The Foreign Service Institute (FSI) is the Federal Government's premier training institution for the U.S. Government's (USG) foreign affairs community, preparing American diplomats and other professionals to advance U.S. foreign policy interests overseas and in Washington. FSI designs and provides more than 600 unique and innovative courses to more than 100,000 enrollees a year from the Department of State and more than 40 other USG agencies and the military service branches.

The School of Language Studies (SLS) is responsible for providing language and culture training to personnel of the Department of State and other USG agencies and offices who are assigned to positions, overseas or stateside, for which language and cultural skills are designated a necessity. SLS also provides appropriate training to personnel assigned to non-designated positions and to eligible family members of USG employees. SLS provides training in more than 65 languages to over 2,000 enrollees on an average annual basis.

In support of these efforts, the SLS Evaluation and Measurement Unit coordinates program evaluation and performance measurement activities to inform decision making and enhance language instruction. EMU does so by (a) collecting and analyzing information on institutional performance to understand how well SLS is fulfilling its mission; (b) evaluating specific SLS programs to help divisions, units, and sections improve and develop their effectiveness; and (c) helping SLS staff conduct evaluation for themselves by providing advice, resources, and training. In this way, EMU helps SLS staff better understand, improve, and develop the quality of SLS language training and support.

Specific duties may include, but are not limited to:

Conduct evaluation and performance measurement of SLS language training programs and other SLS projects and processes;

Design and conduct language assessment and program evaluation in support of SLS goals, objectives, and mission;

Design and conduct quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis; Generate relevant findings, conclusions, and recommendations to improve and develop SLS programs, projects, and processes;

Report on evaluation assessment findings, planning, and processes;

Conduct training (e.g., workshops) on language assessment, program evaluation, data-collection/analysis, reporting, and data visualization;

Develop training materials and job aids on program evaluation and language assessment for program development and improvement-oriented purposes;

Advise SLS staff on conducting and using evaluation and assessment to improve and develop SLS programs, processes, and projects;

Design and facilitate capacity-building activities and initiatives for effective communication and collaboration within SLS on program evaluation and language assessment activities.

Required Qualifications:

Expertise and experience in language program evaluation concepts, approaches, and methods;

Expertise and experience in language pedagogy, task-based language teaching, teaching-for-special purposes, and/or instructed second language acquisition;

Expertise and experience in conducting and validating assessment in language programs, particularly performance-based and alternative language assessments for a variety of educational and program development purposes;

Experience designing and implementing quantitative and qualitative data collection tools in language programs including language tests/assessments, questionnaires, interviews, focus groups, observations, and document reviews;

Experience in using relevant software packages to analyze evaluation and assessment data (e.g., SPSS, Stata, R, Winsteps, NVivo, Tableau);

Expertise and experience in data visualization;

Strong creative thinking skills in conceiving innovative approaches to language program evaluation and performance measurement;

Strong written and oral communication skills;

Strong ability to work in a team environment on high priority initiatives;

Advanced graduate degree(s) in applied linguistics, linguistics, language education, or a related field.

Desired Qualifications:

Doctoral degree in applied linguistics, linguistics, language education, or related field;

Experience evaluating language training programs in a USG context.

Clearance: Must pass a background check

Location: Arlington, VA

Travel: N/A