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ROOM TO READ
CHIEF PROGRAM OFFICER

Organizational Overview

Room to Read partners with local communities throughout the developing world to provide quality educational opportunities by establishing libraries, creating local language children’s literature, constructing schools, providing education to girls, and establishing computer labs. It seeks to intervene early in the lives of children in the belief that education empowers people to improve socioeconomic conditions for their families, communities, countries, and future generations. Through the opportunities that only education can provide, Room to Read strives to break the cycle of poverty, one child at a time.

Room to Read is non-governmental, non-religious and works with many local NGOs and community based organizations to implement programs. The organization currently works in Cambodia, India, Laos, Nepal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and Zambia – countries with a desperate lack of resources to educate their children. In 2007, expansion into Bangladesh began.

John Wood, Founder and CEO, launched Room to Read after a trek through Nepal. He visited several local schools and was amazed by the warmth and enthusiasm of the students and teachers, but also saddened by the shocking lack of resources. Driven to help, John quit his senior executive position with Microsoft and built a global team to work with rural villages to build sustainable solutions to their educational challenges. Founding Room to Read, John wove proven corporate business practices with his inspiring vision to provide educational access to 10 million children in the developing world.

Since inception, Room to Read’s worldwide team has impacted over 1.3 million children by constructing over 400 schools, establishing over 5,000 libraries, publishing over 220 new children’s book titles in 11 local languages, and putting over 4,000 girls onto long-term, holistic scholarships. It is one of ten non-profits to have won the Fast Company / Monitor Group Social Capitalist award five years in a row and has been featured in a variety of media including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, CNN, The Oprah Winfrey Show, and PBS.

Room to Read has an annual budget of approximately US$22 million, and the global staff numbers over 225; both of these figures will continue to grow rapidly in 2008. The global headquarters is located in San Francisco, the Asia Regional Office is located in New Delhi, the Southern Africa Regional Office is located in Pretoria, and program offices are located in Colombo, Ho Chi Minh City, Kathmandu, Lusaka, New Delhi, Pretoria, Phnom Penh, and Vientiane. Their long-term goal is to help 10 million children to gain the lifelong gift of education.

Chief Program Officer

The Chief Program Officer (CPO) is responsible for leadership and management of the headquarters-based programs team, which, in collaboration with the Regional Offices, provides guidance and technical assistance to Room to Read’s Country Offices. The CPO serves as the senior leader on educational program development and will occupy a strategically important role in the success of Room to Read. This person will directly manage program, monitoring and evaluation staff and interact frequently with regional and country office program operations. The position will report directly to the Chief Executive Officer and will have regular interactions with the Board of Directors and serve on the international management team of Room to Read.

The broad goals and responsibility facing the Chief Program Officer include:

Goals:

• Oversee setting overall educational program strategy for Room to Read across its five programs and all countries - Serve as a critical member of the senior management team helping to set strategic direction for the rapid growth and expansion of the organization worldwide;

• Work with program team to codify best practices for Room to Read’s programs so that they can be shared across existing countries of operation and rolled out in new ones;

• Manage the ongoing work of staff by serving as a supervisor, mentor, and coach who encourages collaboration, innovation, excellence, and professional development for all staff;

• Communicate effectively and exemplify Room to Read’s vision, values, and strategic goals to key internal and external audiences;

• Participate as a leader within the international education and literacy community;

• In collaboration with Global Monitoring and Evaluation Team, Regional staff and Country Directors, design, implement and analyze monitoring and evaluation projects for all of Room to Read’s programs;

• Manage the flow of information from the program team to the development team to assist in foundation, corporate and individual reporting requirements;

Responsibilities:

• Manage program staff at the Headquarters location including two direct reports and 13 indirect program staff

• In close coordination with the Chief of Operations and program operations team, oversee Room to Read’s global programmatic work to assist in setting and meeting budget and programmatic goals annually

• Work closely with the Chief of Operations to ensure quality implementation of all five of Room to Read’s programs across all countries

• Participate in planning the annual management team conferences for Headquarters, Regional and Country senior staff, which serves as an annual opportunity for training and idea sharing;

• Keep management team, Board of Directors and staff up to date on all program related information;

• Stay informed about research and trends in the area of international education and recommend improvements for Room to Read’s programs accordingly;

• Represent Room to Read by attending and speaking at different forums and advocate the importance of its educational work

Professional Qualifications and Personal Attributes

Beyond these objectives, the Chief Program Officer should ideally possess the following professional qualifications and personal attributes:

Professional Qualifications

• International education and monitoring and evaluation experience focused on K-12 grade levels in the developing world. Expertise in particular geography is not required as regional counter parts will have that specific knowledge and experience;

• Understands value of and has the ability to integrate M&E into programs and lead in building M&E capacity for program teams at all levels of the organization;

• Strong skills, training, and experience in professional development and management/mentoring.

• Prior experience living in a developing country.

• A management style that is outcome-oriented, but flexible, and that respects the capabilities and independence of staff, while providing them with a clear sense of direction

• Prior success working closely with and building relationships with staff, partnerships, donors and a Board of Directors

• Prior experience in a fast-paced, growth-oriented global or regional organization

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English

• Prior success working closely and building relationships with diverse groups of people

• Ability and desire to travel internationally

• A master’s degree or Ph.D. in a related field of study, e.g., MA or MPA in International Education, International Relations, or Nonprofit Management

Personal Attributes

• Have a passion for the mission and a strong desire to impact an up-and-coming non-profit organization;

• A capacity to listen and to work with others;

• An ability to inspire trust, a proven ability to lead and facilitate with strong interpersonal skills and an ability to move from ideas to action;

• An ability to communicate effectively and professionally with a diverse range of people from different environments, sectors, and society;

• An ability to listen to others and learn from their best ideas, demonstrating intellectual curiosity, approachability, and openness to input from all levels of staff;

• An ability to be stay grounded, trustworthy, an ability to give credit and recognition to others and personal style of acting with humility and grace – in sum a superb professional and personal presence;

Compensation

Room to Read offers a competitive salary with excellent benefits. Benefits include health, dental, vision, long-term disability insurance, and a 401K match. The non-monetary compensation includes a unique opportunity to be part of an innovative, meaningful, fun, and rapidly growing organization that is changing the world through the lifelong gift of education.

How to Apply

This search is being conducted by Daniel Sherman and Steven Sherman of Explore Company Executive Search in Washington, DC.

Interested candidates should e-mail a cover letter explaining how your skills and background fit this position and a resume to resumes@explorecompany.com. Please include Room to Read CPO in the subject line.

Room to Read is an equal opportunity employer committed
to identifying and developing the skills and leadership of
people from diverse backgrounds.

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