FIFA Guardians - Online Facilitators

The FIFA Guardians Safeguarding in Sport Diploma is a series of five online courses designed to support the work, and professionalize the role of, Safeguarding Officers in Sport, and aims to develop a group of trained safeguarding officers in football within FIFA’s Member Associations (“FIFA Learners”). Developed in collaboration by The Open University and FIFA, each of the courses is delivered in three languages: English, French and Spanish. The FIFA Guardians Safeguarding in Sport Diploma will be awarded to FIFA Learners only, with the five courses also free and available to access by other “open learners”. FIFA learners’ experience will be enhanced by dedicated support including course facilitation, ‘programme-wide webinars’ on specific themes, enhanced assessment tasks for Courses 3-5, and participation in a Residential Workshop.

We are seeking to recruit experienced online Facilitators to support FIFA Learners (in the region of 130 English, 12 French, 21 Spanish) during 4 of the 5 courses, including answering FIFA learners’ questions on safeguarding content, correcting misconceptions, and helping learners to achieve successful completion of the course. In addition to the facilitation role you will mark end of course assignments for the 3 final courses. As a safeguarding facilitator, you will support an entire cohort of learners through interaction in the conversations that take place on the course discussion forums and feedback on their assignments.

We are seeking to recruit 4 facilitators 1 for each of the key languages in which the courses are run: English, French and Spanish, and a lead technical facilitator.   

Main tasks associated with the role:

Before the start date of the course

• Attend online training on the use of OpenLearn Create (4 hours)
• Attend a briefing on safeguarding responsibilities and reporting as part of your role (2 hours)
• Familiarise yourself in detail with all the study materials for the course. Pay particular attention to the steps each week that are marked for student interaction (5 hours)
• Attend an online briefing with the course team on the course (1 hour)

While the course is in progress

• Interact with the course team as appropriate (6 hours per course), including during weekly discussions during which challenges and issues will be discussed and learners’ posts for the week will be thought about in a holistic manner, also identifying key messages and occurring themes.
• Support learners on the interactive steps of the course (24-36 hours per course). You will flexibly facilitate each course for approx. 2-3 hours per week, over 3 months, as part of a facilitation team including a lead technical facilitator and 3 facilitators supporting English, French and Spanish learners. This will include: responding positively to learners’ posts and posing questions in the responses which will prompt further thinking; reporting any posts you are unsure about to another facilitator or to the academic team and flagging comments that you believe may break the OpenLearn Create Code of Conduct to OpenLearn moderators for review or raise safeguarding concerns.
• At the end of courses 3, 4 and 5 as part of the facilitation team mark in the region of 20 short assignments
• Communicate within the facilitation team in English in order to manage standardisation of assignment marking and commenting

After students have completed the course

• Contribute to a debrief with the course team on the presentation (1 hour).

As a course facilitator, you will be supported by both academic advisors – who can address questions of safeguarding content that you are unable to answer - and a safeguarding focal point who you will be able to go to if you have to manage a safeguarding disclosure or report a concern.

Person specification

Essential

• Significant experience in safeguarding or child protection in sport.
• Experience marking and grading assignments as part of a learning environment.
• Proven experience working in an online learning environment as a mediator, teacher or facilitator.
• Proven experience of working with adult learners across a diverse range of contexts and cultures.
• An ability to handle sensitive subject matter in a way that does not compromise the safety and well-being of learners.
• Ability to communicate complex, sensitive concepts in a concise, reassuring and practical way, to a wide range of learners.
• Appreciation of the potential constraints faced by learners from low- and middle-income countries.
• An understanding of the potential differences in applying safeguarding principles in practice in different cultural and economic contexts.
• Excellent online interpersonal, facilitation and communication skills and ability to support safe and healthy discussion on sensitive issues.
• Proficiency in the English language that is adequate to meet the requirements of the role.
• If applying for a facilitation role in French proficiency in the English language that is adequate to meet the requirements of the role
• If applying for a facilitation role in Spanish proficiency in the English language that is adequate to meet the requirements of the role

Desirable

• Familiarity with the OpenLearn Create platform and its pedagogy or other similar Moodle learning environments
• An ability to work with adult learners with additional learning needs.

The contract for this role work will be managed per course with a review at the end of 2021.

The rate of pay for this role will be £25 per hour based on a maximum of 48 hours work.

If you would like to be a part of this exciting opportunity then please submit your interest along your current CV, contact details of 2 referees  and  a cover letter of no more than 600 words of how you meet the person specification to: [email protected]

Closing date for applications: 11 August 2021.

Interviews will be held on the week commencing 16 August 2021. If successful, you will receive induction starting from w/c 6 September 2021.

If you would like further information or have question please direct them to Ben Oakley [email protected] or Alex Twitchen [email protected]

‘We value diversity and inclusion and we recognise that different people bring different perspectives, ideas, knowledge and culture, and that this difference brings great strength. Applications from candidates with protected characteristics are welcomed. Where you start in life doesn’t dictate where you go’.

The Open University has a zero tolerance to sexual abuse, exploitation and sexual harassment and we have a code of conduct in place, and are committed to creating a culture of integrity in the organisation where misconduct is not tolerated, situations of abuse are quickly investigated and perpetrators are dealt with effectively. Successful candidates will be asked to provide/obtain a Disclosure Barring Scheme records check (or equivalent national police check), undergo safeguarding training, and sign and agree to The OU’s Safeguarding Policy and Code of Conduct.