Program Manager, Literacy Instruction (South Asia)

Room to Read seeks to transform the lives of millions of children in developing countries by focusing on literacy and gender equality in education. Working in collaboration with local communities, partner organizations and governments, we develop literacy skills and a habit of reading among primary school children, and support girls to complete secondary school with the relevant life skills to succeed in school and beyond.

We are non-governmental, non-religious and work with many local NGOs and community based organizations to implement our programs. We currently work in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Laos, Nepal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Vietnam, and Zambia – countries with a desperate lack of resources to educate their children. Since our inception, Room to Read’s worldwide team has impacted over 6 million children by constructing more than 1,500 schools, establishing over 13,000 libraries, publishing 700 new children’s book titles in 11 local languages, and rewarding over 16,000 girls with long-term, holistic scholarships.

Room to Read has an annual budget of approximately US$44 million and our global staff numbers over 600. Our global headquarters is located in San Francisco, and we have smaller fundraising offices in Delhi, New York, Hong Kong, London, Mumbai, Sydney, and Tokyo. We have an Asia Regional Office located in New Delhi, a Southern Africa Regional Office in Pretoria, and program offices in Colombo, Dar es Salaam, Dhaka, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Kathmandu, Lusaka, New Delhi, Pretoria, Phnom Penh, and Vientiane.

Room to Read’s Literacy Strategy

Literacy is part of the right to a basic education and is crucial for economic, social and political participation and development. In order for children to acquire literacy skills to become lifelong readers and learners, one crucial input is regular access to books and other reading materials, which are scarce in many of the communities where Room to Read operates. Room to Read establishes libraries and publishes local language books to fill this gap. Since our inception, we have witnessed that children often do not have the grade-appropriate literacy skills needed to take full advantage of the Reading Room and Local Language Publishing resources. To achieve the long term goal of making all children independent readers at the primary level, Room to Read has initiated pilot programs for reading instruction and reading skills enrichment in primary schools. The pilots focus on providing supplemental teaching materials/aids and teacher professional development to support existing literacy instruction in the schools where we work. Our learning from the pilots will help us develop a strategy that both capitalizes on our organizational strengths built over the last decade and defines a clear and carefully constructed path to the goal of increased literacy and a habit of reading in the children with whom we work.

Position Overview

The Program Manager, Literacy Instruction is an education program management position with strong technical background and skills in literacy. This position is responsible for working with Room to Read staff in 2 or more South Asian countries (Bangladesh and Nepal), as well as local and external consultants, on all aspects of literacy instruction program development, implementing, revising and expanding that are in line with Room to Read’s new strategic plan focusing on literacy. In collaboration with the Global Literacy Instruction Team, Global and Regional Programs Team, and Country Teams, the Program Manager is responsible for providing countries with technical assistance and support on all aspects of their literacy instruction programming. This position will be based in Asia (Bangladesh or Nepal) and will report directly to the Asia Regional Literacy Director.

Roles & Responsibilities

Program Support

• Act as a program support and technical assistance to countries. Such duties will include supporting country teams with the following:

• All aspects ongoing implementation, revision and new design of literacy instruction programs
• Creation, implementation and analysis of annual program goals and budgets to ensure alignment with organizational strategies and priorities
• High quality, effective and efficient management of the program and successful achievement of annual goals
• Design, implementation and refinement of monitoring systems and evaluation systems and procedures used to track progress and achievements against planned program outcomes
• Collaborate with worldwide Literacy Instruction Team to write guidelines for standard practices, policies and specifications to be followed in the literacy instruction program
• Travel regularly throughout the year to Bangladesh and Nepal, and other Room to Read countries to review and monitor implementation of projects and train in-country staff and provide hands on support for capacity building as required

Knowledge Resource

• Research educational issues, especially as they relate to literacy instruction programs and Room to Read programs, and stay abreast of global trends and challenges in the field of developing reading skills among children
• Research and recommend improvements to our program(s) to more efficiently and effectively manage the program(s) in each country where we operate

Capacity Building

• Work with RtR teams to develop their skills in understanding reading/literacy instruction from both a theoretical and practical perspective
• Support and mentor Program Officers, ensuring that program activities are carried out in a timely manner and with attention to quality
• Plan and coordinate internal conferences and meetings for staff

Operations

• Collaborate with the Program Operations Team on oversight of Room to Read's operations globally including annual planning, quarterly reporting, and overall tracking of program implementation and spending
• Provide technical assistance to the teams and build capacity for developing manuals, modules and documenting best practices in their programs.

Communication

• Review program reports and respond as necessary
• Track, edit, and provide information to the Development Team regarding foundation, corporate and individual donor reporting
• Collaborate with the Development Team to write program-specific portions of funding proposals
• Represent Room to Read internally and externally to message our work and advocate for our programs
• Liaise with other Regional Office and Global Office teams to coordinate workflows and share program information
• Network with other non-profits running similar programs to find areas of collaboration and knowledge sharing.

Other

• Participate in any other activities, which may be required to be undertaken to fulfill the objectives of the pilots and ongoing program

Qualifications

Required

• A master’s degree in education or a related field of study;
• A minimum of 5-7 years of relevant professional experience;
• Experience working with or studying reading/literacy or learning improvement programs;
• Good understanding of interactive teaching methodologies, lesson planning, and curriculum development;
• Experience developing educational learning materials for students and/or teachers;
• Experience facilitating training programs for teachers;
• General understanding of monitoring and evaluation;
• Prior success working closely, and building relationships, with diverse groups of people and organizations;
• Ability to juggle multiple priorities simultaneously and take initiative;
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English;
• Ability to work creatively with Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Desired

• Experience in teaching and/or language education at the primary school level;

• Ability to speak Nepalese and or Bengali a plus.

To be successful as a member of the RtR team, you will also:

• Have passion for our mission and a strong desire to impact a dynamic nonprofit organization
• Be an innovative and creative thinker that tries new things and inspires 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
• Work well independently as well as part of a team
• Thrive in a fast-paced and fun environment

Compensation:

Room to Read offers a competitive salary with excellent benefits. Benefits include health insurance and retirement benefits. The non-monetary compensation includes a unique opportunity to be part of an innovative, meaningful, fun, and rapidly growing organization that is changing the world through literacy and girls' education.

Application Procedure:

Please send a cover letter and resume by email, with “Program Manager, Literacy Instruction (South Asia) in the subject line, (no letters, calls, faxes, or drop-ins) to asiahiring@roomtoread.org. Due to high applicant volume you may not receive a response from Room to Read. Applications are accepted until the position is filled.

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