BOOK PUBLISHING PROGRAM MANAGER, TANZANIA

From the Guardian of 6th May

Organization Profile:

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, we 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.

We are non-governmental, non-religious and work with many local NGOs and community based organizations to implement our programs. We currently work in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Laos, Nepal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Vietnam, and Zambia – countries with a desperate lack of resources to educate their children. Since our inception, Room to Read’s worldwide team has impacted over 7 million children by constructing more than 1,600 schools, establishing over 15,000 libraries, publishing 800 new children’s book titles in 11 local languages, and rewarding over 20,000 girls with long-term, holistic scholarships.

Room to Read has an annual budget of approximately US$43.7 million and our global staff numbers over 500. Our global headquarters is located in San Francisco, and we have smaller fundraising offices in Delhi, New York, Hong Kong, London, Mumbai, Sydney, and Tokyo. We have an Asia Regional Office located in New Delhi and program offices in Colombo, Dar es Salaam, Dhaka, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Kathmandu, Lusaka, New Delhi, Pretoria, Phnom Penh, and Vientiane.

Position Overview:

The primary responsibilities of the Book Publishing Program Manager is to ensure our Literacy Program schools are supplied with engaging, relevant, and reading-level appropriate books and materials that support the development of reading of reading skills and a habit of reading. This includes working with the School Libraries team to identify the reading material needs of schools and surveying the books available in the market to fill those needs. Where gaps exist in available books for purchase, the Book Publishing Program Manager is responsible for coordinating all aspects of Room to Read’s publishing initiatives including sourcing original content, reviewing, editing, producing and negotiating agreements. S/he will also be required to research and form networks within the publishing industry to gauge local market trends and promote Room to Read as a key player in children’s book publishing. The position will require some travel within the country and involves frequent interaction with authors, illustrators, publishers, printers, and officials. The incumbent will report directly to the Program Director.

Duties & Responsibilities:

Identify the criteria for engaging, relevant, and culturally appropriate reading and instructional materials for primary school grades; create an ideal book and materials list.
Select and procure materials from the marketplace that meet these criteria.
Where gaps are identified, work with local authors and illustrators to fill the gaps by commissioning and publishing reading materials, which involves sourcing local authors and illustrators, advising on story development, reviewing, editing, securing copy rights and ISBN codes, obtaining government approval, and sending to print.
Collaborate with the Reading and Writing Instruction team unit to develop engaging teaching resources and materials.
Ensure global guidelines are being adhered to and adapted as needed.
Complete all Book Publishing program tasks, especially identifying the ideal book list, conducting a gap analysis process and coordinating with other teams to identify needs.
Establish guidelines for authors and illustrators to produce original, high quality content that is appropriate for target age groups, suitable for the local cultural context and functional as a tool for education.
Organize training for Illustrators and Writers on writing child-friendly books and illustrations.
Facilitate dialogues between the Book Publishing team, authors, translators and illustrators to ensure attention to detail and steer efforts towards shared vision of a final product.
Prepare an annual printing plan with specifications and budget estimates. Confirm specification and information as required by the Procurement Committee.
Coordinate with the Reading and Writing Instruction team for recommendations on improving book content and layouts before submitting final drafts to Program Director for approval.
Initiate and manage a writer’s competition in which manuscripts for children’s books are submitted and the best (as decided by a panel of expert judges) are published by Room to Read.
Complete detailed written reports in a timely basis regarding the status and progress of our printing activities.
Attend to donor affairs including hosting donor site visits and documenting stories that evolve through field work.
Document best practices and lessons learned during field work and share with other project sites, relevant local staff, the Country Director and appropriate US-based Program Officers.
Establish and manage relationships with other NGOs, government officials and local educational facilities/authorities
Advocate to the Program Director to help encourage donors to ‘adopt’ books. Provide information about titles that are coming to print and send copies of books to headquarters once they are printed.
Collaborate with community engagement staff and other local and outside volunteers to get program input
Complete monthly cash forecast and monthly expense reports.
Represent Room to Read in different forums and advocate the importance of reading and the need for quality children’s reading materials.
Stay informed about Tanzania’s children’s book publishing industry, investigating major children’s book publishers and local market demand.
Track changes in market trends with respect to content, format, types, age/grade levels, themes, language, etc., and use this information to evaluate and inform Room to Read’s publishing initiatives.
Build partnerships with organizations and associations involved with children’s books (NGOs involved with content development, writers groups, creative writing departments of universities, etc.) with the goal of becoming a key player in this community.
Participate in any other activities which may be required to be undertaken to fulfill the objectives of the organization.
Qualifications:

Required:
Bachelor’s degree in education, languages, communications, or a related field)
Minimum of 10 years of related professional work experience of which 3 years must be performed in managerial or leadership role.
Strong leadership and management skills
Hands on experience in programme management, that includes strategic planning, monitoring programme implementation, financial management and employee management;
Prior success working closely and building relationships with diverse groups of people and organizations
Experience in working or volunteering in a non-profit organization that is focused on maintaining high quality work and low overhead
Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English
Ability to juggle multiple priorities simultaneously
Preferred:
A master’s degree in a related field of study
Prior experience in the book publishing field
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 an up-and-coming 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
Compensation:

Room to Read offers a competitive salary with excellent benefits. Benefits including 13th month bonus, provident fund, medical allowance and check-up, health and accidental insurances for staff and their family; leaves and staff professional development. The non-monetary compensation includes a unique opportunity to be part of an innovative, meaningful, fun, and rapidly growing organization that is changing, transforming the lives of millions of children in developing countries by focusing on literacy and gender equality in education.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:

Please send a cover letter and resume by email, with “[BOOK PUBLISHER PM -TZ ]” in the subject line, through the apply now button below

or send by post to

Associate Director Africa,
Room to Read Tanzania,
Post Box 105459,
Ileje Street, Mikocheni B,
Plot No 36,
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

If you do not hear from Room to Read within one month of the closing date, please accept that your application was unsuccessful. Please note that late applications will not be considered and correspondence will be limited to short-listed candidates only.

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.