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IMPORTANT: All applicants must be legally eligible to work in the country where the position is located. Room to Read is not able to provide sponsorship.
Position Summary:
The District Lead, SPMU (State Project Management Unit) will report to the State Project Lead and will play a critical role in implementing the State’s FLN and Quality Education initiatives across all 24 districts. The role will involve close coordination with the state and district education departments to drive strategic execution, capacity building, and data-driven decision-making. The officer will lead a team of Project Associates (PAs) and District Academic Coordinators (DACs) and closely work in alignment with the SPMU team to ensure timely implementation of project activities and reform strategies. This role requires a balance of project monitoring, stakeholder management, team management, with an understanding of FLN & primary school education. The role will focus on system strengthening at district level, providing academic leadership, supporting implementation of state priorities on FLN and quality education, and ensuring effective stakeholder engagement.
About the Project:
Room to Read, in partnership with the Jharkhand Education Project Council (JEPC), is setting up a State Project Management Unit (SPMU) to strengthen the Quality Education ecosystem in the state over a five-year period (2025–2030). The SPMU will design and implement initiatives aligned with the state’s FLN (Foundational Literacy and Numeracy) Mission and other quality education interventions at scale across Jharkhand. This includes driving academic excellence, system strengthening, teacher development, data-based decision making, and community engagement across all districts
Roles & Responsibilities:
Project Implementation and Coordination:
Lead the initiative for all the 24 districts in improving FLN outcomes in the short and long term by fostering activities between districts, to drive change and prioritizing interventions that will improve the learning outcomes of children.
Review and finalize the insights and learnings from all the districts and block level review meeting and EVV data and share with SPMU for improvement of the project and achieving desired objectives.
Participate in monthly review meetings held in state and districts to support the DCs/DEOs/BPOs in setting the FLN focused agenda for these meetings, reflecting on insights from data collected by the districts, and prioritizing the project goals at the district level.
Aligning with state and district officials for timely delivery of FLN Kit/ Teaching learning Material to all schools.
Guide the team to facilitate district and block-level campaigns/events aligned with SPMU goals and ensure timely implementation.
Technical (Academic) Support:
Act as the district-level anchor of the SPMU, championing the FLN and Quality Education reform agenda across districts for primary grades.
Support teams to foster strong partnerships with district education functionaries to create a shared vision for FLN success.
Aligning with district officials for effective usage of existing and new teaching learning material by teachers, children, CRPs as desired.
Capacity Building and Training:
Lead capacity building of district officials in innovative thinking, leadership and effective execution leading to an overall improved administrative capacity in the district, by organizing learning visits, interactions with experts, facilitated and targeted FLN sessions.
Support team members to facilitate capacity building of key stakeholders including Block Education Officers and Cluster Resource Persons and teachers on technical (academic) knowledge and skills through regular trainings, workshops and meetings on FLN and quality education goals, ensuring coherence with the state roadmap.
Strengthen district mechanisms for quality data reporting through regular mentoring of stakeholders on the use of tools like the EVV app, to reflect on the data and use it for decision-making and course correction.
Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting:
Design systems and processes to support PAs and DACs to periodically review implementation progress and data collection for all districts using established monitoring tools (EVV) and frameworks. Collaborate with RM&E team to analyse district-level data, ensuring actionable insights reach to all relevant stakeholders.
Submit monthly reports to SPMU as per the project template, capturing achievements, gaps, and recommendations based on field insights.
Documentation and Learning:
Review and share key insights, case studies, and success stories from all the districts to build a repository of implementation learnings.
Communicate district-level experiences, challenges, and promising practices to the SPMU for iterative project design and scale-up.
Team Management and Mentoring:
Supervise and mentor a team of Project Associates (PAs) and District Academic Coordinators (DACs), supporting them in effective field engagement, data-based decision-making and achieving district level and state level FLN - quality education goals.
Build a strong performance and learning culture among the team through regular coaching and field accompaniment.
Any additional tasks allocated by supervisor, with-in the scope of the overall project and program implementation done by Room to Read across states.
Qualifications:
Required:
Postgraduate degree in Public Policy, Development Studies, Education, Management or a related field.
Minimum experience of 7 yrs in development sector, government engagement, with atleast 3 years of relevant experience in the school education scale-up project.
Prior experience of working with Government at state or districts level is a must.
Strong understanding of government systems, protocols, administration, and decision-making processes.
Excellent team management and coordination skills.
Ability to analyse data and generate insights for decision-making.
Strong verbal communication and writing skills in Hindi and good writing skills in English.
Compensation:
Room to Read offers a competitive salary with excellent benefits. Benefits include thirteenth month bonus, health insurance and a retirement plan. The non-monetary compensation includes a unique opportunity to be part of an innovative, meaningful, and rapidly growing organization that is changing transforming the lives of millions of children in developing countries on literacy and gender equality in education.
Child Protection Principles
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Room to Read is committed to the education and welfare of children and protecting them from abuse and exploitation
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Room to Read has zero tolerance for child abuse and exploitation.
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All children have the right to be free from abuse and exploitation, including neglect, maltreatment, and physical, mental or sexual violence, injury or abuse.
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All children should be treated with respect and dignity.
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The well-being of the child is Room to Read’s first priority when dealing with all identified or suspected cases of child abuse.
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Room to Read shall integrate child protection into all its organizational strategies, structures and work practices.
Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) Principles
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Room to Read Representatives must create and maintain an environment that prevents sexual exploitation and sexual abuse.
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Room to Read has zero tolerance for adult sexual exploitation and abuse.
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Sexual exploitation and abuse are serious violations of fundamental human rights and will not be accepted or tolerated.
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All adults should be treated with respect and dignity.
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Room to Read implements a survivor-centered approach, putting the survivor’s rights and dignity at the forefront.
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Survivors referred to available professional assistance (e.g. mental health counselling), upon consent.
Founded in 2000 on the belief that World Change Starts with Educated Children®, Room to Read envisions a world free from illiteracy and gender inequality, where all children have room to read, learn and grow – creating lasting change. Through our Literacy Portfolio, we train and coach teachers of the early grades in literacy instruction; create and publish quality books and curricular materials in local languages; and establish children’s libraries filled with diverse children’s books that can be enjoyed at school and home. Our Gender Equality Portfolio supports adolescents, particularly girls, in developing life skills that promote gender equality, helping them to pursue lifelong learning and make informed decisions.
We support young people of all genders to overcome gender biases and build the knowledge and skills to create a gender-equal world. Room to Read collaborates with local communities, partner organizations, publishers, and governments to test and implement innovative models that can be integrated into the education system to deliver positive outcomes for children at scale. To date, Room to Read has benefited more than 50 million children in 28 countries.
Learn more at
www.roomtoread.org
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