Country Director - Tanzania

Transcription

1 Job Title: Location: Duration: Pay: Expenses: Reporting to: Country Director - Tanzania READ Tanzania, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Permanent contract starting as soon as possible 23,000 per annum Budget will be provided for reasonable out of pocket staff expenses e.g. telephone, mobile internet and travel; two return flights to the UK per annum to coincide with annual planning cycles; insurance and resident permits Chief Executive (UK based) Introducing READ International This is an exciting opportunity to join the senior management team of an award-winning, dynamic, student-led charity and have a real hand in supporting the education of thousands of East African students. READ International is a student-led charity that works to improve access to educational resources in East Africa. Through a national network of Project Leaders we collect disused books from schools, the general public, and businesses. We send the most relevant, up-to-date, and high quality books to schools in Tanzania. Any books collected which are not relevant or appropriate to send are sold online or recycled to generate funding. Our work is led by students who inspire and encourage other young people to get involved. Our university Project Leaders travel to East Africa each summer to distribute the books directly to students and teachers in over 100 schools in Tanzania. Our Project Leaders spend time in the schools working with students to unpack books, introduce our curriculum matching guide, promote reading, and renovate the school library. In the UK our Project Leaders coordinate volunteer teams in their university or sixth form to collect and sort the books, fundraise, and work with local secondary schools to raise awareness of global citizenship, recycling and student volunteering. The Impact Since our first shipment of books in 2005, we have shipped over one million books to East Africa. We have also renovated 34 school libraries to ensure sustained use of the books. We have distributed books to over 1,000 schools and provided books for over 400,000 school students in East Africa. The demand for books in schools in East Africa continues to grow. In Tanzania the number of secondary schools has increased by 300% in the last 5 years from 750 to 2,250 schools. READ International wants to do more to improve access to books with the aim of increasing young people s literacy rates in East Africa, whilst at the same time empowering young people in the UK to become active volunteers and world change makers. Since registering as a charity we have had our work recognised in a number of ways. READ International was winner of 'Best New Charity' in the Charity Times Awards 2007, and Best International Aid and Development Charity in the Charity Awards 2010 and Best Corporate Partnership in the Institute of Fundraising Awards 2010 for our partnership with Big Yellow.

2 Since registering as a charity we have had our work recognised in a number of ways. READ International was winner of 'Best New Charity' in the Charity Times Awards 2007, and Best International Aid and Development Charity in the Charity Awards 2010 and Best Corporate Partnership in the Institute of Fundraising Awards 2010 for our partnership with Big Yellow. For more on our work, please go to READ in Tanzania Since our first programme in the Singida region of Tanzania in 2005, READ International has shipped a total of 1,303,890 books to East Africa. Working in partnership with the Tanzanian Ministry of Education and Vocational Training, UK volunteers have visited over 1,060 secondary schools to distribute these resources, carrying out activities with teachers and students to improve the use of textbooks within the schools. READ International has worked in over 16 regions of Tanzania, focusing as much as possible on schools in rural areas that are in need of support. In 2008, READ International embarked on a new project with the aim to further support book-usage in schools through our Library Renovation Programme. Working with Tanzanian school-students, READ International volunteers renovate an existing room which often is a library in name only. Over a 6 week period, volunteers repair and repaint the building, buy bookshelves, tables and chairs, catalogue and reference hundreds of books donated by READ International and vitally provide resources purchased in East Africa both in English and Kiswahili. To date READ International has carried out 30 Library Renovations, providing at least 12,000 students in a single year with an environment conducive to studying in as well as reading for pleasure. In 2012 we will complete another 14 library renovations during our summer programme. In July 2009, READ International opened its first office outside of the UK and established READ Tanzania. One staff member dealt with the initial office set up as well as developing processes that will allow READ International to improve the efficiency of its logistical operations, expand the support that it can offer to the schools and other educational stakeholders that it works with and develop a wider-reaching programme of collaborative activities to encourage both readership and youth engagement. In carrying out these activities, READ International has been supported by a number of key supporters in East Africa. As well as the invaluable support from the Ministry of Education, we have successfully engaged the Karimjee Jivanjee Foundation, BG Group, NCB, the WAMA Foundation, METL, KPMG, Pearson Longman and the Vodacom Foundation in the provision of funding, promotion and logistical support. The next phase of our work in Tanzania is to expand our presence, through building a staff team, expanding our programmes and to further develop relationships with key stakeholders and supporters. You will be reporting in to the Chief Executive (UK based) and working closely with the senior management team including the Head of UK Programmes and Head of Fundraising. The first key task in this role will be to develop and roll out our new Tanzanian Volunteering Programme which aims to engage Tanzanian university students in volunteering opportunities with READ International. In addition you will support the annual distribution when up to 50 UK volunteers will travel to Tanzania between July and September to distribute thousands of books to schools across the country. To support the distribution our team of UK based Regional Project Coordinator interns join the East African team for four months to manage to volunteers in their respective regions.

