Program Officer

Position Overview:
The Program Officer Technical Assistance (PO-TA) leads the planning and execution for all works related to providing technical support at SCERT, SSA level and other institutions where scale up technical support is required. S/He will be responsible for implementing Room to Read’s Literacy Program technical support activities such as various workshops and coordinating studies for program quality and provides strategic, technical and management support. S/he will oversee the quality of program implementation of the Literacy program. If needed s/he may be assigned for overseeing the literacy program. S/he would identify quality issues related to program design and management and discuss them with the supervisor keeping the country office in loop and provide solutions at the field level. The PO-TS will report to the State Manager and will have dotted reporting to the Instruction Design and Technical Support (IDTS) INCO.

This position will involve frequent travel to district locations as well as regular interaction with education officials, organization and departments working with similar mandate, school administrators, teachers and students. S/he would serve as the main point of contact for the SCERT, SSA and other institutions and local government officials and coordinate the work of other RtR staff in his/her jurisdiction.

This position would preferably be based at State where key government institutions are based.

Roles & Responsibilities:
Program Understanding- Have an excellent understanding of Room to Read’s Literacy Program design and the ability to defend the program in various forums- S/he has good awareness of literacy programs, their design and strategies operating in project region.- Oversee the quality of program implementation and adherence to program guidelines in Literacy.

Technical Assistance and Advocacy- Serve as a technical resource at the state/district level, will organize and participate proactively in technical assistance discussions and workshops especially on early grade reading, library and life skills. Attend government meetings, discussions and committees on literacy and life skills and use those forums to advocate for enabling policies and government orders in support of RtR literacy program. Represent Room to Read in different forums and advocate the importance of reading, need for libraries for children, necessity of life skills for girls.- S/he will also be responsible for the coordinating various research studies that state may take in coming years on local language and developing various materials thereof.- Regularly communicate and work with government counterparts (SCERT, DIET, SSA, KGBV, Education department, Women and child development and others) 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 RtR approach through developing good understanding of state curriculum, text books and various education projects/programs.- Provide technical assistance to schools in teaching-learning of reading and life skills by using instructional materials, life skills sessions designed and produced and make suggestions for improving quality and utilization of these materials.- S/he will also be responsible for developing a cadre of Master Trainers on early grade reading, library and life skills issue in state and will follow up with them in providing technical support as and when required.- Liaison with State education departments, KGBVs, Ashram schools etc. to explore opportunities for technical assistance and devise a plan for the same- Build a state level literacy program network and make this as an advocacy event for early grade literacy.- Engage with print and electronic media to create visibility for Literacy- Identify and strengthen community development structures (SMCs, VCPC) for creating safety nets for girls and strengthening similar institutions at the State level.

Program Coordination and Monitoring- Responsible for coordinating with SCERT, SSA, Districts and DIET for the implementation of the Literacy program in the state.- Responsible for managing relationships with government counterparts and other stake holders in their jurisdiction and respond to issues that may arise in these relationships.- Working with other state team to coordinate advocacy part- 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.

Training, Workshop and Meeting- Provide technical oversight to the state Program team and support them accordingly.- Participate in IDTS INCO workshops on material development, training module development and training of trainers- Attend review meetings at the national level and provide reflective feedback on program implementation and