Inclusion Support Officer (2) at Girl Child Network

Background

• Girl Child Network (GCN) is an independent, non-political, non-religious, and non-profit organization partnering with over 300 organizations working to improve the well-being of children in Kenya with emphasis on the education of the girl child. The Network was established in 1995 as a follow-up of the Beijing Platform for Action and implementation of Article 12- The Girl Child.
• Girl Child Network in partnership with CBM Kenya is implementing a three-year Project dubbed, “Injob!”, AICS AID CODE 012590/03/3 led by No One Out organization in partnership with the Technical and Vocational Education and Training Authority (TVETA). The overall objective is to promote the educational, social, and vocational inclusion of vulnerable and disabled youth in Kenya in the 8 Project Vocational Training Centers in Nairobi Kenya. They Include; Kiwanja, Kangemi, Dandora Greenlight, Mathare, Old Mathari, Waithaka, Ofafa and Bahati.

Project Overview

• “Injob” is a three (3) years Project, targeting persons with disabilities, especially young people of age between 15-35. The main goal is to promote the educational, social and professional inclusion of vulnerable youth and young people with disabilities in Kenya. The project anticipates to increase the number of youths with disabilities with relevant skills, including technical and professional, and favor their participation in the labor market, both as employment and self-employment. The specific objective of the project is aimed at strengthening the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) system for the educational inclusion and the job placement of vulnerable youth and young people with disabilities within Nairobi TVETs.
• Injob! The project recognizes that Persons with Disabilities require special attention to ensure that their needs are considered and catered for in all processes across all spheres of their lives. This is both a constitutional imperative and a directive in the legal policy frameworks that support persons with disabilities to ensure equity and equality of opportunities for all. This is in harmony with the commitment of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of leaving no one behind and in furtherance of the Constitutional provisions captured in Article 54. According to the Disability Act of 2003, Persons with disabilities are entitled to a barrier- free and disability- friendly environment to enable them to have access to buildings, roads and other social amenities, assistive devices and other equipment to promote their mobility to seek services and operate in the most effective manner possible. This is emphasized by the sector policy for Learners and Trainees with disabilities of 2019, which aligns the provision of education and training to the Constitution of Kenya 2010, the Basic Education Act (2013), as well as the Sustainable Development Goal No. 4 on Equitable, Inclusive Quality Education and lifelong learning for all. In this regard GCN recognizes the importance of inclusive education by emphasizing on the need for all learners to learn together in an inclusive environment.
• In promoting this, Injob! project aims to support trainees with disabilities currently enrolled in TVETs, the opportunity to have a person they can talk to and feel appreciated within the school learning environment. The project finds this as a fundamental service to ensure their full inclusion as they will be supported on their individual needs with appropriate mentoring and tutoring services. This will be a useful approach to support trainees facing different challenges on their day-to-day activities while at school.
• Girl Child Network, seeks to engage two qualified and competent Inclusion Support Officers whose role will be to mentor, listen to and possibly solve challenges that befell trainees with disabilities in the Project VTCs on day-to-day basis, create awareness on disability inclusion in the 8 project vocational training centres and train trainers, students and other personnel in the TVETs on the basics of sign language. The two Inclusion Support Officers will be allocated four TVETs each to work alongside facilitators for life skills and counselling services during their sessions to ensure trainees with disabilities are accommodated and not left behind. In the period of engagement, the two inclusion support officers are required to have conducted 1080 sessions by August 2025.

Main Objective of the facilitator.

• To address general individual needs of trainees with disabilities and train instructors on the basics of sign language in the Project Vocational Training Centers (VTCs).

Scope of work

• The selected facilitators will address the individual needs of every trainee with a disability in the 8 Project Vocational Training Centres. They will bridge the gap of communication during counseling and life skills sessions by the project.  In addition, Inclusion Support Officers will support in training the management, trainers, instructors, trainees and non-teaching staff on the basics of sign language. The Inclusion Support Officers will work alongside life skills and counseling facilitators who are currently based in the 8 Project Vocational Training Centers. They are expected to translate, clarify information and give guidance to trainees with disabilities during these sessions.  This is because trainees with disabilities a time may not move at par with the rest of the students without disabilities. It is anticipated that, the trainees with disabilities will therefore feel free to actively participate during these sessions and air out their concerns. The Inclusion Support Officer is also expected to advocate for their rights within the Vocational Training Centers and the surrounding communities.

Expected Deliverables.

• Develop a monthly schedule for each of the 4 TVETs that every facilitator will be assigned to.
• Develop reports and signed lists of participants of all sessions undertaken in the TVETs and share the reports with project staff.
• Disaggregated data of all trainees with disabilities attended to reached during life skills and counseling sessions.
• Participate in project community dialogues review meetings and other activities
• This assignment is expected to run for a period of two years upon award of the contract:

Academic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in, Special Needs Education, (Secondary Option), social science field, with specification courses in Inclusion and Inclusive Education.

Evaluation.

• The expression of interests will be analyzed based on set criteria, as well as on the basis of competitiveness and value for money.