Senior Associate, Program Operations

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.

Senior Associate, Program Operations will be part of the SPMU (State Management Project Unit) Country team reporting to National Lead-SPMU. The role will include CO (Country Office)-level SPMU activities, which would include tracking SPMU budget, Financial Outlook exercise, MIS reviews etc which are pivotal for financial tracking for the SPMU. Reviewing Monthly Progress Reports, Supporting GO (Global Office) related activities would include quarterly reporting, day to day co‑ordination, MIU updates, Sales‑force updates, monthly Budget vs Actual etc.

Room to Read, in partnership with the Jharkhand Education Project Council (JEPC), has set 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.

• Develop a good understanding of SPMU-JH intervention along with other interventions and make cross learning.
• Understanding and executing the annual planning of SPMU and budgeting exercise.
• Responsible for completing the pre‑work and preparation of background documents for the exercise.
• Coordinate with the Jharkhand state and other departments for the collation of information required to build the budget.
• Responsible for budget building and review of budgets along with program team point persons as well as states.
• Prepare and submit all supportive documents to finalize the submission.
• Support national lead in tracking SPMU activities and reviewing reports.
• Preparing PR, compiling QPRs and reviewing donor reports.

• Coordinate with the departments for input and review of data in Outlook (Monthly budget tracking exercise) in discussion with Finance team.
• Coordinate with SPMU for Cash Forecast and Budget versus actuals exercise.
• Responsible for identifying budget utilization patterns monthly and presenting the findings to management team.
• Other supportive data analysis exercises for tracking of budget as required.
• Ensure utilisation is as per plan, and inform POD (Program Director Operations) in case of any deviations.

• Collect and collate information for Quarterly Progress Reports and Annual Progress Reports.
• Collate information for submission of monthly MIU (Monthly Implementation Update).
• Responsible for preparing Annual Country Office Goals for the SPMU in collaboration with departments.
• Facilitate other requests from GO and dev team for information and support.

• Participate in any other activities which may be required to be undertaken to fulfil the objectives of the organization.
• Attend internal meetings (Literacy, planning, workshops, coordination meeting etc.) and external workshops as and when required.
• Perform other duties as assigned by the line manager.
• Undertake field visits of SPMU Interventions and Literacy program as required, in consultation with the Line Manager.

• Master’s in education / social sciences / Social Work/management/consulting or equivalent.
• Minimum 3-5 years of relevant experience.
• Knowledge of various programs and organizations in the field of early grade reading/literacy in India and abroad.
• Excellent managerial and interpersonal skills, including skills of managing and mentoring people.
• Good written and oral communication skills.
• Knowledge/ training in linguistics will be an added advantage.
• Have passion for our mission and a strong desire to impact a dynamic non‑profit organization.

Room to Read offers a competitive salary with excellent benefits. Benefits include thirteenth month bonus, health insurance and a…