work experience: 0-2 years
Deadline: Immediate (open until filled)
Remuneration: The remuneration will be competitive within the Indian philanthropy pay scale and will be based on the candidate’s experience and qualifications.
How to Apply
To apply, fill out the Google form link here: https://forms.gle/Cii8fsh7pkyxrafA9 and upload the following documents:
- Updated CV (File name: FullName_CV_RA_EarlyYears)
- Statement of Purpose (SOP) describing how you make a good fit for this role in up to 500 words. Please give specific examples that align with the job requirements and how it aligns with your future career goals. (File name: FullName_SOP_RA_EarlyYears)
Incomplete applications will not be considered. Shortlisted candidates will be contacted for three subsequent rounds: telephonic/skype/zoom interview, written assignments, and final interview. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted at each stage of the recruitment process.
