Job Description
Regional Manager, Girls’ Education & Gender Equality, Southeast Asia
Program Design and Technical Assistance Department
Organization Profile:
Founded in 2000 on the belief that World Change Starts with Educated Children®, Room to Read is creating a world free from illiteracy and gender inequality. We are achieving this goal by providing support during the two most critical time periods in a child’s education: primary school for literacy acquisition and secondary school for girls’ education. Our Literacy Program trains and coaches teachers, creates quality books and curricular materials and establishes libraries filled with diverse children’s books in local languages that can be enjoyed at school or home. Our Girls’ Education Program helps girls build skills to succeed in secondary school and make key life decisions by providing life skills curriculum, opportunities for mentorship and peer support, and family and community engagement.
Room to Read collaborates with local communities, partner organizations 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 reached 18 million children in 37,000 communities across Bangladesh, Cambodia, Grenada, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Rwanda, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Vietnam and Zambia, and plans to benefit 40 million children by 2025. Learn more at www.roomtoread.org [1].
Position Overview:
Based in Cambodia or Vietnam, the Regional Manager, Girls’ Education is a key member of the Girls’ Education and Gender Equality Program (GEP) team which is part of Room to Read’s Global Office Program Design and Technical Assistance (PDTA) Department. The primary duties of this position are to support the Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam Country Office Girls’ Education teams to strategically increase program scale and sustainability, engage with government and donors when appropriate, increase the organization’s thought leadership in gender equality and girls’ education in the region, and support country offices in designing and delivering high quality program offerings (monitoring program delivery for technical quality, and proposing improvements in program design).
This position will also support Southeast Asia Country Offices with overseeing the design and contextualization of new curricula and program materials if appropriate. The Regional Manager reports directly to the worldwide Senior Director of Girls’ Education who is based in Room to Read’s San Francisco Headquarters.
Duties & Responsibilities:
Technical and Strategic Leadership (45%)
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Serve as a liaison in the strategic conversations between Room to Read’s Southeast Asia country offices and the Global Office in San Francisco.
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Work with Country Office Management Teams in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos to identify and take advantage of opportunities for new projects supporting GEP priorities or scale in key areas, including distance learning, gender-transformative programs for boys, and gender-transformative climate education.
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In collaboration with the Global Senior Director, support Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos country offices to increase/incorporate greater gender sensitivity in their work, including components of our work with boys.
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Identify and support business development opportunities in collaboration with the global Development team as related to donor engagement, reporting, and proposal writing.
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Write op-eds, articles and other written pieces increasing Room to Read’s thought leadership on life skills, girls’ education and gender equality in Southeast Asia and globally.
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Identify and take part in conferences, roundtable discussions, coalitions and other fora advancing girls’ education, life skills and gender equality in Southeast Asia;
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Represent Room to Read internally and externally to share our work and advocate for our programs, traveling extensively in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos to support countries’ programmatic needs and, as needed, and for worldwide conferences or other events.
Technical Guidance and Support (40%)
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Support country offices in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos in designing and delivering high quality, gender-transformative program offerings in key areas identified in collaboration with country offices and the global headquarters.
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Provide technical support, orientation, and capacity building for Country Office Program Managers in Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos for ongoing program implementation and contextualization of program content as needed.
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Monitor program delivery in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, ensuring technical quality, and proposing improvements in program design when appropriate.
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Serve as technical lead and manage new GEP projects within the Southeast Asia region and beyond, as appropriate.
Knowledge Sharing & Coordination (15%)
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Support the creation of knowledge-sharing systems to facilitate communication and collaboration among countries in Southeast Asia, and with all Room to Read country offices and programs globally.
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Collaborate across Room to Read departments (Program Operations, Finance, Development, Research, Monitoring & Evaluation, etc.) to support Southeast Asia country teams in routine program planning, budgeting, monitoring, and reporting processes, including participating in regular regional calls with other departments
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Participate in regular calls and meetings with the global GEP team, including standing 1:1 discussion with the Sr. GEP Director and Associate Director
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Contribute to and complete other tasks and projects as a member of the larger PDTA departmental team
Qualifications:
Required:
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Master’s degree in a related field of study, e.g. gender equality, education, international relations, or related development sector
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A minimum of 10 years of related professional experience in the international development field, with at least five years specifically on overseeing and managing programs in the field of gender equality, and/or education programs
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Experience working with civil society, multi-lateral institutions and government in Vietnam, Cambodia and/or Laos
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Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English
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Experience in supporting staff through direct and dotted lines of management, and prior success working and building relationships with diverse groups of people
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Experience delivering trainings as a lead trainer or technical coach and/or developing training materials
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Experience in program design and/or developing technical program content and curriculum
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Ability and desire to travel domestically and internationally up to 40 percent of time
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Collaborate across Room to Read departments (Program Operations, Finance, Development, Research, Monitoring & Evaluation, etc.) to support Southeast Asia country teams in routine program planning, budgeting, monitoring, and reporting processes, including participating in regular regional calls with other departments
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Participate in regular calls and meetings with the global GEP team, including standing 1:1 discussion with the Sr. GEP Director and Associate Director
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Contribute to and complete other tasks and projects as a member of the larger PDTA departmental team
Preferred:
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Significant experience and/or knowledge of governmental policies and priorities in one or more Southeast Asian countries regarding gender equality and education
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Experience and knowledge in one or more of the following fields: climate change, positive masculinity, distance learning; positive youth development; girl-centered learning; psychosocial wellbeing
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Experience providing support to multiple countries simultaneously
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Experience managing projects and programs funded and implemented by a variety of bi-lateral, multi-lateral and private sector institutions
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Prior experience in a fast-paced, growth-oriented global or regional organization
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Recognized thought leadership in the field of girls’ education, gender equality and life skills (e.g. published blog posts, articles, part of national coalitions, etc.)
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Knowledge of Vietnamese Mon-Khmer, and/or Laotian is highly beneficial.
To be successful as a member of the Room to Read team, you will also:
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Have a passion for gender equality, life skills and education
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Be an innovative and creative thinker; you’re not afraid to try something new and inspire others to do so
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Have a very high level of personal and professional integrity and trustworthiness
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Have a strong work ethic and require minimal direction
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Work well independently as well as part of a team
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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 go to www.roomtoread.org [2] and then under "About" go to "Careers" -> “See Current Vacancies" -> Select “Vietnam-Main-Ho Chi Minh” at Locations to apply for this position.
Alternately, go to this link Regional Manager, Girls’ Education & Gender Equality, Southeast Asia (myworkdayjobs.com) [3] for uploading your resume and cover letter.
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. Room to Read is a child-safe organization; all personnel are expected to adhere to Room to Read’s Child Protection Policy and Child Protection Code of Conduct.