Literacy Director -Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

Organization Profile

Room to Read 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 which 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 10 million children across 17,000 communities in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Laos, Nepal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Vietnam and Zambia, and aims to reach 15 million children by 2020.

Position Overview

This position is responsible for overseeing the overall design and technical quality of Room to Read’s Country Office Literacy program. The Director will provide technical guidance, oversight, direction and support to the Literacy program. The position will closely collaborate with the Program Operations Director and other program Managers in the country. The Literacy Director is a member of the Country Management Team, reporting to the Country Director. This position will be based in Dar es Salaam and will require international and regular travel to project sites in the districts of Kibaha and Bagamoyo. The Literacy Director manages the Literacy program technical team, which includes: Quality Reading Materials Manager and, Instructional Design & Teacher Support Manager 

Roles & Responsibilities 

Management and Coordination

• Responsible for country-wide Literacy program quality and outcomes, utilizing research, monitoring and evaluation data to inform design. 
• Ensures strong coordination and collaboration between CO Literacy program technical staff, the Programs Operations Director and field level teams. 
• Oversees the transition from individual programs to a single, integrated Literacy program.(Instruction and Libraries)
• Provides technical expertise to assist country the recruitment, training, and development of Literacy program staff, and provide regular feedback on their performance.
• Identifies Literacy program staff capacity-building and professional development needs and assist the Human Resources team with sourcing of support to address the needs; provides similar support to partner capacity-building efforts.
• Conducts the technical evaluation of consultants and other service providers for the Literacy program.
• Serves as a member of the Country Management Team, which provides overall support and direction for the work of Room to Read in country.
• Participates in any other activities which may be required to be undertaken to fulfil the objectives of the organization. 

Program Design, Implementation, Training, and Monitoring

• Collaborates with the Global and Regional Literacy program team members in developing, refining, and adapting the global Literacy program design.
• Ensures global Literacy program guidelines and modules are being implemented and adapted to the local context, as needed.
• Provides technical advice and guidance in support of Literacy program implementation and research, monitoring and evaluation, including, where appropriate, government and NGO Partner staff that may be responsible for implementing various components of the Literacy program.
• Manages the implementation of the global Family, Community & Engagement (“F&CE”) strategy in country, including participating in the CO F&CE working group, supporting the creation and completion of a CO F&CE Implementation Plan, translating relevant tools and resources, overseeing staff F&CE capacity building in F&CE strategy implementation.
• Visits program sites to assess effectiveness of program design and implementation, training, workshops, as well as other purposes.
• Provides support to Country Office Administrative team in purchase and procurement for Literacy programming, including documentation and reporting of procurements.

Planning, Reporting and Documentation

• Provides the technical input necessary to support the Program Operations Director’s Literacy program annual, quarterly and periodic budget development, reviews and reporting processes.
• Oversees the collection, documentation and sharing of effective practices from the Literacy program with Country, Regional and Global Literacy program teams.
• In collaboration with the Country and Global Research, Monitoring & Evaluation (“RM&E”) team, oversees the collection and usage of program metrics that can be analyzed by RM&E to enhance the effectiveness of the Literacy Program.
• Assists the Development team by giving input into fundraising strategies for the program, preparing funding proposals and reports, and meeting with donors, as required.

External Coordination and Networking

• Provides the technical input necessary to prepare annual or multi-year project proposals and fund release documents as appropriate.
• Explores opportunities with government to identify opportunities for program complementarity.
• 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 required in a related field of study (e.g. MA, MSS, MPA, or MSc in International Education, Development Studies, Education, or Early Childhood Development)
• Substantial, relevant working experience in education programs
• Experience working within literacy development programs
• Minimum of 10 years of work experience in a field focused on primary education, with a minimum of three years in a senior management capacity
• Demonstrated leadership in program planning and design
• A proven ability to establish effective working relationships and partnerships with diverse stakeholders, including donors
• Strong coaching, mentoring and training skills
• Experience working with NGOs and government sector
• Effective English communication skills (oral and written) and capability to relate and interact with multicultural teams and represent the organization in professional forums
• Willingness to work to strict deadlines
• Ability to travel frequently, occasionally on short notice, and, when required, for extended periods of time both in Tanzania and internationally

Preferable:

• A Tanzania national
• Experience in language education at the primary stage
• Experience teaching at the primary stage
• Experience working with local communities

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 nonprofit organization
• Be an innovative and creative thinker; you’re 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

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 the lifelong gift of education.

Application Procedure

Please send a cover letter and resume by email, with Literacy Director in the subject line, to tz.info@roomtoread.org 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 an equal opportunity employer committed to identifying and developing the skills and leadership of people from diverse backgrounds.