Educator for the Deaf

Kenya
Permanent
Full-time

1 month ago

Positions Available3DescriptionCan you see yourself presenting a reading lesson in Kenyan Sign Language (KSL) to a class of eager students, or sipping chai (tea) with a group of Kenyan colleagues as you share lesson plans in the teachers' room? Can you envision walking to the local market to buy beans, corn, and peanuts to make “nyoyo” and meeting a group of youth from the Life Skills Club you co-facilitate, who sign greetings to you in KSL? If the answer is yes, the Peace Corps seeks applicants like you who have the passion, flexibility, and resiliency to support Education for the Deaf (E4D) initiatives in Kenya.E4D Volunteers support teachers to increase knowledge and transfer innovative and effective techniques and methods for teaching reading and early literacy skills and KSL. In collaboration with counterpart teachers, Volunteers develop teaching and learning materials and resources to provide high-quality literacy instruction and use these to support students' increase in literacy levels. Volunteers also collaborate with students' parents and community members to promote and encourage E4D, KSL, children's literacy, and a reading culture within the community.E4D Volunteers work collaboratively with their local counterparts and communities in four focus areas:1. Building teacher capacity through Communities of Practice
2. Supporting Deaf students in strengthening KSL, literacy and/or numeracy skills through direct classroom teaching
3. Promoting increased involvement of families and caregivers to support Deaf students' education
4. Adapting and developing teaching/learning materials and increasing access to materials/resources to support E4D initiatives
5. Building Deaf students' capacity to protect themselves from violence, STIs, unintended pregnancies, and sexual assaultAs with all Peace Corps programs, flexibility and a positive and open attitude are important for this project. Volunteers will teach and/or co-teach in the classroom and support activities to collaboratively build capacity with their counterparts and teachers. They may be asked to provide instruction on a variety of subjects aside from those they have been invited to teach. To engage the broader community, Volunteers and their counterparts might co-organize and support extracurricular activities such as educational trips for students, student exchanges, camps, clubs, school enhancement projects, sports teams, youth conferences, and school gardens. E4D Volunteers also work with counterparts to integrate HIV/AIDS and life skills work into their teaching and community development activities in a culturally effective and appropriate manner.Peace Corps Kenya partners with community counterparts to promote the social and emotional empowerment of Deaf boys and girls. Volunteers are trained on social realities in Kenya and together with their Kenyan counterparts they have the opportunity to co-implement activities that are contextually and culturally appropriate, promoting social norms and co-facilitating empowerment programs to support both girls and boys in exploring a new paradigm together.Request Type177 Special EducationPostKenyaRequired SkillsCompetitive candidates will have one or more of the following criteria:

Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science degree in Special Education (general or with emphasis in working with people with visual or hearing disabilities.)

Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science degree in any discipline with state certification in special education (general or with an emphasis in working with people with visual or hearing disabilities.)

Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science degree in Education with experience working with people with disabilities, including physical, cognitive, emotional, and psychological disabilities.

Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science degree in any discipline with 1 year full-time experience working in classrooms or residential homes with people with disabilities, including physical, cognitive, emotional, and psychological disabilities.

Start Date31-Aug-2026Desired SkillsThe most successful candidates will have one or more of the following relevant qualifications:

Prior teaching experience, preferably with elementary school children
Experience teaching early childhood literacy to learners with special needs
Experience designing or editing educational content and teaching resources adapted for learners with special needs
Familiarity with American Sign Language or another sign language
Experience living and working with the Deaf community
Experience teaching Deaf children or youth in or out of the classroom
Experience in school and/or community presentations with children, youth, or adult learners
Experience with youth development, particularly life skills development, promotion of healthy lifestyles, camps, youth clubs, scouts, etc.
Prior work with HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention
Experience with graphic design, T.V. captioning, filming, editing, or creativity in developing visual aids and educational materials