3 Who is who Role Description Working alongside the Chief Executive you will be responsible for overseeing the Tanzania programmes. This is a senior management post and requires someone with considerable experience of successfully working oversees to manage and develop programmes. You will need to be a results-driven, hands-on leader capable of strategic thinking and networking at a high level. You will build our Tanzania team and new programmes. You will be working from the Dar es Salaam office. Your role includes: Develop and implement the READ International Tanzania office operational plan in accordance with READ International strategic objectives for Representing READ International at a senior level at external meetings, events, and networking opportunities Establishing and managing our READ Tanzania office: o You will need to provide training and support for the Volunteer Manager, Admin Assistant, and interns o To take overall responsibility for recruiting new staff o To give regular supervision for these staff Developing, managing, and monitoring our East Africa budget

4 Overseeing our existing programmes (book distribution and library renovations) by supervising our Volunteer Manager, Admin Assistant and UK interns Launching our new Tanzanian Volunteering programme due to begin in early Autumn 2012 Developing our supporter base in East Africa with major donors, corporate, and individuals with the support of the Head of Fundraising Supporting the development of a monitoring and evaluation framework to help measure and communicate the impact of our work Working with the READ International Local Advisory Board to strengthen READ International s programmes in Tanzania Reporting on READ International s work in East Africa and how it is situated within the wider development context Developing frameworks of support for working in partnership with a range of key stakeholders including the Ministry of Education, schools, universities, NGOs, and private sector funders Developing READ International s knowledge of and relationship to the wider educational development community in East Africa and contribute to donor discussions Working in close contact with the UK senior management team and offer information and support to projects and Global Citizenship initiatives

5 Person specification Education & Qualifications Essential Desirable Graduate degree in relevant discipline In relevant subject including International Development Skills & Experience Experience of managing people and developing a team Proven ability to design, execute, and grow a solid and successful volunteer programme Proven ability to work effectively under financial targets and deadlines Experience of managing and building relationships with high value supporters Highly developed communication skills to convey information to a range of audiences in a clear, inspiring and confident way to achieve desired outcomes Astute networker with proven experience of building a network of contacts to support an organization Well-developed ability to control and manage a budget, keeping within financial limits, monitoring and forecasting income and expenditure, identifying possible shortfalls or overspends and taking timely and appropriate action Excellent organisational and time management skills and careful attention to detail to plan own work and the work of others to deliver objectives on time IT proficient with experience in working with Microsoft Office, including Outlook Excellent electronic communication skills to a level that can allow co-working with colleagues based in UK Excellent report writing skills Experience of leading a team Experience of working/living in East Africa Experience of volunteering Knowledge & Understanding Knowledge of volunteer management Knowledge of the issues affecting the provision of education in East Africa Knowledge of fundraising techniques and proposal development Personal Qualities & Attitude Passionate about developing and growing READ International Sound track record of demonstrating initiative and creativity to achieve desired outcomes

6 Confident and dynamic A positive and effective communicator Self-assured, determined and reliable Patient and prepared to deal with unexpected events and changes of plan Self-assured, determined and reliable Passionate about volunteering and development Willing to travel to the regions in Tanzania, to other East African countries, and the UK How to apply Please send your CV and cover letter detailing how you meet the person specification (no longer than 2 A4 sides) to Hannah Mitchell (Chief Executive) at Hannah.Mitchell@readinternational.org.uk. For more information about the role please contact Rose Blackie (current Country Director) at rose.blackie@readinternational.org.uk. The closing date for applications is 5pm Wednesday 15 th August. Applications should be sent via . IMPORTANT: Following this, shortlisted applicants must be available for an interview on the week beginning 20 th August. There will also be a second round of interviews on the week beginning 3 rd September. We will appoint this post by Friday 7 th September. Please note start date is negotiable depending on the successful candidate; however they will be required to travel to spend two weeks in Dar es Salaam from 8 19 October 2012 to support a handover.