Organization Profile:
Room to Read 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.
We are non-governmental, non-religious and work with many local NGOs and community based organizations to implement our programs. We currently work in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Laos, Nepal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Vietnam, and Zambia – countries with a desperate lack of resources to educate their children. Since our inception, Room to Read’s worldwide team has impacted over 7.8 million children by constructing more than 1,700 schools, establishing over 16,000 libraries, publishing over 800 new children’s book titles in 27 local languages, and reaching over 25,000 girls through our Girls’ Education program.
Room to Read has an annual budget of approximately US$43.7 million and our global staff numbers over 900. Our global headquarters is located in San Francisco, and we have smaller fundraising offices in Delhi, New York, Hong Kong, London, Mumbai, Sydney, and Tokyo. We have an Asia Regional Office located in New Delhi and program offices in Colombo, Dar es Salaam, Dhaka, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Kathmandu, Lusaka, New Delhi, Pretoria, Phnom Penh, and Vientiane.
Position Overview:
This position is part of the International Operations team. The Country Operations Manager, South East Asia (SEA) is primarily responsible for overall coordination and support to Country Directors and Country Management Teams (CMTs) in the annual planning and budgeting process and in the implementation of monitoring, reporting, and accountability and learning systems in order to ensure quality, efficiency, effectiveness and impact of RtR’s country programs. The position supports the alignment and linkages between country teams and Global Office teams that are responsible for technical support and building the capacity of country teams to contextualize and deliver effective and quality programs. The position is based in either of the program countries in SEA (Cambodia, Laos or Vietnam) and reports directly to the Regional Director, Asia.
Duties & Responsibilities:
Strategy & Planning:
- Support situational analyses and geographical targeting exercises as an essential part of adjusting the country programme to the fast-changing context to help achieve RtR’s goals
- Support Country Offices in the development and analysis of annual plans and budget
- Monitor and track execution of annual planning and budgeting, encouraging the use of monitoring data to foster improvement in program quality
- Encourage collaborative behavior across country teams in working towards the delivery of the annual plans and budgets, improving coordination, communication and maximizing the cooperation between country offices and the Global Office
- Maintain high level knowledge and information on country context in education, government, political, safety and security, and economic events and trends
Management and Coordination:
- Support the CMT to maximize planning, monitoring, support, reporting, accountability and learning systems to manage programs effectively
- Encourage the CMT to openly recognize and manage risk, set clear quality and accountability standards and support transparency in decision making processes
- Triage issues for [Asia Director /Africa Associate Director] action
- Identify and coordinate support needs from other departments as needed (HR, Finance, Technical, Admin)
- Monitor and communicate major country news including safety and security, travel warnings, political, economic, or social events that impact the Country Office
Program Implementation and Monitoring:
- Identify core capabilities/capacity needs across country programmes, liaising with the GO technical teams to plan and support capacity building for staff
- Review and analyze ongoing, monthly, quarterly and annual reports/data to identify best practices, challenges and support needs
- Encourage constant focus on solutions and results, active learning, sharing of knowledge and innovation for cost efficient, effective and sustainable alternatives that will impact more children
- Monitor program implementation through visits, implementation calendar tracking and regular communications
- Identify operational or program quality issues and alert Director or technical team as appropriate
- Ensure that partnership agreements with NGOs and government accurately reflect the realistic capacities of both parties; optimal efficiency and effectiveness; and the strategic priorities of Room to Read
Budget Management:
- Help country programme become more cost efficient, working with CMTs to set efficiency targets, identify areas where changes can be made and devise strategies to manage costs
- Analyze, review and provide feedback on quarterly forecasts with Finance and Country Office
HR/Personnel:
- In coordination with HR, analyze and respond to staffing models, competency models, and other Human Resources tools designed to improve effectiveness and efficiency
- Support on-boarding and orientation of new staff for operational related activities.
Development/Fundraising:
- Support development of grant proposals as requested
- Monitor, track and support external reporting to donors for quality, timeliness and accuracy
- Support coordination of donor site visits and treks
- Respond to Development department requests for information
Communications:
- In collaboration with Communications, review Country Office information and communications materials as needed
Qualifications:
Required:
- Related B.Sc./B.A. or equivalent degree; master’s degree preferred
- A minimum of 7 years of professional experience in the related field
- Strong planning and budgetary skills
- Direct and indirect project implementation experience
- Willingness and ability to travel frequently regionally and internationally, approximately 30%
- 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
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English
- Ability to juggle multiple priorities simultaneously and take initiative
Preferred:
- Significant experience living and working in one or more SEA countries
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 nonprofit organization
- Be an innovative and creative thinker; you’re 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. Benefits include 13th month bonus, retirement benefits such as Provident Fund and Gratuity, medical insurance for self and family, performance bonus etc. 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 “Country Operations Manager - SEA” in the subject line, (no letters, calls, faxes, or drop-ins) to [email protected] [1]. 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.