Literary director

Room to Read: Literacy Director
Wednesday 5 February, 2020 – 13:22

Room to Read South Africa
Opportunity closing date:
Tuesday, 31 March, 2020
Opportunity type:
Employment
Room to Read is a child-safe organization that 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.

Room to Read seeks to appoint a Literacy Director to be based in Pretoria.

Remuneration: Room to Read offers a competitive salary with excellent benefits. Benefits including 13th month bonus, pension fund, medical aid 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.

The purpose of this position is responsible for overseeing the overall design and technical quality of Room to Read’s South Africa Literacy program. The Director will provide technical guidance, oversight, direction and support to the Literacy program and manages the Literacy Program technical team. This position reports to the Country Director and based at the Pretoria Country Office and will require regular travel to project sites and Province or District offices.

Responsibilities:

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.
Provides technical expertise to assist country and field staff with 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 fulfill the objectives of the organization.
Collaborates with the Global and Africa Region 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.
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.
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 Regional 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.
Provides the technical input necessary to prepare annual or multi-year project permission and fund release documents, as appropriate, to obtain permission from government bodies at the national, provincial and district level.
Explores opportunities with government to obtain support (for example, financial support, public acknowledgment of Room to Read’s work, advocacy for successful Room to Read program elements) as well as replicate Room to Read’s ideas and innovations into the mainstream education system at the local, provincial, and national levels.
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.
Required:

Master’s degree 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.
In touch with literacy issues and trends nationally and internationally.
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.
Strong materials development skills.
Experience working with NGOs/a good understanding of the development sector landscape.
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 with strict deadlines.
Ability to travel frequently, occasionally on short notice, and, when required, for extended periods of time.
Preferred:
Knowledge/experience working with African languages, African language education and African linguistics.
Experience working with government schools.
Experience in language education at the primary stage.
Experience teaching at the primary stage.
Experience working with local communities
Applications must be submitted via www.roomtoread.org or emailed to za.hiring@roomtoread.org.

quote the source of this advertisement in your application – NGO Pulse Portal