Job Description
Position: Manager, Instructional Design & Teacher Support (Manager IDTS)
Location: Ho Chi Minh and other project sites
Employment: Full time
Starting: June, 2018
Organization Profile
Room to Read (RtR) is a global organization transforming the lives of millions of children in low-income countries by focusing on literacy and gender equality in education. Founded in 2000 on the belief that World Change Starts with Educated Children®, our innovative model focuses on deep, systemic transformation within schools in low-income countries during two time periods that are most critical in a child’s schooling: early primary school for literacy acquisition and secondary school for girls’ education. We work in collaboration with local communities, partner organizations and governments to develop literacy skills and a habit of reading among primary school children and ensure girls can complete secondary school with the skills necessary to negotiate key life decisions.By focusing on the quality of education provided within the communities and ensuring these outcomes are measured, we have created a model that can be replicated, localized and sustained by
governments. Room to Read has benefited 11.5 million children across over 20,000 communities in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Grenada, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Laos, Nepal, Rwanda, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Vietnam and Zambia, and aims to reach 15 million children by 2020.
Room to Read’s Literacy Strategy
Literacy is fundamental to exercising the right to a basic education and is crucial for economic, social and political participation and development. For these reasons, Room to Read has made literacy development a cornerstone of our work. The goal of our Literacy Program is for primary schoolchildren to acquire literacy skills and reading habits to become lifelong independent readers. One crucial input is regular access to books and other reading materials, which are scarce in many of the communities where Room to Read operates.
In Vietnam, Room to Read’s Literacy Program implements School Library Component which aims to establish school libraries and publish local language books to fill this gap. Room to Read ensures schools have access to quality reading materials in libraries by sourcing local-language materials and working with local authors and illustrators to develop original storybooks. Our literacy strategy capitalizes on our organizational strengths built over the last decade and defines a clear and carefully constructed path to the goal of increased literacy and a habit of reading in the children with whom we work.
Position Overview
This position is a member of the Instructional Design and Teacher Support Unit (“IDTS”), based within the Country Office Literacy Program technical team. This unit is responsible for managing Room to Read’s program design focusing on primary school library management and reading activities. In collaboration with the Global Literacy Team, and Country Teams, IDTS Manager is responsible for providing technical assistance, support and supervision on all aspects of the program design, including professional development to school and Room to Read staff about library management and activities. This position will be based in the Country Office and will report directly to the Literacy Director Associate. The IDTS Manager will directly manage the Instructional Design & Teacher Support team at the Country Office level, as well as dotted-line manage the Program Officers, who provide technical oversight and training at the field level. This position will involve frequent travel to project sites, as well as regular interaction with education officials, partners, school administrators, teachers and students.
Roles & Responsibilities
- Management and Coordination
- Supports, mentors and builds capacity of the Instructional Design & Teacher Support Unit, to continue developing their skills in understanding library management from both a theoretical and practical perspective.
- Provides technical assistance to the team and builds capacity for developing manuals, training modules and documenting best practices.
- Collaborates with the Quality Reading Materials (QRM) unit to ensure reading materials are appropriate and enhance reading habit.
- Participates in any other activities, which may be required to be undertaken to fulfill the objectives of the organization.
- Program Design, Implementation, Training, and Monitoring
- As needed, conducts an analysis to identify gaps for developing librarian skills, identifying content and structure for training materials, and designing training and workshop modules for librarians and teachers.
- Responsible for designing Room to Read’s approach to teacher and librarian professional support to develop students’ habit of reading, adapted as needed based on research, monitoring and evaluation data.
- Ensures the quality of all Room to Read trainings. This includes designing and conducting direct training for teachers, librarians, and principals, as well as building the capacity of RtR staff to conduct the trainings.
- Ensures global guidelines are being adhered to and adapted as needed.
- Provides library expertise to the Research, Monitoring & Evaluation (“RM&E”) team to support the design, implementation and refinement of monitoring and evaluation systems and procedures used to track progress against planned program outcomes.
- Planning, Reporting and Documentation
- In collaboration with the CO Program Operations team, analyzes annual program goals and budgets to ensure alignment with organizational strategies and priorities.
- Collaborates with the CO Program Operations team on developing and providing oversight of the implementation calendar, budget, annual planning, quarterly reporting, and overall tracking of program implementation.
- Prepares and review Literacy Program reports and responds as necessary.
- Collaborate with the GO Development and Communications Teams to write program-specific portions of funding proposals.
- External Coordination and Networking
- Collaborates with the government to build support for the program and identify ways to supplement and augment the government policy towards library.
- Represents Room to Read by attending and speaking at relevant forums and advocates for the importance of Literacy program work.
- Liaises with other NGOs running similar programs to identify areas of knowledge sharing and possible collaboration.
Qualifications
Required:
- Master’s degree in education, library science, or a related field of study.
- Minimum of 7 years of professional experience
- Excellent knowledge and understanding of teaching methodologies and training methodologies
- Excellent training skills, facilitation skills, coaching and mentoring skills
- Experience with library programming (e.g. book leveling, library management, reading/library activities that develop a habit of reading in children).
- Experience with developing and conducting TOT training programs
- Experience in developing and implementing programmatic improvements
- Understanding of monitoring, evaluation, and process documentation
- Prior success working closely and building relationships with diverse groups of people and organizations
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English
- Ability to juggle multiple priorities simultaneously
Preferred:
- Experience in developing and conducting on-site school support and coaching initiatives for teachers
- Development and use of observation and other monitoring tools and practices to assess progress of project interventions
- Effectiveness in working or volunteering in a non-profit organization that is focused on maintaining high quality work and low overhead
- Prior track record of achieving results in a fast-paced, growth-oriented global or regional organization
To be successful as a member of the Room to Read team, you will also:
- Have a passion for our mission and a strong desire to impact a dynamic non-profit organization
- Be an innovative and creative thinker - you are not afraid to try something new and inspire others to do so
- Have a very high level of personal and professional integrity and trustworthiness
- Have a strong work ethic and require minimal direction
- Work well independently as well as part of a team
- Thrive in a fast-paced and fun environment
Application Procedure:
Please submit your application preferably with a cover letter, online by visiting our website www.roomtoread.org [1] (about us > careers > see current vacancies).
Or submit your application preferably with a cover letter to email address: [email protected] [2].
We regret that we cannot respond to all applicants personally due to high applicant volume.
Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.
Room to Read is proud to be an equal opportunity employer committed to identifying and developing the skills and leadership of people from diverse backgrounds.