Living ConditionsTrainees live with Kenyan host families throughout Pre-Service Training (PST). After PST, Volunteers are placed in rural communities in Western Kenya. Housing is provided by the work partner and may be a private structure in a family compound, staff housing at the school or health facility, or a stand-alone house in the community. Structures vary from mud houses with metal roofs to concrete houses with glass windows, but all have facilities for cooking, bathing, and either indoor toilets or outdoor latrine outhouses. Volunteers may have to fetch and carry water from a local water source up to 100 meters from their home and may not have reliable access to electricity.Volunteers in Kenya live within three kilometers of their work sites and are placed no more than five hours by public transportation from the regional capital, Kisumu, where the Peace Corps office is located. Volunteers ride matatus (minivans) as a main mode of public transportation to and from the nearest county capital to access banks, a variety of shops, markets, restaurants, and guesthouses. Peace Corps Kenya provides an allowance for Volunteers who wish to purchase a bicycle.Cell phone coverage is not consistent in all communities, and text messaging may be more reliable. The Peace Corps will issue a Kenyan SIM card, and certain staff will be on call 24/7. Internet is available through cellphone service providers, and Volunteers are advised to bring a laptop to complete assignments such as monitoring, evaluating, and reporting activities.Kenyans regard attention to dress and appearance as demonstrating respect, and Volunteers must take care to dress in a culturally appropriate manner 24/7. In training and on the job, Volunteers are expected to dress in modest, comfortable, business casual clothing. Hair should be clean and neat, with beards and mustaches neatly trimmed. Long hair and ear piercings on men and tattoos and piercings beyond the earlobe on any Volunteer may have a cultural stigma and could impede a Volunteer from building trust with and integrating into their host community. Volunteers with visible facial or body piercings or tattoos will need strategies to conceal them during the process of integration into their communities.Food availability and variety will vary by community within Kenya. The staple food is ugali, which is made from maize meal and is eaten with cooked vegetables, fish, meat, beans, or chicken, typically with the right hand. Vegetarians and vegans can maintain a healthy diet, but vegetarianism is relatively uncommon and many prepared foods are made with animal products.Peace Corps Kenya welcomes Volunteers from various backgrounds in the U.S., and staff and currently-serving Volunteers are committed to supporting them through challenges. Because Kenya has some restrictive laws against certain sexual acts, LGB Volunteers in particular must be mindful of cultural norms and country-specific laws and use their best judgment in their communities and host countries. Staff and currently-serving Volunteers will address this topic during PST and identify support mechanisms for incoming Trainees.Language RequirementNoneLanguage Skills Additional InformationKenya has two official languages: Kiswahili and English. Kenyan Sign Language (KSL) is the third National Language and is the language of instruction in schools for the Deaf. There are over 40 other local languages and dialects, with Luo and Luhya languages spoken predominantly in the Western region where Peace Corps Kenya is based. Deaf Educator Volunteers use KSL in the classroom to communicate with students and some Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) counterpart teachers. Not all Kenyans speak English in their daily lives, so Volunteers' community integration is greatly enhanced with the ability to hold conversations in Kiswahili, or another of the local Kenyan languages spoken in the community.During the 10 weeks of Pre-Service Training (PST), Peace Corps Trainees undergo a comprehensive language immersion program. All Deaf Educator Trainees learn KSL during PST and survival Kiswahili or a local language once in their sites. Trainees are tested in Kenyan Sign Language twice during PST and at the end of 10 weeks they are expected to attain an Intermediate High score in KSL. Once they have moved to their permanent host communities, Volunteers continue their language learning with a trained tutor identified and funded by Peace Corps Kenya.Primary SectorEducationAccepts CouplesYesCouples CommentsPeace Corps Kenya welcomes couples serving together during service. For any couple to be considered, both partners must qualify for and be invited to any of the following projects:

Community Health Facilitator
High School Math Educator
High School Science Educator
Educator for the Deaf

Volunteers in the Health and Education sectors undergo different technical training programs, and during Pre-Service Training (PST) they live in different training villages around the main training site. Couples who serve in different sectors should note that they may not be living in the same home or village during the 10 weeks of PST, and that their additional compulsory trainings such as In-Service Training may be held at different times. Couples who serve in the same sector will live with the same host family during PST. After PST, all couples will live together in their host communities while working at different host organizations.Because Kenyans tend to expect that whenever a man and woman live together they are by default married, unmarried couples should be prepared to present themselves as married throughout their service.Due to the country's restrictive laws, same-sex couples cannot serve in Kenya at this time. The Peace Corps works to foster safe and productive assignments for same-sex couples and same-sex couples are not placed in countries, like Kenya, where homosexual acts are criminalized. Because of this, same-sex couples' placements are more limited than heterosexual couples' placements. During the application process, Recruiters and Placement Officers work closely with same-sex couple applicants to understand current placement opportunities.Apply By01-Jan-2026Know By01-Mar-2026Language Requirements InformationThere are no pre-requisite language requirements for this position.Total Number of Positions Available3Assignment Length (months)24Accepting Applications?YesProgramPCVTEFL certificate programNoPost to LinkedIn?No

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