Field Program Officer, Literacy Instruction Program

Position: Field Program Officer, Literacy Instruction Program
Duty Location: Vinh Long - Vietnam
Date of Issuance: 10 Mar 2012
Deadline for Application: 29 Mar 2012

Organization Profile
Room to Read is an International non-governmental organization currently working in 10 countries of Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Laos, Nepal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Zambia, and Tanzania. Our global headquarters is located in San Francisco, USA.
Room to Read partners with local communities throughout the developing world to provide quality educational opportunities by establishing libraries, creating local language children’s literature, constructing schools, and providing education to girls. We seek to intervene early in the lives of children in the belief that education empowers people to improve socioeconomic conditions for their families, communities, countries, and future generations. Through the opportunities that only education can provide, we strive to break the cycle of poverty, one child at a time.
Since our inception, Room to Read’s worldwide team has impacted over 4.1 million children by constructing 1,129 schools, establishing 10,000 libraries, publishing 550 new children’s book titles in 22 local languages, and putting over 10,000 girls onto long-term, holistic scholarships. Our long-term goal is to help 10 million children to gain the lifelong gift of education.
In Vietnam, Room to Read has been implementing five programs including the Reading Room (school libraries) program, the Girls’ Education program, the Local Language (book) Publishing program, the Literacy Instruction program, and the School Room (school construction) program in eight provinces.

Position Overview
This position works closely with and reports directly to a Senior Program Officer for Literacy Instruction Program. The Field Program Officer’s overall responsibility is to support and monitor the Literacy Instruction Program that is implemented at 10 selected primary schools in Vinh Long in collaboration with the, Literacy Instruction Program (LI) at Country Office. With support from the Senior Program Officer, the incumbent directly implements field activities as well as other program activities taken place at project schools and at the province. She/he will also support literacy facilitators in mentoring and coaching classroom teachers with their classroom practices in line with the Literacy Instruction Program. This position is preferably based in Vinh Long.

Duties and Responsibilities
1. Attend trainings for teachers to develop a strong understanding of literacy strategies, especially teaching and learning methodologies that improve the learning of Vietnamese language of children of grades one and two by teachers in classrooms
2. Attend trainings on school visits for literacy facilitators in order to know and apply well classroom observations, provision of mentoring and coaching support to teachers, lesson plan modeling, monitoring and reporting writing and provide support to literacy facilitators if necessary
3. Conduct classroom observations at 10 schools at least once per month following up with trainings for teachers in order to provide support to teachers, and to do data/information collection as suggested by the LI Country Team
4. Monthly meet with LI team to update/report on field activities, classroom observations etc.
5. Provide support to and participate in school meetings, Teachers Networking Meeting and Material Development Day and others relating literacy activities by LI Country team at schools
6. Communicate with the LI Senior Program Officer, on any issues of how program activities are implemented by teachers at schools including children’s learning conditions, classroom learning environment, changes with a school program for the Vietnamese language learning, teacher professional development etc...
7. Assist with the collaboration with schools, BoET, DoET officers on field visits by the LI Country Team, Room to Read ROGO and donors to schools
8. Collaborate with a Research officer for any relevant monitoring trips and data collection as suggested
9. Assist with distribution of literacy materials, learning and teaching aids to schools and report to line manager on any issues of usage of those materials by teachers and schools
10. Perform other tasks as assigned by the Senior Program Officer.

Qualifications
1. Bachelor’s degree in primary education,
2. Good knowledge and understanding of the current primary curriculum and education policies of the Ministry of Education and Training,
3. Good knowledge and practical experience with active teaching and learning methodologies at the primary level,
4. Experience of working with INGOs working in education areas,
5. Ability to travel frequently to schools in the province,
6. Good computer competency, including the ability to use Microsoft Word and Excel,
7. Experience in monitoring,
8. Report writing skills,
9. Good command of English is a plus.

Compensation:
The salary range for this position will be determined based upon the experience of the candidate hired. Benefits including health and a retirement plan are also provided. Additional benefits include 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 send your Cover Letter and Curriculum Vitae to Ms. Ngoc Diep at [email protected] with subject: ‘Monitoring and Evaluation Research Officer’.
Due to the high volume of applicant response, not all applicants may receive a response from Room to Read. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.