About Us - Career Opportunities

Job Description

Southern Africa Regional Program Director

Organization Profile

Room to Read partners with local communities throughout the developing world to provide quality educational opportunities by establishing libraries, creating local language children's literature, constructing schools, providing education to girls, and establishing computer labs. We seek to intervene early in the lives of children in the belief that education empowers people to improve socioeconomic conditions for their families, communities, countries, and future generations. Through the opportunities that only education can provide, we strive to break the cycle of poverty, one child at a time.

We are non-governmental, non-religious and work with many local NGOs and community based organizations to implement our programs. We currently work in Cambodia, India, Laos, Nepal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and Zambia - countries with a desperate lack of resources to educate their children. In 2007, we began our expansion into Bangladesh.

Since our inception, Room to Read's worldwide team has impacted over 1.9 million children by constructing more than 440 schools, establishing over 5,600 libraries, publishing 226 new children's book titles in 11 local languages, and putting over 6,900 girls onto long-term, holistic scholarships. We are one of ten non-profits to have won the Fast Company / Monitor Group Social Capitalist award five years in a row and have been featured in a variety of media including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, CNN, The Oprah Winfrey Show, and PBS.

Room to Read has an annual budget of approximately US$22 million, and our global staff numbers over 175; both of these figures will continue to grow rapidly in 2008. Our global headquarters is located in San Francisco, our Asia Regional Office is located in New Delhi, and we have program offices in Colombo, Ho Chi Minh City, Kathmandu, Lusaka, New Delhi, Pretoria, Phnom Penh, and Vientiane. Our long-term goal is to help 10 million children to gain the lifelong gift of education.

Position Overview

The Southern Africa Regional Program Director provides guidance and capacity building to local in-country teams regarding all aspects of Room to Read's programs including the monitoring and evaluation of all programs. The position will report directly to the Southern Africa Regional Director and have frequent communication with the Global Program Director and the Global Monitoring and Evaluation Director. This position is part of the Southern Africa Regional leadership team.

Duties & Responsibilities

  • Review the performance and identify priorities for all Southern Africa in-country programs through regular visits, dialogue with country teams and desk reviews under the direction of the Southern Africa Regional Director
  • Liaise with Country Teams to ensure high quality, effective and efficient management of programs and the successful achievement of annual programmatic and budget goals
  • Work with Country Directors and Country Program Directors to set priorities and targets for the Annual Plan and budget process and assist country teams to finalize their budgets including detailed program budgets and implementation calendars. Liaise with the Country Office and Global Office for review and appraisal of the annual plan.
  • Design, implement and analyze annual monitoring activities for all of Room to Read's programs in Southern Africa in collaboration with the Regional Director and Global Programs and Monitoring and Evaluation Teams
  • Enable, advise, train and provide support to Country Directors and Country Program Directors to train and mentor staff with the goal of helping them develop in their teams the necessary knowledge and skills to monitor project/program implementation and run methodologically strong evaluations of their projects and programs and to ensure adherence to M&E standard practices, policies and specifications
  • Identify key issues around program quality particularly the links between program design, monitoring, evaluation, quality assurance and improvement
  • Support Country teams in accurately completing donor reports and assist with the management of in-country visits by donors
  • Guide country offices in contextualization and adaptation of identified best practices by designing and facilitating training workshops with Program staff to ensure a high level of understanding of Room to Read's work and best practices in program management and M&E
  • Work with the Global Program Director to design and maintain Room to Read Resource Guides that serve as the guideline for managing our programs and in country operations
  • Represent Room to Read in different forums (within the organization and externally) to educate about our programs and advocate for them
  • Stay informed about research and trends in the area of M&E and educational issues as they pertain to our programs in the region. Recommend improvement to our systems accordingly.
  • Network with other non-profit organizations running similar programs to find areas of collaboration and knowledge sharing
  • Perform other duties as required by the Southern Africa Regional Director

Qualifications

Required

  • Masters degree in a related field, i.e. education, social sciences, international development
  • A minimum of ten years of professional experience in a development organization, specifically in education program management, with a minimum of 3+ years in a senior management capacity
  • Experience in developing and implementing program improvements/innovations
  • Strong technical competence in education program design that incorporates research, monitoring and evaluation methods; a good understanding of issues in education, especially primary education
  • Strong analytical, quantitative and qualitative skills
  • Ability and desire to travel frequently to programs sites and Room to Read offices throughout the region other countries as required
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English
  • Prior experience of working in an international setting or for an international NGO
  • Demonstrated ability to work in a multi-cultural, multi-national and gender sensitive environment and establish harmonious relationships both within and outside the organization
  • Ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously and take initiative

Preferred

  • Prior experience living and/or working in rural areas
  • Proven ability to work with data software packages such as SPSS/SAS
  • Experience in devising and implementing education policy at a national or international level

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, take initiative, 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. Benefits including health and a retirement plan are also provided. Additional benefits include 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 "Southern Africa Regional Program Director" in the subject line (no letters, calls, faxes, or drop-ins) to ruth@actionappointments.co.za. Due to high applicant volume, you may not receive a response from Room to Read. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

Room to Read is an equal opportunity employer committed to identifying and developing the skills and leadership of people from diverse backgrounds.