Regional Manager, Girls’ Education, Africa

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:

Based in Tanzania, the Regional Manager, Girls’ Education is a key member of the Girls’ Education team which is part of Room to Read’s Global Office Program Design and Technical Assistance (PDTA) Department. The primary duties of this position (approximately 60% time) are to work with the Tanzania and Zambia Country Office Girls’ Education teams to contextualize worldwide program content and professional learning materials for effective use in their contexts. These duties include preparation of Country Office staff for effective use of the contextualized Girls’ Education program resources. This position will also support countries with revisions and implementation of their current content while the worldwide implementation packages are being developed. As a secondary function (approximately 40% time), this position supports the development of the worldwide program design, program content and learning materials. Over time, this position will also support other technical assistance opportunities in Africa as they arise. This may include proposal writing, business development and/or program start up.  The Regional Manager reports directly to the worldwide Director of Girls’ Education who is based in Room to Read’s San Francisco Headquarters

Duties & Responsibilities:

• Work with Country Office Program Managers to contextualize Girls’ Education program content and professional learning materials for Africa
• Work with Country Office Program Managers to prepare Country Office program staff in Africa in the use of contextualized program content and professional learning materials, including delivering necessary orientations and trainings
• Contribute to the development of the worldwide Girls’ Education program design framework
• Support development of simple, user-friendly tools and resources for the Girls’ Education program incorporating best practices from current programming and including field-testing of tools and gathering of feedback to improve design and content
• Support development of professional learning materials that build the capacity of the target audience to effectively conduct the key activities
• Provide general technical support for Africa Country Office Program Managers on Girls’ Education program activities as required to address issues in program quality in content areas where worldwide content and professional development is not yet available
• Identify and provide input into business development opportunities as well as communication with the Development team as related to donor reporting on Girls’ Education program design and technical assistance activities
• Represent Room to Read internally and externally to share our work and advocate for our programs

Qualifications:

Required:

• • Master’s degree in a related field of study, e.g., education or related development sector;
  • A minimum of 7 years of related professional experience;
  • Experience working in the field of gender equality, life skills education, community- and youth-development;
  • Prior experience living and/or working in Africa;
  • Experience in development and implementation of program materials;
  • Experience in developing and implementation of program design improvements;
  • Excellent knowledge, understanding and experience in training adults and adolescents;
  • Experience providing support to multiple  regions and/or countries simultaneously;
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English;
  • Prior success working and building relationships with diverse groups of people;
  • Ability and desire to travel domestically and internationally approximately 30 percent of time; and
  • Effectiveness in working in a non-governmental organization that is focused on maintaining high quality work and low overhead

Preferred:

• Significant experience in one or more African countries of working with government schools, teachers, youth workers, and school-going adolescents;
• Proven track record of achieving results;
• Prior experience in a fast-paced, growth-oriented global or regional organization; and
• Ability to juggle multiple priorities simultaneously and take initiative

To be successful as a member of the Room to Read team, you will also:

• Have passion for our mission and a strong desire to impact a dynamic nonprofit organization
• Be an innovative and creative thinker that tries new things and inspires 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. 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 Procedure:

Please send a cover letter and resume by email, with “Regional GEP Manager, Africa” in the subject line, (no letters, calls, faxes, or drop-ins) to hiring@roomtoread.org.  Due to high applicant volume, we regret that we are not able to send personalized responses to all applicants.  Applications are 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.