Program Associate, Gep

Position Overview:
The Girls’ Education Program (GEP) Associate spends the majority of his or her time providing direct support to the Social Mobilizers (SMs) and assists the Program Officer in carrying out all activities of the GEP. The position will be field based and will involve frequent travel to the areas of work. The work will entail providing direct support to social mobilizers, supporting and sometimes facilitating SM trainings, working 1:1 and in groups with SMs regularly - ideally weekly to ensure that they are effective in their roles in working with girls, and when needed plan effective life skills or mentoring sessions with girls. They will also be responsible for strengthening linkages with like
- minded organizations, liasioning with block/district level officials, regular program and financial tracking, collecting program data and entering it into RtRs database and determining and delivering material support for girls participating in the program. The Program Associate reports to the Program Officer and manages a set of SMs.

Roles & Responsibilities:
Program Implementation and Training (Manage Social Mobilizers):
- Set a schedule of weekly and monthly review and feedback sessions with direct reports.- Support SMs in planning and facilitating Room to Read’s life skills activities (sessions and clubs). Support may include helping an SM set her schedule of lifeskill session with girls, observing a session and providing feedback to the SM, or other activities needed to help SMs succeed in their core responsibilities.- Support SMs to mentor girls. This may include providing ideas for group discussion topics and coaching the SMs on how to handle difficult topics.- Support the SM in identifying and supporting girls at risk of dropping or failing out of school using Room to Read’s risk and response protocol.- Facilitate SM weekly and monthly review meetings to discuss and identify solutions to challenges SMs are facing in program implementation and in working with the girls and communities.- Develop subsequent plan for capacity building of partner staff (wherever applicable) and Social Mobilisers.- Conduct annual performance review of SMs.- Support the PO/PM in conducting the Social Mobilizers’ trainings. This may include co-facilitating training sessions.- Directly conduct life skills sessions with girls on critical issues like sexual and reproductive health, career plans and any other as deemed fit.- Develop a linkage with school authorities and communities are supportive of the program - liase for a GEP room dedicated for life skills classes and mentoring.- Participate in regular trainings and meetings with Room to Read staff.- Ensure feedback is given to specific Social Mobilizers and recorded in written regularly.- Develop a school profile for each of the enhanced schools and regularly update.- Writes case studies 4 in a year.- Participate in donor site visits and provide information to donors about Room to Read’s Girls’ Education Program as needed.

Family, school and community engagement:
- Lead on parents’ workshop and parents meeting as planned with support from Social Mobilisers.- Identify local needs of the community and explore topics for probable parents meeting topics.- Regular meeting and providing program update to school staff including head teachers and creating playing the role of a catalyst promoting the school to think of girls’ education and solutions to problems affecting girls in the catchment area of the school with support from SM.- Share list of scholarship schemes and entitlements with parents in an accessible form.- Maintain a database of all the schemes and benefits our girls’ scholars are getting and facilitating all girls to get the same.

Liasioning, networking and building linkages at the field, block and district level:
- Plan and organize trainings and meetings for government officials (block and district level).- Building linkages with like-minded organizations for referral services for girls after discussing with Program Officer.- Create linkages with school management committees, child protection committees and any other as required to create safety nets for girls and conduct regular meetings with them.- Liaison with school authorities for providing space for life skill centers.- Exploring and ensuring girls have access to State level scholarships and can also avail citizenship entitlements.- Initiate networks for girls’ education at district level.- Support Program Officer for creating visibility of GEP in District and State level.

Ensuring Quality program at the field level:
- Conduct discussions on Program Quality with SM during review meeting jointly with PO.- Share learnings from INCO level review meetings.- Understand and work on factors that may impede quality and fidelity on the field.- Tracks to see if quality standards are being met and provide updates to PO.- Use LS observations form and basis this provides feedback to Social M