Literacy Director (LD)

Literacy Director (LD)

Organization Profile:

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 and non-religious organization 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 9.7 million children by constructing more than 1,930 schools, establishing over 17,534 libraries, publishing 1,158 new children’s book titles in 11 local languages, and providing more than 3,1636 girls with long-term, holistic support to complete secondary school with the skills to negotiate key life decisions.

Room to Read has an annual budget of approximately US$43.7 million and our global staff numbers over 1,000. 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 a Global Asia Office located in New Delhi and program offices in Colombo, Dares Salaam, Dhaka, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Kathmandu, Lusaka, New Delhi, Pretoria, Phnom Penh, and Vientiane. 

POSITION OVERVIEW

The LD leads the Literacy Unit of Nepal Country Office and be responsible for overseeing the overall design and technical quality of Room to Read’s Nepal Literacy Program. The LD will provide technical guidance, oversight, direction and support to the Literacy program. The position will closely collaborate with the Program Operations Director and Field Program Manager and shares the supervisory responsibility of the RtR field based teams responsible for technical and operations oversight of the Literacy Program. The LD is a member of the Country Management Team. The position will also require regular technical interactions with Room to Read's Global teams.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

Management and Coordination 

• Responsible for country-wide Literacy program quality and outcomes, utilizing research, monitoring and evaluation data to inform design. 
• Ensures strong coordination and collaboration between CO Literacy program technical staff, the Programs Operations Director and field level teams.
• Oversees the transition from individual programs to a single, integrated Literacy program.
• Provides technical expertise to assist country and field staff with the recruitment, training, and development of Literacy program staff, and provide regular feedback on their performance.
• Identifies Literacy program staff capacity-building and professional development needs and assist the Human Resources team with sourcing of support to address the needs; provides similar support to partner capacity-building efforts. 
• Conducts the technical evaluation of consultants and other service providers for the Literacy program. 
• Serves as a member of the Country Management Team, which provides overall support and direction for the work of Room to Read in country. 
• Participates in any other activities which may be required to be undertaken to fulfil the objectives of the organization.

Program Design, Implementation, Training, and Monitoring  

• Collaborates with the Global and Regional Literacy program team members in developing, refining, and adapting the global Literacy program design. 
• Ensures global Literacy program guidelines and modules are being implemented and adapted to the local context, as needed. 
• Provides technical advice and guidance in support of Literacy program implementation and research, monitoring and evaluation, including, where appropriate, government and NGO Partner staff that may be responsible for implementing various components of the Literacy program. 
• Manages the implementation of the global Family, Community & Engagement (“F&CE”) strategy in country, including participating in the CO F&CE working group, supporting the creation and completion of a CO F&CE Implementation Plan, translating relevant tools and resources, overseeing staff F&CE capacity building, and supporting the Field Manager(s) in F&CE strategy implementation.
• Visits program sites to assess effectiveness of program design and implementation, training, workshops, as well as other purposes. 
• Provides support to Country Office Administrative team in purchase and procurement for Literacy programming, including documentation and reporting of procurements.

Planning, Reporting and Documentation 

• Provides the technical input necessary to support the Program Operations Director’s Literacy program annual, quarterly and periodic planning and budget development, reviews and reporting processes. 
• Oversees the collection, documentation and sharing of effective practices from the Literacy program with Country, Regional and Global Literacy program teams. 
• In collaboration with the Regional and Global Research, Monitoring & Evaluation (“RM&E”) team, oversees the collection and usage of program metrics that can be analyzed by RM&E to enhance the effectiveness of the Literacy Program. 
• Assists the Development team by giving input into fundraising strategies for the program, preparing funding proposals and reports, and meeting with donors, as required.

External Coordination and Networking  

• Provides the technical input necessary to prepare annual or multi-year project permission and fund release documents, as appropriate, to obtain permission from the NGO affairs bureau, Directorate of Primary Education and/or other government bodies both at the national and district level.  
• Explores opportunities with government to obtain support (for example, financial support, public acknowledgment of Room to Read’s work, advocacy for successful Room to Read program elements) as well as replicate Room to Read’s ideas and innovations into the mainstream education system at the local, regional, and national levels. 
• Represents Room to Read by attending and speaking at relevant forums and advocates for the importance of Literacy program work. 
• Liaises with other NGOs running similar programs to identify areas of knowledge sharing and possible collaboration.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required:

• Master’s degree in related field of study (e.g. MA, MSS, MPA, or MSc in International Education, Development Studies, Education, or Early Childhood Development)
• Experience of working within literacy development programs
• Minimum of 10 years of work experience in a field focused on primary education and or education program, with a minimum of three years in a senior management capacity
• Demonstrated leadership in program planning and design 
• A proven ability to establish effective working relationships and partnerships with diverse stakeholders, including donors 
• Strong coaching, mentoring and training skills
• Experience working with NGOs
• Effective English communication skills (oral and written) and capability to relate and interact with multicultural teams and represent the organization in professional forums 
• Willingness to work with strict deadlines 
• Ability to travel frequently, occasionally on short notice, and, when required, for extended periods of time

Preferred:

• Experience working with government schools
• Experience in language education at the primary stage 
• Experience teaching at the primary stage
• Experience working with local communities 

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 a dynamic nonprofit organization
• Be an innovative and creative thinker; you’re 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 
• 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 including 13th month bonus, provident fund, accidental and health insurances for staff and their family; leaves and staff professional development. The non-monetary compensation includes a unique opportunity to be part of an innovative, meaningful, fun, and rapidly growing organization that is changing, transforming the lives of millions of children in developing countries by focusing on literacy and gender equality in education.

Application Procedure:

Please send a cover letter and resume by email, with “Literacy Director” in the subject line, (no letters, calls, faxes, or drop-ins) to nepal.hiring@roomtoread.org.  Due to high applicant volume, we regret that we are not able to send personalized responses to all applicants. Applications are accepted until the position is filled.

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.