Happy Hands School for the Deaf (HHSD), Odisha: Posts open for the 2025/26 academic year
Institutional profile:
HHSD is a school for deaf children that follows a bilingual education model using Indian Sign Language and written English. The school currently has 62 children from KG to class 7. From the next academic year, we will admit 10-12 new children.
HHSD is a boarding school where all children live on campus. Some accommodation facilities are also available for teachers. The nearest town is Binika (2km distance) in Sonepur district. The school is in a rural location on a 5-acre eco-village campus.
At our school we create innovative ecosystems of learning. HHSD is a research-led school where we undertake applied research on our teaching and learning, as well as adopting latest evidence-based approaches.
As the school is growing, we need two additional teachers, two research staff, and one clerical staff member. Most teachers participate in research but the research staff will spend most of their time on research while also doing some teaching. The clerical post will strengthen the administrative team.
HHSD gives importance to continuous skill development, so all teachers participate in a personal and professional development programme.
1. Teacher (primary and/or middle school level) – 2 posts
Type of post: Contractual (limited term, renewable)
Salary level: Between Rs. 15,000 and 18,000 depending on skills
Application deadline: 10 May 2025
Application modalities: 1. Send your CV to (happydeafhands@gmail.com)
2. Send 3 minute ISL video or short answer on why are you interested to apply for this post? What motivated you to be a teacher of the Deaf?
Description of the post:
The post involves 80% teaching and 20% personal development, part of which may be participating in research if suitable. Teachers plan their lessons, teach classes, and then document children’s learning. The school is organised in teams, and team leaders give guidance and training to new teachers.
Qualifications, skills and attributes:
– A good level of fluency in Indian Sign Language (excellent sign language users are preferred).
– Functional reading and writing skills in English.
– Being familiar with subject knowledge in maths, science and EVS for classes 1-5.
– Willing and able to learn subject knowledge beyond class 5 and improve general knowledge.
– Good level of generic IT skills e.g. MS Office software.
– Well-rounded personality suitable as a role model for deaf children.
– High level of interest in learning new skills and extending own knowledge.
Main duties:
– Teach in all primary school subjects of class 1-5
– Teach in one or two special subjects for class 6-8 (according to ability).
– Develop visual lesson plans for teaching.
– Document children’s learning in the school’s standard format.
– Develop mid-year and year-final assessment tests.
– Work on special projects across classes and with other teachers.
– Participate in supervising excursions, fairs, and extracurricular activities.
– Follow a personal development programme with guidance from senior staff.
– Any other duties in line with the post as assigned by the school management.
3. Senior Research Assistant (SRA) – 1 post
Type of post: Contractual (limited term, renewable)
Salary level: INR 25,000
Application deadline: 10 May 2025
Application modalities: a). Send your CV to (happydeafhands@gmail.com). Subject: Application for the post of SRF.
b) Send 3 minute ISL video or short answer on why are you interested to apply for this post? What motivated you to be a teacher of the Deaf?
Description of the post:
The SRA supports senior staff at the school with research and development, being involved at all stages of research from planning a project to data collection, analysis, publication and dissemination. Research at HHSD is closely integrated with teaching, so the SRA will also spend 20-30% of work time on teaching duties in the middle school. The SRA will lead on smaller projects independently and build up skills towards larger projects over time.
Qualifications, skills and attributes:
– Master’s degree in any discipline, or Bachelor’s degree with two years of experience relevant to the post. (Hearing candidates are highly encouraged to apply)
– Good level of literacy in English (to be tested at interview).
– Aptitude for visual-gestural communication (to be tested at interview), or existing competence in Indian Sign Language at any level, whether acquired formally or informally.
– Experience with research at the level of a Master’s thesis, or equivalent experience.
– Good level of generic IT skills e.g. MS Office software (Word, PPT etc).
– Good level of familiarity with Excel or similar software for data entry and visualisation.
– High level of interest in learning new skills and extending own knowledge.
– Experience of working in teams is required, whether formal or informal, in academic or non-academic contexts.
– Experience with Virtual Learning Environments and interactive tools (e.g. Miro boards, Moodle VLE, online polling/survey tools) is preferable but not essential.
– Experience with gamification is preferable but not essential.
Main duties:
– Work with senior staff on planning research projects, including proposal writing, project design, creating sub-teams and work packages.
