Program Associate, Literacy Field

Position Overview:

The Program Associate will be responsible for the intervention in his/her district and will have the following specific key roles and responsibilities:

Program Understanding:

• Develop a thorough understanding of Room to Read's Literacy program design and project deliverables.
• Have a strong awareness of Foundational Literacy and Numeracy programs, their design, and strategies operating in the project region.
• Develop a strong understanding of government education policies such as NEP 2020, NCF, FLN, SIQE, Mission Ankur, etc.

On-ground Implementation and Monitoring:

• Support the quality implementation of the project in the district and blocks, ensuring timely, efficient, and well-coordinated implementation, adhering to program and budget guidelines.
• Conduct regular visits to program schools, observe classroom transactions, speak to teachers and headmasters, and make suggestions for improving the quality and utilization of program materials.
• Support the District Lead by collating data from the field and communicating the same to SO and CO for necessary changes in pedagogy and material.
• Support in analyzing various data and information from the field, develop programmatic correlations, and flag issues for larger discussion.
• Participate in any other activities required to fulfill the organization's objectives.
• Support the effective utilization of the program budget through proper planning and tracking of activities. Ensure that financial and procurement norms are adhered to and work to reduce costs without compromising quality.
• Track program progress on key indicators according to the M&E framework during monthly meetings and throughout the project timeline.
• Participate actively on social media in all Room to Read (RtR) campaigns.
• Stay updated and share knowledge with the District Lead regarding new programs or interventions by like-minded organizations in the district.
• Identify operational bottlenecks and weaknesses and collaborate with the District Lead to come up with solutions.
• Support the District Lead in executing the project by leading all technical tasks in the district focused on capacity building of stakeholders at various levels (District, Block, Cluster, Schools), support uptake of materials, and establish coordination with stakeholders at the district level to sustain the impact and interventions from the program.

Government Liaison and Technical Support:

• Support the District Lead in participation in technical assistance discussions at the district level.
• Attend government meetings, discussions, and committees on foundational literacy and numeracy, using those forums to advocate for enabling policies and government orders supporting the RtR literacy program.
• Interact with key stakeholders (government departments and officials such as CDEO/ADPC/DEEO/RPs/DIET, etc.) as recommended by the District Lead to ensure program objectives are met and explore opportunities for systemic integration.
• Conduct discussions with stakeholders at multiple levels across districts to reflect on insights from field visits, monitoring data, and interactions, to formulate a way forward for the month.

Participate in Meetings/Workshops at State and INCO Level:

• Participate in IDTS workshops on material development, training module development, and training of trainers.
• Attend review meetings at the state/national level and provide reflective feedback on program implementation and design issues. Act as a conduit for transferring innovative ideas and practices from the national level (or from other states) to the field.

Planning, Reporting, and Documentation:

• Support the District Lead in preparing regular reports (monthly, quarterly, and yearly), including program data, qualitative reports, event reports, case studies, and best practices.
• Support and ensure all data entry and compilation on a monthly, quarterly, and yearly basis, including GSD, Dashboard data, maintaining high data quality.
• Develop actionable insights through the analysis of data collected via monitoring visits to further inform project implementation.
• Assist in preparing the implementation calendar, cash forecast, PRs budget outlook, AP&B, and regular tracking of budget management.

Qualifications:

Required:

• Master's degree in education, social sciences, or equivalent preferred.
• Minimum 3 years of relevant experience in the education sector.
• In-depth knowledge of foundational literacy, language, and reading practices and approaches.
• Strong written and oral communication skills.
• Critical thinking and analytical skills.
• Proven track record of achieving results.
• Proven ability to work effectively with schools and communities.
• Ability to travel regularly to project sites in remote locations.

Preferred:

• Ability to design Google forms, sheets, sites, dashboards, etc.
• Experience with data analysis using advanced Excel, SPSS, etc.
• Experience in developing short videos.
• Ability to design workshop session plans.
• Ability to lead facilitation in workshops for internal teams, teachers, and officers.
• Experience in designing modules, feedback forms, questionnaires, etc.

Room to Read is a child-safe organization.

Location(s):

India - Madhya Pradesh

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

• Have passion for our mission and a strong desire to impact a dynamic nonprofit 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.