JOB DESCRIPTION

Position Title: Programme Associate, Literacy Field

Job Location: Ratnagiri and Palghar (Maharashtra)

No of Positions: 4

Program: Literacy

Organization Profile:

Founded in 2000 on the belief that World Change Starts with Educated Children®, Room to Read develops children’s foundational literacy skills, as well as life skills that promote gender equality. Committed to accelerating learning outcomes for more children, more quickly, we have benefited 45 million children across 28 countries. In India, we are working since 2003 and have positively influenced lives of more than 18 million children. Presently, we work across the 12 Indian states of Chhattisgarh, New Delhi, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh. Learn more at www.roomtoreadindia.org.

Position Overview:

The Program Associate, Literacy Field leads the planning and execution for all work related to implementing Room to Read’s Literacy program at the field level and provides strategic, technical and management support. They will oversee the quality of implementation, coordination, development and reporting of the Literacy program for a set of schools. They would identify quality issues related to program design and management and discuss them with the supervisor and provide solutions at the field level. They would lead the teacher training and capacity building of government officials. The Associate will report to the District Lead. This position will involve frequent travel to field locations as well as regular interaction with education officials, school administrators, teachers and students. They would serve as the main point of contact for the school and local government officials and coordinate the work of other RtR staff in their jurisdiction.

Responsibilities: 

Program Understanding:

• Have a strong understanding of Room to Read’s Literacy program design and the ability to present the program in various forums
• Awareness of literacy programs, their design and strategies operating in project region.
• Have good awareness on quality of program implementation and adherence to program guidelines for the set of schools under his/her jurisdiction.

Technical assistance and advocacy:

• Serve as a technical resource at the district level. Attend government meetings, discussions and committees on literacy and use those forums to advocate for enabling policies and government support in support of RtR literacy program.
• Participate in the district and block level discussions organized by government counterparts and advocate for RtR approach through developing good understanding of foundational literacy and reading programme.

Training, workshop and meeting:

• Jointly with District Lead, conduct training of Resource persons and CRPs in the project location. Assist in planning for all teacher trainings at the district/state level.
• Support the Resource person and RtR block level staff in conducting training of teachers.
• Provide technical oversight to the CRP (Cluster Resource person)/BEO (Block education officer) and support them in their coaching and communication with teachers and schools. Identify gaps in their capabilities and plan for their capacity building in discussion with the State and Country office team.
• Assist District Lead in district level review meeting, ensuring proper documentation of the meeting including follow actions.
• Conduct monthly review meeting with DDPI (Deputy Director of Public Instruction) and BEOs.
• Monitor and support block level RtR staff in conducting meeting with BEOs and CRPs at block level.

Program coordination and monitoring:

• Responsible for managing the implementation of the Literacy program for the all the schools in the project location, ensuring timely, efficient and well-coordinated implementation, adhering to the program and budget guidelines.
• Ensure program data entry and compilation on monthly, quarterly and yearly basis. Maintain high level of data quality.
• 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 the Literacy Program Operations Officer in preparing programmatic and financial reports.
• Track progress of implementation and expenditures through regular review meetings and field visits; flag off deviations and delays at the earliest; ensure proper documentation of the meeting including follow up actions.  
• Assist District Lead in preparing regular monthly, quarterly and yearly basis, including GSD (Global Solutions Database), qualitative reports and documenting case studies and best practices.  

School visits:

• Make regular visits to program schools, observe classroom transactions, library activities, and speak to teachers and headmasters in coordination with Cluster Resource Person (CRP).
• Provide regular coaching to Block level Room to Read staff to support the CRP and Teachers towards implementation of the programme activities.

Others:

• Ensure proper implementation of community engagement plans.
• Participate actively on social media in all Room to Read campaigns.
• Participate in any other activities which may be required to be undertaken to fulfill the objectives of the organization.

Qualifications:

Required:

• Bachelor’s degree in education / social sciences or equivalent.
• Master’s degree in education / social sciences or equivalent preferred.
• Minimum 3 years of relevant experience in the education sector. 
• 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 Marathi language.

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 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.

Compensation:

Room to Read offers a competitive salary with excellent benefits. Benefits include a thirteenth-month bonus, health insurance, and a retirement plan. The non-monetary compensation includes a unique opportunity to be part of an innovative, meaningful, and rapidly growing organization that is changing and transforming the lives of millions of children in developing countries on literacy and gender equality in education.

Room to Read is a child-safe organization; all personnel are expected to adhere to Room to Read’s Child Protection Policy and Child Protection Code of Conduct.

Room to Read is proud to be an equal opportunity employer committed to identifying and continually developing the skills and leadership of people from diverse backgrounds.

Application Procedure:

Kindly  CLICK HERE to submit the application.

Due to the high volume of applicant responses, not all applicants may receive a response from Room to Read. Room to Read is an equal opportunity employer committed to identifying and developing the skills and leadership of people from diverse backgrounds. We always encourage women to apply.

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