Curriculum and Learning Design Specialist - Vacancy Alert!

Open Knowledge Foundation Nepal (OKF Nepal) is seeking an experienced Curriculum and Learning Design Specialist to develop a civic education curriculum and toolkit for school students and out-of-school youth in Nepal.

You will design learning pathways for Grades 7 to 8, Grades 9 to 12, and community youth, including those not in employment, education, or training (NEET). The work covers module outlines, Teacher's Handbooks, a Facilitator's Guide, and gamified resources, all drafted in Nepali and English and tested with real teachers and facilitators. This is a short-term engagement, ideal for someone who wants to turn civic ideas into learning that leads to action.

📅 Application deadline: Oct 10, 2026

OKF Nepal is a non-profit civic tech organization comprised of openness enthusiasts. We believe that open data fosters participatory government and civil society, contributing to sustainable development. The organization is actively engaged in research, advocacy, training, and the development of open knowledge tools, working at the intersection of open data, digital rights, and algorithmic accountability.

Key Responsibilities

Research and Conceptual Design

• Contribute to a desk review of existing civic and democratic education curricula, learning materials, and youth engagement initiatives in Nepal, benchmarked against comparable international curricula.
• Help identify specific gaps, such as materials that do not reach NEET youth, do not use local governance examples, or stop at knowledge transfer without building toward civic action.
• Take part in scoping consultations with youth, educators, civil society, and government stakeholders, and contribute to the Inception Report (methodology, learning outcomes for each cohort, gap analysis).

Curriculum Framework and Learning Architecture

• Develop module outlines for the three pathways (Grades 7 to 8, Grades 9 to 12, and Community/NEET) using one shared conceptual framework covering six thematic areas: democratic foundations, subnational governance, rights and duties, accountability, media literacy, and social cohesion.
• Map modules to the required hours and chapter allocations, adapting sequence and pacing to each audience rather than changing the content.
• Structure each chapter to open with a concrete local governance example before introducing civic vocabulary.
• Contribute to a theory of change linking knowledge, reflection, action, and participation.

Curriculum Package and Learning Resources

• Draft curriculum modules, Teacher's Handbooks (Grades 7 to 8, Grades 9 to 12), and the Facilitator's Guide (Community/NEET) in English and Nepali in parallel, keeping civic terminology consistent with established Nepali constitutional and administrative usage.
• Design gamified and experiential resources (card games, simulations, civic roleplays) alongside the written content, working with the Graphic Designer.
• Integrate gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) and accessibility for persons with disabilities (PwD) at the drafting stage.

Consultation, Piloting, and Validation

• Support provincial consultation workshops in Koshi, Madhesh, Karnali, and Sudurpashchim with local government, civil society, educators, and youth networks.
• Help run pilots across all three cohorts, testing whether the material works in the hands of an actual teacher or community facilitator, and support Youth Listening Labs with NEET participants.
• Collect and analyze feedback disaggregated by gender, caste/ethnicity, and marginalized-group status to show differential effectiveness across groups.

Finalization and Learning

• Revise content against pilot and consultation findings before anything is marked final.
• Lead the Nepali civic-terminology quality check, finalize gamified tools as usable physical assets, and complete a final PwD accessibility review.
• Support the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) framework, which tracks civic knowledge, civic identity, and civic efficacy, with outcomes disaggregated by gender, age, caste/ethnicity, and disability status.

General Responsibilities

• Work closely with the Team Leader, Youth Engagement Specialist, and Graphic Designer, and take part in regular team meetings.
• Deliver outputs on time and to the agreed quality standard, and respond to review comments.
• Keep drafts, versions, and source materials organized in shared project folders.
• Prepare short progress updates and contribute to project reports.
• Follow OKF Nepal policies, including those on safeguarding and the protection of children and participants' data.
• Carry out other tasks related to the assignment as reasonably requested.

Qualifications

Required

• Master's degree in education, curriculum design, social science, political science, public policy, or a related field.
• Demonstrated experience designing curricula, teaching materials, or training resources, ideally for school-age learners or out-of-school youth.
• Strong drafting skills in both Nepali and English, with the ability to write in both languages in parallel.
• Understanding of Nepal's federal governance structure and local government system.
• Experience integrating GESI and accessibility considerations into learning materials.
• Ability to design participatory and experiential learning, such as games, simulations, and role-plays.
• Strong organizational skills and the ability to meet deadlines in a small team.

Nice to Have

• Experience in civic, democratic, or citizenship education.
• Familiarity with Nepal's national school curriculum and teacher-facing materials.
• Experience facilitating workshops or piloting learning materials with teachers, youth, or community groups.
• Basic knowledge of monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) or baseline and endline instruments.
• Prior experience with donor-funded or development-sector projects.

Duration and Location

This is a short-term engagement, with the start date as soon as possible. The specialist reports to the Team Leader and works alongside the Youth Engagement Specialist and Graphic Designer.

Remote work with flexible scheduling. Candidates must be based in Kathmandu, Nepal
(Travel to provincial consultation workshops and pilot sites may be required.)

Consultancy Fee

Negotiable, depending on qualifications and experience.

How to Apply

Interested candidates should send a CV, a cover letter, and one or two samples of curriculum or learning materials they have developed (excerpts are fine) to info@oknp.org by October 10, 2026, with "Curriculum and Learning Design Specialist Application" in the subject line. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for an interview.