ESL Instructor

About Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a leading U.S. university, particularly known for research and graduate education in engineering and computer science. In 2011, CMU opened a global location of its College of Engineering in Rwanda, known as Carnegie Mellon University Africa in Rwanda (CMU-Africa). CMU-Africa currently offers two renowned master’s degrees to facilitate the provision of fourth industrial revolution skills to students from across the African continent:
1. Master of Science in Information Technology (MSIT)
2. Master of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering (MSECE)

We are a fast-growing campus with 130 enrolled students, aiming to grow to 400 in the next four years. Our size and exponential growth create a sense of camaraderie and excitement, with strong community ties and a compound sense of accomplishment in our team members, contributing towards mutually beneficial relationships between staff and students. We recruit arguably the brightest young computer scientists and engineers on the continent to become our students. Motivated, creative and determined, our students’ transformative experience at CMU-Africa sets them on the path to becoming the future tech leaders of Africa. Being part of their journey towards building their respective communities, and the continent, into important players in the global technology space, is an exciting and highly rewarding experience.

About the CMU-Africa ESL Program
The ESL program supports students to develop their English communication and professional and academic skills in a holistic way through the delivery of a portfolio of interventions across their academic journey. These include semesterly courses, internship, intensive workshops, writing support and one-to-one tutoring. This increases learner motivation and autonomy in their professional & academic skills development by supporting relevant student, staff and faculty initiatives and activities. For example, the program assists first year students in preparing for their internship fair through résumé and interview skills development interventions. Recent collaborations with students include a multimedia student blog and a public speaking club.

Location
Rwanda, affectionately known as “The Land of a Thousand Hills”, is located in the highlands of the Great Rift Valley in East Africa. Its highly elevated geography is dominated by scenic mountains in the west, with numerous lakes scattered throughout the country. There are four national parks comprising extinct volcanoes, savannah, wetlands, and one of the oldest rainforests in Africa. The climate is temperate to subtropical, with two rainy seasons and two dry seasons each year. The temperature is stable with an average high temperature of between 26°C and 30°C all year round. The capital city, Kigali, is well known for cleanliness and security. It is fast becoming a metropolitan city with a thriving expatriate community and residents from most parts of the world making this their home in recent years. Public infrastructure is well-maintained, with a good traffic network, fast and reliable internet services, and a sound health system. There is a good selection of shops, restaurants and cafes catering to intercontinental and varied customer needs.

The Role
The ESL instructor will work within the ESL program to support our students throughout their learning journey, preparing the prospective students for success. ESL support is mainly focused on students at upper intermediate (B2) level as well as a few at intermediate (B1) level. It is available to advanced (C1) and proficiency (C2) level students at their request. Professional skills development is targeted at all levels. The teaching component includes classroom teaching (both long and short-course), group tutorials and one-to-one tuition and mentoring. There is the potential for teacher training in the future. This is a dynamic and varied role in which creativity, versatility and initiative thrive. Courses and learning materials are designed and developed by instructors, who have access to both physical teaching resources and a wide range of electronic resources (tautology) via the online CMU libraries. Initiating collaboration on course formation and tutoring and activities with other faculties, students and lecturers is another important aspect of the role. This is the conception, development and implementation of new projects. The role may also involve partnering with other universities for the purposes of capacity building and mutual capacity development.

Duties and Responsibilities
There are significant growth opportunities in this position and your duties and responsibilities will be dynamic and may evolve over time. They will be shaped by the university mandate and priorities, as well as evolving student needs. Your responsibilities will include, but not be limited to, the following:
1. Contribute to developing, delivering, and assessing ESL curriculum to prospective
and current CMU-Africa graduate students including:
a. Academic writing skills courses.
b. Orientation (pre-sessional) academic skills program.
c. English immersion program.
2. Support ESL, academic and professional skills development activities:
a. Develop and deliver advanced level professional writing and technical
communication skills workshops.
b. Mentor individual students and provide personalized feedback on their
oral and written skills.
c. Collaborate with faculty to provide communication skills support across
key technical courses.
d. Identify, create and leverage further opportunities to develop student
professional and academic communication skills throughout their learning
journey.
3. Contribute to the design and implementation of outreach activities such as:
a. Capacity-building programs in collaboration with other local universities.
b. Bridge programs for potential student applicants.
4. Participate with faculty-wide activities including
a. Recruiting and admissions assessment.
b. Broader program development.

The Person
Our ideal candidate should be an enthusiastic and flexible ESL teacher with a professional background demonstrating a range of relevant skills and experience. They will be selfmotivated, able to work both independently and as part of a team and excited about supporting the ESL program in maintaining and developing our initiatives. They will also be innovative in seeking new opportunities to further the mission of our program. In addition, they will be interested in working at a more strategic level to collaborate with other universities and partners in developing knowledge-sharing and teacher training programs.

Qualifications;
Essential
1. Post-graduate degree-holder in relevant field
2. Highly proficient user of English (minimum overall score of 110 in TOEFL or 8 in
IELTS).
3. Globally recognized qualification in education and/or English language instruction
for non-native speakers.
4. Minimum 2 years’ post-qualification experience teaching ESL courses to adults
using interactive, learner-centered methodology.
5. Pedagogic approach that prioritizes learner autonomy and motivation.
6. Enjoys and has a creative, fun and energetic approach to teaching and learning.
7. Strong interpersonal and teamwork skills.

Desirable
1. Experience of American post-graduate education system.
2. Experience of teaching and collaborating effectively across different cultures.
3. Experience teaching English skills proficiency in relevant areas such as:
professional English, academic English, technical communication, English for
engineers and teacher training.
4. Knowledge or experience of designing and/or implementing an English immersion
program.
5. Experience of using a variety of educational technologies.
6. Knowledge or experience of evaluating the impact of language development
programs.
7. Enjoys working collaboratively with other teaching staff.

Application review will begin on January, 1st 2021