– Independently monitor progress of research projects against given milestones and report progress to senior staff.
– Guide and support HHSD teachers and junior researchers on implementing research tasks.
– Work with senior staff on publications, conference presentations, and other types of dissemination.
– Supervise junior researchers’ work on routine research tasks e.g. data coding, interview guidelines, survey implementation.
– Teach one or two subjects at middle school level (class 6-8) according to skills and interest.
– Any other duties in line with the post as assigned by the school management.
1. Junior Research Assistant (JRA) – 1 post
Type of post: Contractual (limited term, renewable)
Salary level: INR 18,000
Application deadline: 10 May 2025
Application modalities: a). Send your CV to (happydeafhands@gmail.com)Subject Alpplication for the post of JRA
b) Send 3 minute ISL video or short answer on why are you interested to apply for this post? What motivated you to be a teacher of the Deaf?
Description of the post
This is a junior role that would suit people who are highly motivated to do research but have limited previous experience with research. The JRA works closely with the Senior Research Assistant and under guidance from senior staff. The JRA will spend 20-30% of work time on teaching duties in the middle school, and research will be linked to teaching.
Qualifications, skills and attributes:
– Bachelor’s degree in any discipline, with additional relevant experience for the post (e.g. Bachelor’s thesis, working with data, statistics, graphs, charts, etc in BSc level mathematics, or similar work outside college). Candidates without a completed Bachelor’s degree will be considered if they have at least two years of relevant experience and skills.
– Fast learner, able to think through questions and problem-solve.
– Functional reading and writing in English (to be tested at interview).
– Abstract thinking and thinking in patterns (to be tested at interview).
– Aptitude for visual-gestural communication (to be tested at interview), or existing competence in Indian Sign Language at any level, whether acquired formally or informally.
– Good level of generic IT skills e.g. MS Office software.
– Basic familiarity with Excel or similar software for data entry and visualisation.
– Skills in using ICT tools e.g. Zoom, Teams, Google forms, etc.
Main duties:
– Support work on research projects under guidance as assigned by senior research staff.
– Work independently on routine research tasks, e.g. data coding, implementing surveys, translating and summarising, data visualisation.
– Teach one or two subjects at middle school level (class 6-8) according to skills and interest.
– Follow a personal development programme to extend research skills, under guidance from senior research staff.
– Any other duties in line with the post as assigned by the school management.
2. Administrative Assistant – 1 post
Type of post: Contractual (limited term, renewable)
Salary level: INR 12,000
Application deadline: 10 May 2025
Application modalities: 1. Send your CV to (happydeafhands@gmail.com) Subject: Application for the Post of AA
1. Send 3 minute ISL video or short answer on why are you interested to apply for this post? What motivated you to be a teacher of the Deaf?
Description of the post
The clerical assistant supports the school’s administrative team with routine tasks. It suits people with work experience as well as those who are seeking a first job. There is a wide range of responsibilities from stock keeping to maintaining school records, finance spreadsheets and communication with parents. Full training is provided on the job, along with a personal development programme. It is expected that this clerical post will lead on to more senior posts for a well-performing candidate.
Qualifications, skills and attributes:
– Senior high school graduation (12th class), or 10th class with at least two years of relevant experience.
– Fluent in Odia (oral and written skills).
– Conversational level of Hindi and basic level of English (to be tested at interview).
– Aptitude for visual-gestural communication (to be tested at interview), or existing competence in Indian Sign Language at any level, whether acquired formally or informally.
– Familiarity with generic IT programmes e.g. MS Office software.
– Good level of skill with Excel or similar software.
– Familiar with ICT tools, e.g. whatsapp, zoom, google meet.
– Good aptitude for abstract thinking and for working with patterns and data (to be tested at interview).
Main duties:
– Keeping registers such a kitchen stock, learning materials supplies etc.
– Organise and keep attendance registers.
– Assist in creating and maintaining administrative documents for the school such as health and safety procedures, leave of absence process, school fee receipts, etc.
– Filing and organising of all kinds of documents related to the running of the school.
– Maintain contacts with the school’s local suppliers, supporters, and children’s parents.
– Assist in compiling data for the school’s annual reports.
– Assist in creating informational materials about the school (flyers, photographs and videos, newsletters, etc).
