School Room Program Manager

Position: School Room Program Manager
Duty Station: Ho Chi Minh City
Deadline for Application: 2 September 2011
Date of Issue: 11 August 2011

Organization Profile
They are non-governmental, non-religious and work with many local NGOs and community based organizations to implement our programs. They currently work in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Laos, Nepal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and Zambia . Since our inception, Room to Read’s worldwide team has impacted over 5 million children by constructing more than 1,400 schools, establishing over 11,000 libraries, publishing 550 new children’s book titles in 22 local languages, and putting over 10,000 girls onto long-term, holistic scholarships.

Their Mission
Room to Read seeks to transform the lives of millions of children in developing countries by focusing on literacy and gender equality in education. Working in collaboration with local communities, partner organizations and governments, they develop literacy skills and a habit of reading among primary school children, and support girls to complete secondary school with the relevant life skills to succeed in school and beyond.

Their Vision in Vietnam
Room to Read Vietnam is working to become an established international non-government organization working on education quality for disadvantaged children. In partnership with local communities, we are committed to child-centered, creative, sustainable programs with high quality followed the Vietnamese lawful standards and regulations.

Position Overview
The School Room Program Manager is responsible for managing all activities of the School Room Program, Room to Read Vietnam , including, planning, implementation, budgeting, coordination,
monitoring and evaluation, and project reporting. S/he will also be required to research best practices and form networks within the construction industry to improve the effectiveness of the School Room program. This position requires a strong knowledge of construction planning and supervision, development of community engagement and contribution, knowledge of child-friendly school design, demonstrated experience managing -school construction projects, ability to network with relevant organizations, skills in budgeting and accounting, and demonstrated experience working with INGOs. This position will report to the Program Director, will directly supervise Program Officers and Program Associates.

Duties & Responsibilities
Program Operations
- To be responsible for survey and selection of construction sites in coordination with schools and local authorities.
- To be responsible for the overall design of the construction projects, as well as implementation progress
- To be responsible for trainings on community engagement activities for construction projects.
- To coordinate with Reading Room, Literacy Program, Local Language Publication for the implementation of cross program plans/activities
- To be responsible for budgeting and program reports including monthly, quarterly reports, donor reports and other reports for local governments.
- To be responsible for the installation of dedication plaques at construction projects.
- To provide guidance and support to program officers and program associates for the overall success of the implementation of program activities.
- Draft Memoranda of Understanding for all SR projects
- Collaborate with SRPOs to develop and verify BOQs for each construction project.
- Manage program database to ensure all required data is entered correctly and on time.

Meetings/Networking
- Establish and manage relationships with other NGO’s, government official and local educational facilities/authorities; schedule and attend meetings with them to coordinate planning and implementation of projects.
- Represent Room to Read at relevant meetings and occasionally assist in hosting key donor visits
- Document best practices and lessons learned during field work and share with other project sites, relevant local staff, the Program Director/Country Director and appropriate
- US based Program Officers

Monitoring and evaluation
- Coordinate with M&E team for monitoring, support and evaluation activities.
- Analyze information obtained through monitoring and evaluation initiatives for improvements
- Research new construction technologies and materials that are cost-effective and locally relevant to improve the quality and reduce the cost of our buildings.
- Develop and deliver trainings in construction techniques and monitoring activities to all SR staff to ensure a high standard of school construction.

Qualifications
Required:
- Bachelor’s degree in construction and field work or experience related to the tasks mentioned above
- At least 5 years experience in community development, particularly with INGOs working in the Education sector
- Ability to travel frequently– to project sites in provinces
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English and Vietnamese
- Good computer skills.

Preferred:
Good command of computer programs including AutoCAD, Autodesk, and MS Office suite, familiarity with databases, and internet skills

Compensation
The salary range for this position will be determined based upon the experience of the candidate hired. Health benefits are also provided. The non-monetary compensation includes a unique opportunity to be part of an innovative, meaningful, and rapidly growing organization that is changing the world through literacy and gender equality in education.

Application Procedure
Please send a Cover Letter that addresses how you meet our expectations for the position and Curriculum Vitae by email to Ms. Mai Ngoc Diep, Human Resource Department at [email protected].
While all applications will be carefully reviewed, please note that due high applicant volume we are unable to send personalized responses to all applicants.