Position: Program Manager - Reading & Writing Instruction (South East Asia)
Duty Station: Phnom Penh (Cambodia), Vientiane (Laos) or Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam)
Deadline for application: 08 April 2013
Date of Issue: 21 March 2013
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, 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 1,600
schools, establishing over 15,000 libraries, publishing 800 new
children’s book titles in 11 local languages, and rewarding over 20,000
girls with long-term, holistic scholarships.
Room to Read has an annual budget of
approximately US$43.7 million and our global staff numbers over 500. 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
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, Reading &
Writing 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 South East Asian
countries of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, as well as local and external
consultants, on all aspects of Reading & Writing 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 Teams in Girls' Education, School Libraries, Book
Publishing & School Construction and Country Teams, the Program
Manager is responsible for providing countries with technical assistance
and support on all aspects of their Reading & Writing
Instruction programming. This position will be based in one of the
program countries in South East Asia and will report directly to the
Deputy Regional Director for Asia.
Duties & Responsibilities:
Program Support
· Act as a program support and
technical assistance to countries. Such duties will include supporting
country teams with the following:
o All aspects ongoing implementation, revision and new design of reading & writing instruction programs
o Creation, implementation and
analysis of annual program goals and budgets to ensure alignment with
organizational strategies and priorities
o High quality, effective and efficient management of the program and successful achievement of annual goals
o 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
Reading & Writing 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 assigned program countries, and other Room to Read countries
to coordinate/collaborate with other Program Managers as requested to
review and monitor implementation of projects and train in-country staff
and provide hands on support for capacity building as required in
Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.
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) in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam to more
efficiently and effectively manage the program(s).
Capacity Building
· Work with RtR teams in
Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam to develop their skills in understanding
reading and writing 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 implementing the program and adapting the
global guidelines to each country’s national curriculum, developing
manuals and professional learning 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;
Academic knowledge of reading
acquisition and experience with teaching children to read or working
directly with teachers in teaching children to read;
Good understanding of explicit teaching
methodologies, the five key components of reading and how they should
be reflected in scripted lessons, and curriculum development;
Experience developing educational learning materials for students and/or teachers;
Experience facilitating professional development programs for teachers;
General understanding of assessment, both classroom continuous assessment and impact 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.
Preferred:
Prior experience of working in an international setting or an international NGO
Experience of working in the area of
improving student learning outcomes in schools including ways to provide
evidence for student improved learning .
Experience of working in teacher
development programs; improving classroom teaching methodology and
reading/language development programs
Language
Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English
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’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:
The salary range for this position will
be determined based upon the experience of the candidate hired. The
non-monetary compensation includes a unique opportunity to be part of an
innovative, meaningful, and rapidly growing organization that is
changing the world through the lifelong gift of education.
Application Procedure:
Please submit your resume and cover letter by email (no calls, faxes, or drop-ins, please) to asiahiring@roomtoread.org with “South East Asia Reading & Writing Instruction Program Manager" in the subject line.
Due to high applicant volume, we regret
that we cannot send personalized responses to all applicants. Only
shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
In case you cannot reach us through
email, please mail your applications to: Asia Regional HR Director, Room
to Read, D-30, East of Kailash, New Delhi – 110 065.
Room to Read is an equal opportunity
employer committed to identifying and developing the skills and
leadership of people from diverse backgrounds.
Last date for application: 08 April 2013
(Applications may also be accepted after the deadline).
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| Job Email id: | asiahiring(at)roomtoread.org |
| Download Attachment: | PM-RWI (SEA) - Vacancy Notice - March 2013.docx |
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