ESL Specialist

Are you a person of compassion? An advocate for justice? Someone who stands up for the rights of the vulnerable and speaks out for the marginalized, the exploited and the forgotten? Do you believe in our calling as Christians to welcome the least of these and love our neighbor?

If you answered ‘yes’, to any of the above, World Relief, and millions of people around the world need you.

At this pivotal moment in time, we are rapidly expanding and growing our team to meet the increasing needs of our world. We are looking for people who want to use their gifts and talents to make a real and tangible difference in our world and the lives of the suffering.

If you’re looking for a purpose-driven career in which you can grow your talents, while also standing up for the rights of the vulnerable, we want you to join us today.

ORGANIZATION SUMMARY

World Relief is a global Christian humanitarian organization whose mission is to boldly engage the world’s greatest crises in partnership with the church. The organization was founded in the aftermath of World War II to respond to the urgent humanitarian needs of war-torn Europe. Since then, for 80 years, across 100 countries, World Relief has partnered with local churches and communities to build a world where families thrive and communities flourish.

Today, organizational programming focuses on humanitarian and disaster response, community strengthening and resilience, and refugee & immigrant services and advocacy.

This position is reliant upon funding and may be subject to modification or termination based on resource availability.

The ESL Instructor helps adult refugees learn the basics of English conversation, from speaking simple survival phrases and following simple directions, to building basic numeracy and literacy skills, thus fostering self-sufficiency. Instruction may take place virtually or in person. While much of this position focuses on teaching preliterate refugee women, the ESL instructor may also develop and implement new ESL curricula to meet the language needs of clients from diverse cultural, linguistic, and educational backgrounds. The ESL Instructor also supports and gives direction to volunteers who serve as in-class teaching assistants, provide one-on-one tutoring support to clients, and/or assist in material drop-offs. Additionally, this position assists with client recruitment, enrollment, assessment, record keeping, and reporting.

ROLE & RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Program Support:
• Learn and maintain program guidelines and requirements for the Driver’s License Assistance Program, Preferred Communities (PC) and other grant and funding sources
• Participate in client recruitment, enrollment, assessment, and tracking of program goals
• Lead the coordination of ESL courses and support the education team in carrying out other extended cultural orientation courses and workshops.
• Maintain records in compliance with grant and funding source requirements
• Work closely with the other members of the PC/Education team to ensure clients are making progress toward objectives
• Maintain regular and timely communication with team members regarding client and program needs
• Participate in required department and all-staff meetings
• Participate in required PC trainings, including travel to annual national conference if requested
• Instruction:
• Prepare and distribute teaching/learning materials such as realia, handouts, and WhatsApp videos
• Ensure daily class activities/materials closely align with program and grant goals
• Model effective pedagogical skills in teaching oral English, numeracy, and beginning literacy
• Adapt teaching methods to meet the needs of clients from diverse cultural/linguistic backgrounds with a wide range of skills, educational abilities, and aptitudes
• As necessary and possible, adjust existing curriculum and teaching to meet clients’ stated objectives
• Create an encouraging and supportive environment that fosters learning
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date client and program records, including attendance, goals tracking, and client case files
• Assess clients’ English levels at defined intervals and track scoring
• Create and administer periodic assessments to track client progress, with particular emphasis on quarterly assessments
• Train clients and volunteers in phone and laptop functionality as needed
• As needed, in partnership with the supervisor, develop curricula for new ESL classes that meet program goals and grantor guidelines and are educationally sound
• Volunteer Management:
• Work with Community Engagement team to recruit volunteers for ESL tutoring, class Teaching Assistants, ESL assessments, and material drop-offs as needed
• Manage volunteer schedule and keep volunteer contact information up-to-date in coordination with Community Engagement Department
• Supervise and give direction to volunteers during class time, debriefs, meet & greets, material drop-offs, and follow-up communications, including sending weekly lesson plans and materials to Teaching Assistants
• Ensure volunteers track hours
• Provide training for volunteers as needed, such as in-class coaching and special professional development workshops
• Encourage and support volunteers and donors through regular communication
• Assist in drafting quarterly reports (narrative, data, financial) to grantors, donors, and volunteers

JOB REQUIREMENTS:

• Mature and personal Christian faith
• Committed to the mission, vision, and values of World Relief
• Desire to serve and empower the Church to impact vulnerable communities
• Able to affirm and/or acknowledge World Reliefs Core Beliefs, Statement of Faith, Christian Identity and National Evangelicals For the Health of The Nation document
• Fluency in written and spoken English
• Bachelor’s degree or higher, ideally in Education, TESOL, or a related field
• At least 2 years’ teaching experience in education, ESL, and/or literacy
• Confident and capable of navigating across digital platforms, including Microsoft Office Suite, Zoom, and WhatsApp
• Hold valid US Driver’s License

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Ability to work effectively and sensitively with adults of diverse cultural, religious, and language backgrounds
• Ability to manage a classroom and support a team of volunteers
• Experience working with non-native English speakers
• Experience with adult pre-literate populations preferred
• Proactive communicator, with strong interpersonal, oral, and written communication skills, and able to work closely with a team
• Ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks and projects simultaneously
• Flexible and adaptable to needs of clients and changing program realities
• Ability to complete tasks independently, thoroughly, and on time
• Strong working knowledge of common phone and laptop functionalities and the ability to provide basic technical troubleshooting as needed
• Commitment to professionalism and client confidentiality

World Relief offers a competitive benefits package and employee discount program for full-time and part-time employees.

World Relief is honored to be recognized with the Gold-level Cigna Healthy Workforce Designation for exceeding the core components of our well-being program including leadership and culture, program foundations and execution, and whole person health.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

We are proud to be an EEO/AA employer M/F/D/V. We maintain a drug-free workplace and perform pre-employment substance abuse testing.

For World Relief staff, strong commitment to the mission, vision, and values of World Relief is essential, and Christian faith is a prerequisite for employment, based upon United States federal guidelines provided in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

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