Literacy Officer, Quality Reading Materials

Job Description

LITERACY OFFICER, QUALITY READING MATERIALS

Organization Profile

Room to Read is a global organization transforming the lives of millions of children in low-income communities 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 during two time periods that 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 16.8 million children across over 37,000 communities in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Grenada, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Rwanda, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Vietnam, and Zambia. Learn more at www.roomtoread.org.

In Vietnam, Room to Read has been providing educational support in 20 years, establishing our presence in 46 provinces.

Position Overview

The primary responsibility of the Literacy Officer, Quality Reading Materials (“QRM”) is to ensure our Literacy Program schools are supplied with engaging, relevant and appropriate books that support the development of a habit of reading. This includes working with the Instructional Design and Teacher Support (“IDTS”) unit to identify the reading material needs of schools and surveying the books available in the market to fill those needs.  Where gaps exist in available books for purchase, the Literacy Officer, QRM is responsible for sourcing original content, reviewing, editing, producing and negotiating agreements.  S/he will also be required to research and form networks within the publishing industry to gauge local market trends and promote Room to Read as a key player in children’s book publishing.  The position will require some travel and involves frequent interaction with authors, illustrators, publishers, printers, and officials.  The position will report directly to the Manager, Quality Reading Materials.

Roles & Responsibilities

Management, Coordination and Implementation

• Responsible for working with the IDTS unit to identify the criteria for engaging, relevant, and culturally appropriate reading and instructional material for primary school grades, creating an ideal book and developing annual booklist for all active libraries.
• Responsible for evaluating, selecting and procuring materials from the marketplace that meet these criteria; where gaps are identified, work with local authors and illustrators to fill the gaps by commissioning and publishing reading materials, which involves sourcing local authors and illustrators, advising on story development, reviewing, editing, securing copy rights and ISBN codes, obtaining government approval, and sending to print.
• Collaborate with Admin/Procurement team during procurement and printing process to ensure needed materials bought and printing quality.
• Ensure global guidelines are being adhered to and adapted as needed.
• Establish guidelines for authors and illustrators to produce original, high quality content that is appropriate for target age groups, suitable for the local cultural context and functional as a tool for education.
• Organize training for Illustrators and Writers on writing and illustrating high quality child friendly books.
• Facilitate dialogues between QRM team, authors, translators and illustrators to ensure attention to detail and to steer efforts towards a shared vision of a final product.
• Liaise with IDTS team for recommendations on improving the content and layout of books and materials before submitting final drafts to Literacy Director for approval.
• Coordinate with Global Office to finalize English portions of published books, including dedication language, copyright information, story summaries, and author/illustrator biographies.
• Coordinate with Global Office staff to facilitate donor allocation of book titles including providing information about titles, and sending copies of books once they are printed.
• Submit printing plan, including specifications and budget estimation, to procurement committee.  Confirm specification and information as required by procurement committee.
• Participate in any other activities which may be required to be undertaken to fulfill the objectives of the organization.

Planning, Reporting and Documentation

• Collaborate with the CO Program Operations team on developing and providing oversight of the implementation calendar, budget, annual planning, quarterly reporting, and overall tracking of program implementation and spending
• Complete detailed written reports in a timely basis to the Manager, Quality Reading Materials regarding the status and progress of developing and printing books and other materials
• Document best practices and lessons learned during field work and shares with other project sites, relevant local staff, the Country Director and appropriate Regional and Global Office team members.
• Support donor affairs including supporting donor site visits and documenting anecdotes that evolve through field work.

External Coordination and Networking

• Establish and manages relationships with other NGOs, government officials and local educational facilities/authorities.
• Represent Room to Read in different forums and advocates for the importance of reading and the need for quality children’s reading materials.
• Stay informed about the local children’s book publishing industry, investigating major children’s book publishers and local market demand.
• Track changes in market trends with respect to content, format, types, age/grade levels, themes, language, etc., and uses this information to evaluate and inform Room to Read’s publishing initiatives.
• Build partnerships with organizations and associations involved with children’s books (e.g., NGOs involved with content development, writers groups, creative writing departments of universities, etc...) with the goal of becoming a key player in this community.

Qualifications

Required:

• University degree (in publishing, film and media, drama, education, languages, literature, communications, or a related field), or equivalent experience.
• A minimum of 7 years of related professional work experience
• Knowledge and understanding of local book publishing industry
• Experience managing a printing and publication process
• Manuscript editing, design and layout experience
• Facilitation and training skills
• Experience in developing and implementing programmatic improvements
• Prior success working closely and building relationships with diverse groups of people
• Prior experience in a fast-paced, growth-oriented global or regional organization
• Proven track record of achieving results
• Good verbal and written communication skills in English
• Ability to juggle multiple priorities simultaneously

Preferred:

• Knowledge and understanding of book leveling
• Knowledge and understanding of content development for quality children’s literature
• Effectiveness in working or volunteering in a non-profit organization that is focused on maintaining high quality work and low overhead

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 a dynamic non-profit organization
• Be an innovative and creative thinker – 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:

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 transforming the lives of millions of children in developing countries by focusing on literacy and gender equality in education.

Application Procedure:

• Please submit your application preferably with a cover letter, online by visiting our website www.roomtoread.org (about us > careers > see current vacancies).
• Or submit your application preferably with a cover letter to email address: [email protected]

We regret that we cannot respond to all applicants personally due to high applicant volume. Applications will be 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.