Program Associate, Technical and Operations, Foundational Literacy

Position: Program Associate, Technical and Operations, Foundational Literacy

Location: Giridih, Jharkhand

Contract Duration: One year contract with scope of extension or till March 2026

Organisation 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 Program Associate (Technical and Operations), Foundational Literacy will oversee the project implementation and lead the agenda of system strengthening at district and block level. The project duration is till March 2026 and the position will be responsible for quality implementation, coordination, development, and reporting of the variant of the Literacy program in Giridih district. The position would serve as the main point of contact for Cluster Resource Persons and Block level officials on technical support being provided under the project. The position would plan, coordinate, and execute the CRPs training, monitor teachers training and orientation of government officials. The Program Associate will report to the District Project Lead. This position would be based in one of the allocated blocks and would involve frequent travel to field locations as well as regular interaction with education officials, school administrators, teachers, and students.

The position would identify quality implementation issues related to project design and management and discuss them with the supervisor and provide solutions at the field level.

Roles & Responsibilities:

Programme Planning, Management & Implementation

• Develop a thorough understanding of Room to Read’s Literacy program design.
• Oversee the implementation of the project at district level, ensuring timely, efficient and well-coordinated implementation, adhering to the program and budget guidelines.
• Overall lead different online and offline trainings organized for government functionaries, teachers, field staff and review meeting. Also, play role of key facilitator for these trainings.
• Support the District Lead in strategic planning and advocacy, including sustainability planning and future expansion decisions.
• 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, as announced by the government.
• Participate in workshops on material development, training module development and training of trainers.
• Support District Lead at district Level (including CDEO, ADPC, POs) and DIETs for system strengthening efforts.
• Attend review meetings at the block and cluster level and provide reflective feedback on program implementation and design issues and use those forums to advocate for enabling policies and government orders in support of RtR literacy program.
• Provide technical support to CRPs during supportive supervision of teachers and project monitoring visits. Identify gaps in skills and plan for their capacity building in discussion with the team.

• Contribute in policy (NEP/NIPUN/NCF) level strategic discussion with the District/State education Department.

• Represent Room to Read in different forums and advocate the importance of reading and need for libraries for children.

 Supervision & Reporting:

• Make regular joint visits to project schools with key government officials from block and district as per program design and in coordination with supervisor, for supportive supervision and monitoring as per defined template.
• Collect all the relevant information from field related to program design and implementation. Submit weekly and monthly report to the supervisor and CO as per the standard template.
• Analyse various data and information emanating from the field, develop programmatic co-relations and flag off issues for larger discussion.

Research and Monitoring:

• Collaborate with RME team to implement and maintain monitoring and evaluation efforts in program.
• Synthesize and analyse data and write summary reports by program based on the M&E results.
• Identify key issues around program quality and links between monitoring and evaluation and quality assurance and improvement.
• Represent Room to Read in different forums and advocate the importance of our educational work in the developing world.

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 and research or both
• 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. 

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.

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.

Application Procedure:

Kindly CLICK HERE to Apply.

Due to the high volume of applicant response, not all applicants may receive a response from Room to Read. Regret the inconvenience. 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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