Program Operations Associate Manager, Literacy

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*** World Change Starts with Educated Children***#
** 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.
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* Location:

Tennessee, USA (with regional travel across Appalachia)
**** Position Overview
** The Senior Program Operations Associate (Associate Manager) supports the day-to-day coordination and delivery of Room to Read’s literacy programs in Tennessee and contributes to program expansion across the Appalachian region. The role manages assigned literacy initiatives—including summer reading programs, family literacy workshops, read-aloud workshops, and book distribution efforts—ensuring consistent, high-quality implementation across partner schools and communities.

The role serves as the primary point of contact for assigned schools and community-based partners and represents Room to Read in external meetings and site visits related to program implementation. The Associate Manager applies independent judgment in managing timelines, identifying implementation risks, and proposing practical solutions within established program frameworks. Internally, the role works closely with Literacy Program Operations, Publishing, Research, Monitoring & Evaluation (RM&E), and Fundraising teams to support aligned implementation and reporting.

This role requires demonstrated familiarity with rural Appalachian communities. Effective performance depends on the ability to build trust-based relationships with educators, families, and community partners by working in culturally responsive, relationship-centered ways that reflect local values, communication norms, and school and community contexts.

This is an individual contributor role with ownership of assigned programs and geographies.
** Responsibilities
* *** Program Implementation & Partner Management (45%)
*** Coordinate day-to-day implementation of assigned literacy programs, ensuring activities are delivered on time and to quality standards.
* Serve as the primary liaison for assigned partner schools and community-based organizations, supporting relationship management and issue resolution.
* Coordinate logistics for workshops, trainings, site visits, and book distributions.
* Implement programs in ways that are responsive to rural Appalachian community contexts, including local school environments and family engagement norms.
* Adjust communication and facilitation approaches to reflect local culture while maintaining program quality expectations.
* Support identification of new partners and strengthening of existing partnerships to support program delivery.
* Represent Room to Read in external meetings, workshops, and site visits related to assigned programs.
** Project Management, Planning & Tracking (30%)
*** Track program timelines, deliverables, and resources for assigned programs, flagging risks and delays.
* Support development and monitoring of operating plans and budgets for assigned activities.
* Maintain accurate program documentation, tracking tools, and resource inventories (e.g., books and materials).
* Compile and synthesize monthly and quarterly implementation reports for internal review.
** Monitoring, Data Quality & Learning (20%)
*** Conduct site visits to observe program implementation and provide clear, actionable feedback to partners.
* Support routine data quality checks to ensure accuracy, completeness, and consistency of program data.
* Support data collection processes, including indicator tracking and partner orientation as needed.
* Apply understanding of rural Appalachian school and community contexts when interpreting monitoring data and site-visit observations.
* Assist with analysis of monitoring data and contribute to recommendations for program improvement.
* Coordinate with the global RM&E team to support alignment with organizational monitoring standards.
** Program Growth & Continuous Improvement (5%)
*** Contribute implementation insights and lessons learned related to program delivery in Tennessee and Appalachia.
* Support documentation of best practices to inform future program design and expansion.
* Assist with refinement of tools,…