Development & Accounting Volunteer, Australasia

Organization Profile:

Room to Read seeks to transform the lives of millions of children in developing countries by focusing on literacy and gender equality in education. Working in collaboration with local communities, partner organizations and governments, Room to Read develops literacy skills and a habit of reading among primary school children, and supports girls to complete secondary school with the relevant life skills to succeed in school and beyond.

Room to Read is non-governmental, non-religious and works with many local NGOs and community-based organizations to implement programs. Room to Read has operations in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Laos, Nepal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Vietnam, and Zambia - countries with a desperate lack of resources to educate their children. Since inception, Room to Read's worldwide team has impacted over 6 million children by constructing more than 1,500 schools, establishing over 13,000 libraries, publishing more than 700 new children's book titles in 11 local languages, and rewarding over 16,000 girls with long-term, holistic scholarships. 

Headquartered in San Francisco, Room to Read has an annual budget of approximately US$44 million, a global staff of over 600, and regional and/or program offices located in New Delhi, Pretoria, Colombo, Dar es Salaam, Dhaka, Ho Chi Minh City, Kathmandu, Lusaka, Phnom Penh, and Vientiane.

Volunteer Position Overview:

We are seeking a Development & Accounting Volunteer to join our Development office 2-3 days per week providing support with donation processing, generating receipts,  database administration and minor accounting tasks. This is an excellent opportunity for someone who is not only interested in supporting our fundraising process, but also excited about impacting positive change by recommending process improvements. This position will work directly with the Development Associate, Australasia at our Sydney office location. 

Tasks and Projects:

• Record all donations into Raisers Edge on weekly basis and create new records as needed
• Generate and assist with issuing receipts on weekly basis
• Prepare Excel files for upload and import to the donor database
• Report on expenses and deposits on monthly basis to Finance & Accounting team
• Ensure all gift support and documentation is saved on central server
• Assist with annual audit (Jan/Feb)
• Ad hoc database updates, data entry and special projects as needed

Qualifications:

• Ability to commit to a minimum of 6 months
• Ability to commit to 2-3 days per week (approximately 10-15 hours)
• 1-2 years of relevant work experience in either administrative support, database administration, or finance and accounting
• Excellent attention to detail with the ability to produce work that contains high level of accuracy
• Strong communication and organizational skills
• Adept at using Excel
• Knowledge of The Raiser’s Edge or other donor database systems preferred

To be successful as a member of the Room to Read team, you will also:

• Have a passion for our mission and a strong desire to impact a top tier non-profit organization
• Be an innovative and creative thinker that tries new things and inspires others to do so
• 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

Compensation:

This volunteer opportunity offers a unique opportunity to gain non-profit experience and be part of an innovative, meaningful, fun, and rapidly growing organization that is changing the world through education.

Application Procedure:

Please send your cover letter and resume with “Development & Accounting Vol” in the subject line, (no letters, calls, or drop-ins) to Australia@roomtoread.org.  Due to high applicant volume you may not receive a response from Room to Read.  Applications are accepted until the position is filled.

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