The Girl’s Education Program is currently operating in 6 States across India – Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, New Delhi, Uttarakhand, Telangana and Maharashtra. Specifically, the program seeks to achieve increased years of schooling for girls and increase girls’ self-awareness, decision-making and problem-solving skills.
The Social Mobilizers are responsible for implementing the Girls’ Education program at the field level. They are the first point of contact for the girls whom we work with; they are also the point of contact for the schools and parents and hence are critical to the success of the program.
The social mobilizer will report to the Program Associate. The position will be field based; she will be responsible for a group of 80 girls as their mentor, support system and motivator.
Develop a thorough understanding of Room to Read’s Girls’ Education program design, objectives and outcomes.
Implement program activities as per design maintaining fidelity
Undertake corrective action and incorporate feedback when provided by the supervisor for life skills sessions etc
Participate in program planning in consultation with Program Associate and other state level staff.
Regularly attend weekly and monthly workshops where weekly and monthly plans are made and reviewed
Attend mandatory training of Social Mobilizers
Have a thorough understanding of social issues, safety concerns and child protection issues affecting girl participants and an awareness of available social safety net mechanisms, schemes and referrals. (With child protection and safety issues of girls that emerged through a study done in India last year and the new mentoring module that requires the program to address such issues, we need a social mobilizer who is well networked and well acquainted with existing social safety net mechanisms, schemes and also referrals; this skill was not required for our current social mobilizers)
Organize and lead family and community meetings and consultations with school staff, parents and community members/organizations as per design; discuss life skill content and issues with them in a tactful manner (especially sensitive/taboo issues like early marriage and attending school during menstrual cycle).
Seek opportunities for networking at local level and create a resource pool to be used as a referrals if there is a need
Facilitate visits of donors, INCO and SO team members
Facilitate and support SO/INCO team members in conducting research/ survey/ study/ data collection/ baseline etc.
Conduct life skills sessions for 90 girls in batches of 20-25 as per the prescribed session content and as per agreed plan. Each girl will need to be provided with a minimum of 16 life skills sessions in one year. This would require a thorough understanding of the content and skills of delivering it tactfully (especially the content related to reproductive health). The reproductive health sessions that has been introduced in the worldwide GEP modules require more experienced professionals who are well equipped to deliver the content as well as handle queries of parents and convince them on the need for these sessions.
Form Life skills clubs/Children groups and facilitate regular meetings and discussions of these groups; at least 8 meetings are to be held every year. Ensure that through these groups the girl participants develop skills of articulation and self-expression and initiate action on issues they face in their lives. This would require the social mobilizer to have excellent facilitation skills and understanding of the principles of child participation.
Distribute the newsletter GUPSHUP, initiate discussion around it and hold follow-up activities. (This requires an ability to engage with text in a magazine format written for girls – to eventually lead them into an analysis of the magazines/mass media and inspire them to express and deconstruct gender stereotypes)
Help girls to develop wall magazines and write for state-level Gupshup so that their voices can be captured
Mentoring: Conduct group mentoring sessions for 90 girls in batches of 10-12 girls as per prescribed content guidelines and record each session. Plan out the group mentoring sessions in association with the Program Associate, taking into account the needs expressed by the girls. Conduct individual mentoring sessions as needed. This may need creation of new content wherever needed (The new mentoring module being introduced requires social mobilizers to be barefoot counselors – not just mentoring girls in groups but also identifying challenges being faced by girls, developing sessions to address the challenges, identifying the content for these sessions and developing the content if needed)
Ensuring proper functioning and usage of GRC as per discussion with state GEP teams
Ensure the space is clean, safe and welcoming to girls
Ensure the space is well stocked with drawings/articles/ expressions of children’s voices ; changing and putting up the articles/drawings/paintings on bulletin board periodically at least once a month
Mapping data as per the risk and response protocol and then making specific home visits. (The objective of the risk and response protocol is to take action based on an analysis of the four risk factors for girls dropping out. This involves tracking of each girl, understanding the risk, flagging concerns, suggesting solutions, motivating the girls to take necessary action and ultimately preventing the girl from dropping out. All this requires a very high level of analytical and strategic thinking skills, which is not currently available in the SMs).
