Back Director of Instructional Design and Capacity Building Strategy

About the Dallaire Institute for Children, Peace and Security

The Roméo Dallaire Child Soldiers Initiative (Dallaire Initiative) was established in 2007 by retired Lieutenant-General the Honourable Roméo Dallaire, former Force Commander of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR). Our mission is to develop new strategies and tactics to progressively end the recruitment and use of children as soldiers worldwide. As of April 2020, the Dallaire Initiative has now become the Dallaire Institute for Children, Peace and Security.

To achieve this important objective, the Dallaire Institute conducts activities on four fronts:

• World-class, interdisciplinary research to build and share knowledge, which in turn leads to new solutions;
• High-level advocacy activities to create and promote the political will to end the use of children in violence as central to the achievement of global peace and security;
• Education and programming to sustain the efforts to make the recruitment and use of children as soldiers unthinkable by inspiring leaders, educators, and policy makers to implement new approaches, conduct research, and actively share their knowledge on the prioritization of the children’s rights upfront approach.
• Comprehensive, prevention-oriented training to security sector actors, in the service of broader security sector reform, as well as collaboration with civil society to create and implement tools that protect children from the dangers associated with recruitment.

Job Summary

Reporting to the Executive Director of the Dallaire Institute for Children, Peace and Security, the Director of Instructional Design and Capacity Building Strategy is a critical member of the Executive Team. They will contribute to the strategic vision of the organization by setting global program delivery standards. This will entail having strategic input and oversight over all methodology and curriculum development for security sector and community-based capacity building projects of the Dallaire Institute. In this role, the Director of Instructional Design and Capacity Building Strategy leads a team of HQ technical specialists of design and delivery staff, ensuring that all Dallaire Institute programming and capacity building adheres to organizational best-practice and quality assurance.

The Director closely coordinates with the Directors of the Regional Centres of Excellence to ensure collaboration on organizational best practice is applied in a contextually appropriate and a locally driven manner. Central to this role is building relationships and gathering inputs across the organization including those from the Research and Learning and Policy and Advocacy teams. In addition, it will be critical to learn from external stakeholders and partners. The Director will also actively promote the Dallaire Institute’s expertise externally drawing on best practice and learning, and pushing boundaries for new learning techniques, particularly in digital spaces. Further, as a key member of the strategic leadership team at the Dallaire Institute, the Director will assist in developing and implementing the organization’s evolving strategic goals and will work alongside other Dallaire Institute Directors and staff to ensure efforts are coordinated, resourced and complementary.

This is an exciting new role within the organization, and the successful post holder must have significant experience developing capacity building strategies for adult learners for a range of audiences that include: the security sector, civil society, and communities in conflict/humanitarian contexts. The individual will also have a solid track record of developing and overseeing curriculum design and development, leading to evidenced behaviour change.

The role will have three main areas of responsibility:

Capacity Building Strategies and Curriculum/Content Development

· Responsible for the oversight of HQ technical support staff that drive the organization’s capacity building strategies and approaches, curriculum and content design, gender mainstreaming and content standards for security sector and community-based partners;

· Oversees the development and execution of new and innovative approaches to virtual and in person training in a range of complex contexts with a focus on security sector training and community engagement on issues related to the protection of children, their prevention from use in violence, and the links to peace and security;

· Responsible for ensuring quality and consistency of training and content output, ensuring staff and consultants understand the Dallaire Institute’s core competencies, standards of pedagogical excellence, cultural contexts and key learning objectives;

· Ensures that research, project learning, global advocacy perspectives and culturally appropriate contexts are included in all content design and delivery;

· Ensures the development of the curriculum and resources are consistent with the Dallaire Institute’s strategic objectives and advocacy work;

· Overseas the development of new curriculum, audio and visual training resources and tools, and works across teams to adapt content for new audiences;

· Works with Regional and Country representatives to ensure the development and support of multilingual and localized versions of curriculum contents that includes innovative and evidence-based approaches;

· Serves as main liaison to Dalhousie University’s College of Continuing Education and oversees the development of Dallaire Institute online courses for a multitude of audiences.

Program Development and Quality Assurance

· Nurtures relationships and partnerships among relevant stakeholders to create ideas for programmatic innovation, new partnership and success;

· Works with program and project leads at HQ and in Dallaire Institute CoEs and country leads to develop and manage quality assurance frameworks for the development and delivery of curriculum to include the learning outputs and outcomes;

· Drives continuous improvement and innovation in all aspects of quality assurance across all curriculum areas;

· Ensures staff are provided with training and resources to ensure they meet our quality assurance requirements; this includes oversight of the organization’s roster of international training consultants and their certification and the continuous development of the representatives of the Dallaire Institute;

· Lead the development and delivery of the Dallaire Institute’s capacity building strategy with the inputs from the Research and Learning Team, Advocacy, and CoEs to ensure the most up to date resources for program delivery;

· Leads on the input into fund development proposals on linking program objectives to sound and measurable capacity building objectives.

HQ Operations

· Participate as a full member of the Executive Team (see Executive Team TOR);

· Provide strategic advice, solutions and collaborate with the Executive Team to create integrated programmatic execution strategies that advance the organization’s mandate;

· Leads and supervises the workplans of the managers, officers, and consultants to ensure strategic alignment and identify cross-cutting initiatives and opportunities for the creation of effective work plan priorities.

All staff are additionally responsible to:

· Proactively participate in planning and performance processes as outlined in the Employee Handbook including annual appraisals, regular meetings, and ensuring that annual reviews are an integral component of workplans and priorities;

· Promote a safe and secure work environment in line with the organization’s core values includes the DI Workplace Principles; and foster strong communication between teams within the organization;

· Demonstrate an ongoing commitment to promoting and protecting the rights of children, and particularly the prevention of the recruitment and use of children as soldiers;

· Comply with Dallaire Initiative’s financial and operational requirements and uphold high standards of honesty and integrity in personal conduct.

Skills, Knowledge and Experience

Required

· A Master’s Degree in Education, Instructional design Curriculum and Instructional Technology or related field with considerable experience of which at least 5 years has been with an international non-profit organization or academic institution;

· Minimum of 5 years technical experience as a learning and development professional, with deep knowledge and understanding of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects;

· Minimum of 5 years of management experience as well as experience managing training programs and projects;**

· Tech savvy and superior skills in systems such as Learning Management programs;

· Experience in mutli-cultural contexts;

· Excellent communication skills;

· French proficiency;

· Knowledge of child protection, or children armed conflict, or human rights and peacekeeping standards

· Experience in working with the security sector and communities in conflict settings;

· Knowledge of creative adult learning approaches.