Program Associate, Literacy Field

Position description

We work in collaboration with State Education Departments to bring reform by implementing large-scale system-led projects, with the goal of improving foundational learning (FLN) outcomes in students. Our team supports the State in designing and implementing an integrated program that encompasses multiple aspects of a reform process – ranging from designing effective classroom pedagogy to building salience and state capacity to deliver FLN at scale, while also strengthening governance and other critical enablers. Room to Read has partnered with the Education Department of Madhya Pradesh on a long-term engagement for system reform and a demonstration program in selected districts.

The Program Associate, literacy field will support the Program officer in the design of the program, execution, coordination with various stakeholders (government and non-profit partners) and delivering on a roadmap for building government capacity to sustain the impact and interventions from the program. The Program Officer will report to the State Manager and will have Program Associates reporting to him/her. This position will involve frequent travel to field locations as well as regular interaction with education officials, school administrators, teachers, and students.

Roles & Responsibilities:

The Program Associate will be responsible for the intervention in his / her district and will have the following specific key roles and responsibilities:

Program Understanding:

• Develop a thorough understanding of Room to Read’s Literacy program design and Project Deliverables;
• S/he has good awareness of Foundational Literacy and Numeracy programs, their design and strategies operating in project region;
• Develop a strong understanding of Govt’s education policies NEP 2020, NCF, FLN, SIQE, Mission Ankur etc.

On-ground Implementation and Monitoring:

• Support the quality implementation of the project in the district and blocks, ensuring timely, efficient, and well-coordinated implementation, adhering to the program and budget guidelines;
• Complete higher frequency of regular visits to program schools, observe classroom transactions, speak to teachers and head masters and make suggestions for improving quality and utilization of these materials;
• Support District Lead collating collated from the field to further communicate the same to SO and CO for necessary changes in the pedagogy and material;
• Support in analyzing various data and information emanating from the field, develop programmatic co- relations and flag off issues for a larger discussion;
• Participate in any other activities which may be required to be undertaken to fulfil the objectives of the organization;
• Support 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 reduce cost to the extent possible, without compromising on the quality;
• Track program progress on key indicators according to the M&E framework during monthly meetings and throughout the project timeline;
• Participate actively on social media in all Room to Read (RtR) campaigns;
• Stay updated and share this knowledge with the District Lead regarding new programs/interventions of the like-minded organizations in district;
• Identify operational bottlenecks and weaknesses, wherever applicable and come up with solutions for the same in consultation with District Lead;
• Support the District Lead in the execution of the Project by leading all technical tasks in the district focused on capacity building of stakeholders across all levels (District, Block, Cluster and Schools), support uptake of materials, and establish coordination with various stakeholders at the district level to sustain the impact and interventions from the program.

Government Liaison and Technical Support:

• Support District Lead in participation of technical assistance discussions at the district level;
• Attend government meetings, discussions and committees on foundational literacy as well as Numeracy and use those forums to advocate for enabling policies and government orders in support of RtR literacy program;
• Interact with key stakeholders (government departments and officials such as CDEO/ADPC/DEEO/RPs/DIET etc.) as recommended by the District Lead to ensure delivery of program objectives and explore opportunities for systemic integration;
• Conduct discussions with stakeholders at multiple levels across the districts reflecting on the insights collated via field visits, monitoring data and interactions to formulate the way forward for the month.

Participate in Meeting/Workshops at State and INCO Level:

• Participate in IDTS workshops on material development, training module development and training of trainers;
• Attend review meetings at the state/national level and provide reflective feedback on program implementation and design issues. At the same time acts as the conduit for transferring innovative ideas and practices from the national level (or from other states) on to the field.

Planning, Reporting and Documentation:

• Support District Lead for preparing regular (monthly, quarterly, and yearly basis, including program data) qualitative reports and documenting event reports, case studies and best practices;
• Support and ensure all data entry and compilation on monthly, quarterly and yearly basis, including GSD, Dashboard data, maintaining high levels of data quality;
• Develop actionable insights through analyses of data collected via monitoring visits to further inform the project implementation;
• Assist for preparing Implementation calendar, cash forecast, PRs budget outlook, AP&B and regular tracking of budget management.

Qualifications:

Required:

• Master’s degree in education/social sciences or equivalent preferred;
• Minimum 3 years of relevant experience in the education sector;
• In-depth knowledge on foundational literacy, language and reading practices and approaches;
• Strong written and oral communication skills;
• Critical thinking and analytical skills;
• Proven track record of achieving results;
• Proven ability to work effectively with schools and communities;
• Ability to travel regularly to project sites in remote locations.

Preferred:

• Able to design google forms, sheets, sites, dashboard etc.;
• Data analysis through advance excel, SPSS etc.;
• Development of short videos;
• Able to design workshops session plan;
• Able to lead facilitation in workshop for internal team, teachers and officers etc.;
• Able to design modules, feedback forms, questionnaire, etc.

Application instructions

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