Associate, Literacy Field

Position Overview:
The Program Associate, Literacy Field leads the planning and execution for all work related to implementing Room to Read’s Literacy program at the field level and provides strategic, technical and management support. S/he will oversee the quality of implementation, coordination, development and reporting of the Literacy program for a set of schools. S/he would identify quality issues related to program design and management and discuss them with the supervisor and provide solutions at the field level. S/he would lead the teacher training and capacity building of government officials. The PA will report to the Program Officer. This position will involve frequent travel to field locations as well as regular interaction with education officials, school administrators, teachers and students. S/he would serve as the main point of contact for the school and local government officials and coordinate the work of other RtR staff in his/her jurisdiction.

Roles & Responsibilities:
Program Understanding:
- Have a strong understanding of Room to Read’s Literacy program design and the ability to present the program in various forums- S/he has good awareness of literacy programs, their design and strategies operating in project region.- Have good awareness on quality of program implementation and adherence to program guidelines for the set of schools under his/her jurisdiction.

Technical assistance and advocacy:
- Serve as a technical resource at the district level. Attend government meetings, discussions and committees on literacy and use those forums to advocate for enabling policies and government support in support of RtR literacy program.- Participate in the district and block level discussions organized by government counterparts and advocate for RtR approach through developing good understanding of foundational literacy and reading program.

Training, workshop and meeting:
- Jointly with Program Officer, conduct training of Resource persons and CRPs in the project location. Assist in planning for all teacher trainings at the district/state level.- Support the Resource person and RtR block level staff in conducting training of teachers- Provide technical oversight to the CRPs/BEOs and support them in their coaching and communication with teachers and schools. Identify gaps in their capabilities and plan for their capacity building in discussion with the State and Country office team.- Assist PO in district level review meeting, ensuring proper documentation of the meeting including follow actions.- Conduct monthly review meeting with DDPI and BEOs- Monitor and support block level RtR staff in conducting meeting with BEOs and CRPs at block level.

Program coordination and monitoring:
- Responsible for managing the implementation of the Literacy program for the all the schools in the project location, ensuring timely, efficient and well-coordinated implementation, adhering to the program and budget guidelines- Ensure program data entry and compilation on monthly, quarterly and yearly basis. Maintain high level of data quality.- Ensure effective utilization of program budget through proper planning and tracking of planned activities. Ensure that financial and procurement norms are adhered to and efforts are made to be reduce cost to the extent possible, without compromising on the quality.- Prepare cash advance, settlement, and reimbursement for program activities- Assist the Literacy Program Operations Officer in preparing programmatic and financial reports- Track progress of implementation and expenditures through regular review meetings and field visits; flag off deviations and delays at the earliest; ensure proper documentation of the meeting including follow up actions.- Assist PO in preparing regular (monthly, quarterly and yearly basis, including GSD data) qualitative reports and documenting case studies and best practices.

School visits:
- Make regular visits to program schools, observe classroom transactions, library activities, and speak to teachers and headmasters in coordination with Cluster Resource Person (CRP).- Provide regular coaching to Block level RtR staff to support the CRP and Teachers towards implementation of the programme activities

Others:
- Ensure proper implementation of community engagement plans- Participate actively on social media in all RtR campaigns.- Participate in any other activities which may be required to be undertaken to fulfill the objectives of the organization

Qualification & Experience:
Required:
- Bachelor’s Degree in education / social sciences or equivalent- Master’s degree in education / social sciences or equivalent preferred- Minimum 3 years of relevant experience in the education sector- Strong written and oral communication skills in state language- Critical thinking and analytical skills- Good interpersonal skills and a team player- Proven track record of achieving results- Proven ability to work effectively with schools and communiti