Room to Read
Organization Profile:
Room to Read is a global organization transforming the lives of millions of children in low-income communities by focusing on literacy and gender equality in education. Founded in 2000 on the belief that World Change Starts with Educated Children®, our innovative model focuses on deep, systemic transformation within schools during two time periods that are most critical in a child’s schooling: early primary school for literacy acquisition and secondary school for girls’ education. We work in collaboration with local communities, partner organizations, and governments to develop literacy skills and a habit of reading among primary school children and ensure girls can complete secondary school with the skills necessary to negotiate key life decisions.
By focusing on the quality of education provided within the communities and ensuring these outcomes are measured, we have created a model that can be replicated, localized, and sustained by governments. With its global headquarters in San Francisco, Room to Read till date has benefited 32 million children across 21 low-income countries.
Room to Read India was established in 2003 and presently has programs in ten states –Chhattisgarh, Delhi NCR, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh.
Position Overview:
The District Lead will oversee the program implementation and lead the agenda of system strengthening at district and state level. S/he would serve as the main point of contact for the school and local government officials and coordinate the work of other RtR staff in the district and state. The District Leader will report to the State Manager and will have Program Associates reporting to him/her. This position will involve frequent travel to field locations as well as regular interaction with education officials, school administrators, teachers and students.
Roles & Responsibilities:
Programme Planning, Management & Implementation:
- Develop a thorough understanding of Room to Read’s Literacy program design.
- Oversee the implementation of the programs in the project location, ensuring timely, efficient and well-coordinated implementation, adhering to the program and budget guidelines.
- Manage relationships with school, community and government counterparts in the project location and respond to issues that may arise in these relationships.
- Ensure that all program schools receive books, materials and furniture at the appropriate time.
- Ensure that all teacher training and capacity building activities are held as per plan and program guidelines, including the receipt of necessary approvals.
- Overall Lead trainings organized for resource persons, CRPs and RtR field staff under the project. Ensure implementation of the training of teachers by Resource person. Also, play role of key facilitator for these trainings.
- Ensure effective utilization of program budget through proper planning and tracking of planned activities. Ensure that financial and procurement norms are adhered to and efforts are made to be reduce cost to the extent possible, without compromising on the quality.
- Prepare cash advance, settlement, and reimbursement for program activities.
- Assist to prepare annual plan of action and budget for the program.
- Support the State Manager in strategic planning and advocacy, including sustainability planning and future expansion decisions.
- Participate actively on social media in all RtR campaigns.
- Supervise and ensure proper implementation of community engagement plans.
- Participate in any other activities which may be required to be undertaken to fulfil the objectives of the organization.
Technical Expertise & System Strengthening:
- Stay updated regarding the changing trends and any new state level policies, programmes or interventions in foundational literacy and reading, as announced by the government. Engage in discussions with the country team regarding future opportunities.
- Attend all district level government meetings, discussions and committees on early literacy and use those forums to advocate for enabling policies and government orders in support of RtR literacy program. Represent Room to Read in district level and also state level forums and advocate the importance of reading and need for libraries for children.
- Regularly interact with the Government officials and ensure systemic integration of the programme for sustainability.
- Attend review meetings at the national level and provide reflective feedback on program implementation and design issues. At the same time acts as the conduit for transferring innovative ideas and practices from the national level (or from other states) on to the field.
- Read and update oneself regarding the current national/international research in the field
- Provide technical oversight to CRP, BEO, DIET and district level officials and support them in their coaching and communication with government teachers and schools. Identify gaps in their capabilities and plan for their capacity building in discussion with the team.
- Participate in workshops on material development, training module development and training of trainers.
Monitoring, Supervision & Reporting:
- Provide technical oversight to the program associates and support them in their coaching and communication with government officials and schools. Identify gaps in their capabilities and plan for their capacity building in discussion with the IDTS unit.
- Analyze various data and information emanating from the field, develop programmatic co-relations and flag off issues for larger discussion.
- Ensure that program schools are monitored as per guidelines and the field staff perform their job effectively.
- Supervise and ensure all data entry and compilation on monthly, quarterly and yearly basis, including GSD data. Maintain high level of data quality.
- Assist in preparing all programmatic and financial reports as required, including donor reports.
- Analyze various data and information emanating from the field, develop programmatic co-relations and flag off issues for larger discussion.
- Organize and lead review meetings at field level.
- Track progress of implementation and expenditures through regular review meetings and field visits; flag off deviations and delays at the earliest
- Manage Program Associates, including their performance evaluation, capacity building and coaching.
- Make regular visits to program schools alone and with key government officials from block/district/state level, observe reading practices, Library Management, library activities, speak to teachers and headmasters and supervise the functioning of the block level RtR staff.
Qualification & Experience:
Required:
- Bachelor’s Degree in education / social sciences or equivalent.
- Master’s degree in education / social sciences or equivalent preferred.
- Minimum 5 years of relevant experience in the education sector.
- In-depth knowledge about language and reading practices and approaches.
- Strong written and oral communication skills.
- Critical thinking and analytical skills.
- Good interpersonal skills and a team player.
- Proven track record of achieving results.
- Proven ability to work effectively with schools and communities.
- Ability to travel regularly to project sites in remote locations.
- Knowledge of Kannada.
Preferred:
- Prior success working closely and building relationships with diverse groups of people.
- Prior experience of working in a non-profit organization that is focused on maintaining high quality work and low overhead.
- Prior experience in a fast-paced, growth-oriented global or regional organization.
- Ability to juggle multiple priorities simultaneously and take initiative.
- Prior experience living and/or working in rural areas.
- Prior experience working with schools, teachers, administrators and government officials.
- Experience in successful implementation of a wide range of tasks as well as developing and implementing improvements in a prior position.
- Knowledge of English and/or Hindi.
To be successful as a member of the Room to Read team, you will also:
- Have a passion for our mission and a strong desire to impact an up-and-coming non-profit organization.
- Be an innovative and creative thinker – you are not afraid to try something new and inspire others to do so.
- Have a very high level of personal and professional integrity and trustworthiness.
- Have a strong work ethic and require minimal direction.
- Be both self-confident and humble.
- Work well independently as well as part of a team.
- Thrive in a fast-paced and fun environment.
Compensation:
Room to Read offers competitive pay with excellent benefits. The non-monetary compensation includes a unique opportunity to be part of an innovative, meaningful, and rapidly growing organization that is changing transforming the lives of millions of children in developing countries on literacy and gender equality in education.
