Designation: Senior Associate, Literacy Field
Location: Rajasthan.
Company Profile:
Room to Read India was established in 2003 and presently has programs in twelve states – Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi NCR, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh. Room to Read is a global organization transforming the lives of millions of children by focusing on literacy and gender equality in education. Since 2000, Room to Read has benefited more than 52 million children across 29 countries. Learn more at www.roomtoreadindia.org
Position Overview:
The Senior Associate, Program Associate leads the planning and execution for all work related to implementing Room to Read’s Literacy program at the field and state level and provides technical and management support. They will oversee the quality of implementation, coordination, development, and reporting of the Literacy program for the whole state. They would identify intervention areas in alignment with State Government’s priorities and Room to Read’s vision and accordingly conceptualize programs, discuss them with the relevant internal and external teams, keeping supervisors in loop and implementing the agreed programs at the field level.
This position will involve frequent travel to field locations as well as regular interaction with education officials at State, District and Block level, school administrators, teachers and students.
Responsibilities:
Program Understanding:
- Have an excellent understanding of Room to Read’s Literacy program design and the ability to present and make sure program is adopted as is in various forums.
- Awareness of literacy programs, their design and strategies operating in project region.
- Oversee the quality of program implementation and adherence to program guidelines for the set of schools under their jurisdiction.
- Have an excellent understanding of the scale up designs and implementation of literacy interventions.
Technical assistance and advocacy:
- Serve as a technical resource at the state/district level and participate proactively in technical assistance discussions. Attend government meetings, discussions and committees on literacy and use those forums to advocate for enabling policies and government orders in support of Room to Read literacy program. Represent Room to Read in different forums and advocate the importance of reading and need for libraries for children.
- Regularly communicate and work with government counterparts to build awareness and understanding among them with respect to the Room to Read literacy program and its main features.
- Participate in the state level discussions organized by government counterparts and advocate for Room to Read approach through developing good understanding of state curriculum, textbooks and various education projects/programs.
- Provide technical assistance to project area school/block/district in teaching-learning by using instructional materials designed and produced especially for teachers and make suggestions for improving quality and utilization of these materials.
Program coordination and monitoring:
- Responsible for managing the implementation of the Literacy program being implemented in the State under his/her jurisdiction, ensuring timely, efficient and well-coordinated implementation, adhering to the program and budget guidelines.
- Responsible for managing relationships with school, community, government counterparts and donors in their jurisdiction and responding to issues that may arise in these relationships.
- 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 reduce costs to the extent possible, without compromising on the quality.
- Analyze various data and information emanating from the field, develop programmatic co-relations and flag off issues for larger discussion. Undertake at least one action research project every year.
- Monitor and maintain high level of data quality coming from field and generating reports as and when required.
School visits:
- Make regular visits to program schools, as required, to assess program implementation and impact. Observe classroom instruction and library activities, engage with teachers and headmasters, and provide timely, constructive feedback along with actionable corrective measures.
- Identify gaps in design and quality, including challenges faced during implementation. Discuss these issues with relevant internal and external stakeholders, and support the development and execution of appropriate solutions at the field level.
Training, workshop and meeting:
- Provide technical oversight to the team in line with the program structure, supporting them during monitoring visits and in their engagement with government teachers and schools. Identify capability gaps and, in collaboration with the IDTS (Instruction Designing and Technical Support) unit, develop and implement targeted capacity-building plans.
- Serve as the focal point for teacher training and program staff capacity building at the state level. Plan, design, and lead training sessions at both state and district levels to ensure quality implementation.
- Actively participate in IDTS workshops related to material development, training module design, and training of trainers initiatives.
- Attend national and state-level review meetings, offering reflective feedback on program implementation and design challenges. Facilitate the transfer of innovative practices and learnings from national or cross-state contexts to strengthen field-level implementation.
Planning, Reporting and Documentation:
- Responsible for preparing regular (monthly, quarterly and yearly basis, including program data) qualitative reports and documenting case studies and best practices.
- Responsible for high stake donor reporting, developing their annual work plan and its implementation.
- Participate in any other activities which may be required to be undertaken to fulfill the objectives of the organization.
Qualifications:
Required:
- 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.
- In-depth understanding of State’s FLN Mission Plan.
- 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 and frequently to project sites in remote locations
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 developing the skills and leadership of people from diverse backgrounds. EOE/M/F/Vet/Disabled.
How to Apply: