About Pratham
Pratham was founded in 1995, to provide pre-school education to children in Mumbai slums. Over the last 27 years, Pratham has grown to be one of the largest non-profit organizations working to provide quality education to children and youth in over 20 states and union territories across the country, through a range of interventions.
Pratham is a widely recognized organization, having received notable awards such as the Yidan Prize, Lui Che Woo Prize, WISE Prize for Innovation, Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship, the Henry R Kravis Prize in Leadership, and the CNN-IBN Indian of the Year for Public Service. For more details, refer to www.pratham.org.
About the ENABLE Program
The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 emphasizes the fundamental importance of universal foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN). But, children, especially those with special needs and disabilities, face significant barriers hindering their acquisition of foundational skills. In India, an estimated 7.8 million children and young individuals had disabilities in 2019. Alarmingly, a large proportion of them do not attend educational institutions, and 45% struggle to attain foundational literacy. ENABLE’ or ‘Equity in Accessing Numeracy And Basic Literacy Education’, is a multi-pronged intervention to strengthen the quality of education for 3-9 year olds with disabilities. The 3 key objective of this program is to:
- Strengthen Government’s mainstream service delivery mechanism to ensure foundational learning outcomes for learners with disabilities (LwD)
- Identify, address and overcome attitudinal barriers and stereotypes towards learners with disabilities in families and communitie
- Facilitate partnership between relevant government departments, civil society, private sector and communities in support for learners with disabilities
Position Summary
We are looking to hire therapists to provide therapeutic support to children with disabilities and support their inclusion in mainstream education. The therapists will work out of the inclusive education centres, and will be responsible for proper rehabilitation planning and implementation, while supporting special educators and parents to implement intervention plans. If you are someone who is passionate about inclusion, education, and working with children, do apply.
Key responsibilities:
++++ means day to day high frequency tasks which may usually be process oriented
+++ means weekly tasks/milestones that may require a bit of cognitive load
++ means the task have to be accomplished once a month
+ means the task needs attention once per quarter that may require creativity, cognition etc.
- Meeting with children with disabilities to assess what their physical challenges are and deciding on suitable intervention programmes
- Monitoring the progress of children with disabilities and adjusting or changing treatments as needed
- Liaising with other healthcare professionals, such as Occupational Therapists, special educators, and General Practitioners and referring children with disabilities as needed
- Involving the families and caregivers of children with disabilities in their intervention programmes and the delivery of care
- Updating and maintaining accurate case notes and attendance of children with disabilities
- Staying up to date regarding new physiotherapy technologies and techniques
- Initiating and participating in evidence-based projects to improve the quality of children with disabilities care
- Complying with government regulations and compliance while ensuring strict adherence to safeguarding policies
Required Skills and Knowledge
Skills:
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Ability to actively observe and listen to children to identify any psychosocial or developmental issues. Assess developmental milestones. Develop protocols. Undertake therapy sessions
- The ability to effectively communicate with children with disabilities and their families.
- Ability to organise sessions for teachers, parents, and other stakeholders to sensitise them.
- Ability to provide trauma-informed care to children with disabilities.
- Ability to prepare digital reports for better documentation.
Knowledge:
- Understanding of the development stages of children.
- Knowledge of communication techniques.
- Knowledge and willingness to collaborate with diverse stakeholders.
- Understanding and addressing trauma in children, including how to create a safe environment for children who have experienced trauma.
- Knowledge to use MS Office tools (Word, Powerpoint, Excel).
Required Qualifications & Abilities
- Bachelor’s or master’s degree in Physiotherapy/ Occupational therapy/ Speech therapy
- Minimum 2 years of related experience.
- Willingness to promote innovation and adapt to change.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
- Ability to work collaboratively and independently, with a strong commitment to inclusivity and diversity.
Working Location : Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh
Deadline: 31st January, 2024
Positions: Maharashtra – 6 (2 for each specialisation) and Madhya Pradesh – 6 (2 for each specialisation)
Application Process
Please send the following to recruitment@pratham.org. We will reach out to you to set up the application process. To participate in the process, kindly submit the form available at https://forms.gle/Rnzh52x1cWCeTXxm7.
Your resume should contain –
- Contact information
- Academic background: Universities attended and degrees acquired with academic record (Marks or GPA, if applicable)
- Past work experience, highlighting relevant skills
- Relevant Coursework: List Courses in Development, Management, and Education
- Experiences in development, teaching and/or education (if applicable)
- Interest areas/hobbies
- Languages spoken
Note: Pratham is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to creating an inclusive and diverse workforce and consider all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age or disability. We encourage individuals from underrepresented groups, especially persons with disabilities to apply.