Undertaking regular school visits
Handling any critical matters that may emerge from these interactions
Organizing/conducting programmatic activities at school and community as per mutually agreed plan and responsible for managing relationships with school, community and respond to issues that may arise.
The quality of home visits is expected to be of high as the expectation is of higher levels of engagement and effective mentoring and outreach to families
Update records of attendance and parent meetings regularly
Prepare and submit weekly plans during weekly reviews
Timely record keeping, updating the data and sharing analysis of various parameters like attendance sheets , parents meetings, drop outs etc.
Filling up socio-economic profile of the girls
Regular physical verification of girls on sample basis
Periodic cohort risk assessment and analysis of it. Flagging issues of concern. It is expected that Social Mobilizers will undertake risk mapping of the entire cohort as many girls drop out during transition from grade 8 and grade 11. They would need to flag these cases and identify local solutions that may keep the girls in the schools.
Identify case studies of girls, schools/communities and best practices and gather all related data and information.
Maintaining stock register at school/center level
Provide a list of materials required for the girls to the supervisors.
Bachelor’s degree in education / social sciences or equivalent/ or higher
Minimum experience of 2yrs. (1-2 years of relevant experience in the education /development sector including internships).
Good verbal and written communication skills in English / Hindi and the local language of the state where position is based. Like Marathi for Mumbai location.
Master’s degree in education / social sciences or equivalent preferred.
Counseling diploma and/or experience of having worked on mentoring /counseling issues.
Experience working on life skills/gender /adolescents.
Strong planning and project implementation skills.
Ability to work in remote area and travel to communities for meetings.
Ability to work effectively with schools and communities
Strong written and oral communication skills
Good interpersonal skills and a team player
Have a passion for our mission and a strong desire to impact a dynamic non-profit organization
Be innovative and creative – not afraid to try something new and inspire others to do so
Have a solution oriented approach
Have a very high level of personal and professional integrity and trustworthiness
Have a strong work ethic and require minimal direction
Work well independently as well as part of a team
Thrive in a fast-paced and fun environment
Room to Read offers a competitive salary with excellent benefits. Benefits include thirteenth month bonus, health insurance and a retirement plan. The non-monetary compensation includes a unique opportunity to be part of an innovative, meaningful, and rapidly growing organization that is changing transforming the lives of millions of children in developing countries on literacy and gender equality in education.
Child Protection Principles
Room to Read is committed to the education and welfare of children and protecting them from abuse and exploitation
Room to Read has zero tolerance for child abuse and exploitation.
All children have the right to be free from abuse and exploitation, including neglect, maltreatment, and physical, mental or sexual violence, injury or abuse.
All children should be treated with respect and dignity.
The well-being of the child is Room to Read’s first priority when dealing with all identified or suspected cases of child abuse.
Room to Read shall integrate child protection into all its organizational strategies, structures and work practices.
Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) Principles
Room to Read Representatives must create and maintain an environment that prevents sexual exploitation and sexual abuse.
Room to Read has zero tolerance for adult sexual exploitation and abuse.
Sexual exploitation and abuse are serious violations of fundamental human rights and will not be accepted or tolerated.
All adults should be treated with respect and dignity.
Room to Read implements a survivor-centered approach, putting the survivor’s rights and dignity at the forefront.
Survivors referred to available professional assistance (e.g. mental health counselling), upon consent.
About Room to Read:
Founded in 2000 on the belief that World Change Starts with Educated Children®, Room to Read envisions a world free from illiteracy and gender inequality, where all children have room to read, learn and grow – creating lasting change. Through our Literacy Portfolio, we train and coach teachers of the early grades in literacy instruction; create and publish quality books and curricular materials in local languages; and establish children’s libraries filled with diverse children’s books that can be enjoyed at school and home. Our Gender Equality Portfolio supports adolescents, particularly girls, in developing life skills that promote gender equality, helping them to pursue lifelong learning and make informed decisions.
We support young people of all genders to overcome gender biases and build the knowledge and skills to create a gender-equal world. Room to Read collaborates with local communities, partner organizations, publishers, 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 benefited more than 50 million children in 28 countries.
Learn more at www.roomtoread.org.
