Position title:  Senior Program Associate, Literacy field

Location:          Raipur, Chhattisgarh

Organization Profile:

About Room to Read 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 twelve states – Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi NCR, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh.

By working closely with the government and other partner organizations to create equal and robust education systems that reach the most vulnerable children and improve teaching and learning environments and materials, as of 31st December 2021, Room to Read India’s interventions resulted in:

• Establishment of 15,553 libraries

• 367,844 girls benefitting

• Training of 31, 395 teachers in various programs

• Tertiary education/job opportunities for 63.8% of scholars within a year after graduation

• Publishing of 220 Room to Read India titles, and distribution over 9.35 million books

Position Overview:

The Sr./Program associate (s) will work closely with the Program Officer in engaging with the respective block, district  and state education department of Chhattisgarh for delivering Foundational Literacy initiative. S/he will support the Program Officer in design of the program, execution, coordination with various stakeholders (Blocks/District/state level government and non-profit partners) and delivering on a roadmap for building government capacity to sustain the impact and interventions from the program. He will report to the Program Officer.

Roles & Responsibilities:

The Sr./Program associate will be responsible for the intervention in his / her districts and domain areas,  and will have the following specific key roles and responsibilities:

Program Understanding:

• Have an excellent understanding of Room to Read’s Literacy program (Demonstration and scaled up ) design and the ability to defend the program in various forums
• S/he has good awareness of literacy programs  (Demonstration and scaled up )  , their design and strategies operating in project region.
• Oversee the quality of program implementation and adherence to program guidelines for blocks and district under his/her jurisdiction.
• Develop a strong understanding of Govt’s education policies NEP 2020, NCF, NIPUN Mission, FLN.
• Must be having an overview of FLN implementation in other states of India and how the developmental partners are working to achieve FLN mission.

Support Program Strategy and Approach:

• Support to program officer on designing program strategy and creating an action plan with specific inputs from district, state.
• Co-develop actionable implementation plan for the district with clear timeline, budget targets, M&E framework, along with the program officer
• Support program officer in adapting program strategy based on on-ground learnings from blocks and district level.
• Attend review meetings at state 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 state level on to the field

On-ground Implementation and Monitoring:

• Interact with key stakeholders (government departments and officials such as CACs,BRCs,DMCs DEOs and DM etc.) on a day-to-day basis to ensure delivery on program objectives.
• Provide technical oversight to DIET, 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.
• Create ownership for the program among stakeholders.
• Develop strong working relationships with government officials at block, district and state level.
• Ensure program is delivered as per the plan and within the budget and timeline targets.
• Identify operational bottlenecks and weaknesses, wherever applicable and come up with solutions for the same in consultation with program officer.
• Track program progress on key indicators according to the M&E framework during monthly meetings and throughout the project timeline.
• Conduct regular field visits and joint visits with Govt officials in the block and district level.
• Co-ordinate all  activities (trainings, review meetings) related to Project.
• Develop community engagement plans as applicable.
• Identify gaps in the operational capabilities and plan for their capacity building in discussion with the program officer.

Planning, Reporting and Documentation:

• Support to preparing regular (monthly, quarterly and yearly basis, including program data) qualitative reports and documenting case studies and best practices.
• Support to high stake donor reporting, developing their annual work plan and its implementation.
• Support to prepare implementation calendar for literacy program and development of program tracking system for timely and quality implementation of activities.
• Support the program officer in strategic planning and advocacy, technical assistance, quality assurance, sustainability planning and future expansion decisions.
• Participate in any other activities which may be required to be undertaken to fulfil the objectives of the program/organization.

Qualifications:

Required:

• Bachelor’s degree in education/equivalent is required
• Work experience of minimum 5 years in development sector
• Experience with on-ground program implementation in a team lead role is crucial
• Experiences working with government and in education sector is required
• Fluency in Hindi is required and basic communication in English is preferred.
• Good knowledge of PowerPoint and Excel
• Desired skills include problem-solving and analytical skills, written and oral communication skills,
• Good presentation skills
• interpersonal skills and networking skills, and ability to work on tight deadlines

To be successful at Room to Read, you will also: 

• Have passion for our mission and a strong desire to impact a dynamic non-profit organization
• Be a proactive and innovative thinker who achieves results and creates positive change
• Have a very high level of personal and professional integrity and trustworthiness
• Embrace diversity and a commitment to collaboration
• Thrive in a fast-paced and fun environment

Compensation:

Room to Read offers a competitive salary with excellent benefits. Benefits include 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 transforming the lives of millions of children in developing countries on literacy and gender equality in education.

Room to Read has zero tolerance when it comes to child abuse and exploitation and believes that all children have equal rights to protection. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to the child protection policy, code of conduct and standards and will undergo rigorous reference and background check through third party. Background check will include the verification of employment history and criminal check. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Application Procedure:

Kindly CLICK HERE to apply for this position.

 

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.

Tags Jobs in Chhattisgarh Jobs in Raigarh Jobs in Literacy Jobs in NonProfit