First night off

Wow. What an incredibly busy couple days - both at and outside work. I'm loving it, but am still a bit jet-lagged. I hope some extra sleep tonight will set me up for a less yawn-riddled day tomorrow! Outside work, I've had dinner and drinks with colleagues, walked around with Narek, and ran errands to get myself set-up. Everyone is really welcoming and Yerevan is lovely. I already want to come back in the spring or autumn! Tonight though, I've been laying in bed looking at flights for Kevin's visit and our weekend meet-up (location TBD). The low-key evening was much needed.

The days have been busy with initial planning, setting up my objectives, and moving swiftly on some key pieces of work! Today I also had a (very brief) briefing session with Lou from Teach First. I am going to be on the externship panel for our internal Careers Week in February. It will be neat to share a little about my experience while I'm in Armenia on the actual externship. Also, I've never been on a panel before! How fun!

Below are my objectives:

1. Configure, test, and launch an HR Information System
2. Design and document processes from recruitment/selection through probation
3. Create a foundational policy library (produce and support colleagues to produce prioritised policies); also, design procedure for policy upkeep
4. Design onboarding experience for new starters and their managers including tools, templates, and documentation
5. Engage in the Teach For Armenia mission through school visits, meaningful discussions about the context in Armenia, and collaborative learning sessions about all sorts (from performance evaluation to co-teaching models to governance structures)

The mission:

Our mission is to catalyze a nationwide movement of impact-driven leaders expanding educational opportunity to all children in Armenia.

Մեր առաքելությունն է նվիրյալ առաջնորդների համազգային շարժման խթանումը՝ հանուն Հայաստանի բոլոր երեխաների կրթական հնարավորությունների ընդլայնման:

Good night, Mom and Kevin. :)

Entrance to the office