Technical Advisor, TESOL – English Language Fellow, Specialist, and Virtual Educator Programs (ELFSVEP)
About IREX
For more than 50 years, IREX has delivered results in complex environments. We solve problems through partnership, bridge divides where interests conflict, and develop leaders committed to impact. The youth we empower build stronger economies. The educators we support improve learning for countless students. The critical thinking skills we advance help people make informed decisions about their futures.
We approach our work through three horizon goals: leaders bridge divides; learners succeed in the world of work; and people thrive in a technology-, AI-, and data-driven world.
Position Summary
IREX seeks an experienced professional to provide technical leadership and subject-matter expertise in TESOL across the anticipated English Language Fellow, Specialist, and Virtual Educator Programs (ELFSVEP), funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA).
The ELFSVEP portfolio places highly qualified U.S. English language educators in assignments worldwide, both in-person and virtually, to strengthen English language education, support teacher professional development, and advance U.S. public diplomacy priorities through educational engagement.
The Technical Advisor, TESOL, will report to the Project Director and provide technical leadership and subject-matter expertise to ensure high-quality TESOL design and delivery across in-person and virtual engagements. The role will lead technical approaches for educator selection and matching to embassy-developed projects; advise U.S. embassies and Regional English Language Officers (RELOs) on project design and implementation; and own key technical deliverables related to educator preparation, professional development, instructional support, and learning.
Primary Responsibilities
Provide TESOL technical leadership across the ELFSVEP portfolio, ensuring the technical design and delivery of activities align with ECA priorities and approved workplans.
Serve as a key technical point of contact to ECA, in coordination with the Project Director, providing timely technical input and updates as requested.
Lead the TESOL technical approach for recruitment and selection, including defining/maintaining competency frameworks, screening tools, rubrics, and technical review processes for participant pools (Fellows, Specialists, and Virtual Educators).
Ensure high-quality matching ("matchmaking") of educators to embassy-developed projects by aligning participant skills, experience, and technical specializations with RELO/embassy needs and local context.
Coordinate closely with U.S. embassies, Regional English Language Officers (RELOs), and host institutions to refine project scopes, clarify learning outcomes, and support successful technical implementation.
Own and/or lead development of key technical deliverables, such as technical approaches, educator preparation content, virtual engagement models, toolkits, training modules, and guidance for instructional quality and participant support.
Provide technical oversight of participant preparation, onboarding, and ongoing instructional support, including contributing to coaching/mentoring approaches and troubleshooting pedagogical challenges during assignments.
May supervise technical staff and/or manage consultants supporting TESOL design, curriculum/tool development, virtual pedagogy, and technical assistance, as needed.
Provide TESOL technical leadership for monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) by shaping learning questions and indicators related to educator practice and PD outcomes, interpreting findings, and recommending technical improvements.
Maintain relationships with TESOL and English language education networks to support recruitment outreach and to ensure technical approaches reflect current evidence and promising practice.
Contribute to high-quality program documentation and reporting by drafting and/or reviewing technical sections of reports, briefs, and deliverables for ECA and other stakeholders.
Represent IREX and ELFSVEP technical approaches within relevant professional communities and external stakeholder convenings, as requested.
Perform other duties as assigned.
Primary Qualifications
Master’s degree in TESOL, applied linguistics, English language education, or a related field strongly preferred (or equivalent combination of education and experience).
Demonstrated TESOL subject-matter expertise, including teacher professional development design and delivery, coaching/mentoring, and instructional quality support in diverse contexts.
7+ years of progressive experience providing technical leadership for international English language education, educator exchange, or related education programming.
Experience working with U.S. Department of State and/or other U.S. government-funded programs preferred; ECA-funded program experience strongly preferred.
Experience supervising staff and/or leading consultants, including providing technical direction and quality assurance (people management responsibilities may vary by project needs).
Experience developing technical criteria and processes for educator recruitment, selection, and matching/placement in collaboration with stakeholders (e.g., embassies, RELOs, host institutions).
Demonstrated experience designing and supporting virtual and/or hybrid educator professional development, including technology-enabled pedagogy and facilitation.
Strong communication, facilitation, and stakeholder management skills, with experience working across technical and operational teams.
Experience applying MEL concepts to education/PD programming (e.g., indicators, tools, reflective learning loops) and translating findings into technical improvements.
International experience strongly preferred.
Willingness to travel domestically and internationally as required.
This position is contingent on funding.