Your Great Talent Unlocks the World

World Change Starts with Educated Children.® At Room to Read, we believe there is no better investment than a child's education.

Our dynamic and global organizational culture makes Room to Read a fun place to work, filled with passionate and smart business-minded professionals who want to spend their days creating positive change in the world!

We have core values that advise us in our daily work. Our core values are the essence of who we are as an organization and they guide the relationships, processes, actions and decisions made by all employees at Room to Read.

Want to learn more about our staff? Meet the team here!

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Room to Read offers a unique opportunity to be part of an innovative, meaningful, fun, and rapidly growing organization.

We are committed to building and sustaining our engaged workforce through competitive compensations packages, and a number of programs and initiatives.

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The Good Stuff

Compensation and Benefits

We offer competitive salaries, health benefits and retirement savings.

Room to Read offers competitive salaries and excellent benefits. Benefits vary based on the local requirements and best practices in the country where the position is based.
Room to Read employees are encouraged to actively plan for long term financial stability, and Room to Read provides retirement savings contributions and/or pension plan matches depending on local practices and requirements.
Room to Read provides comprehensive medical and accident insurance for all employees. A variety of non-contributory plans are available worldwide.
All staff accrue paid time off and are encouraged to use it throughout the year!

Professional Development

We offer comprehensive on-boarding as well as rich and practical professional development opportunities for staff through our Professional Development Program.

Room to Read offers a thorough on-boarding process for new staff, a core supervisory training series for all Room to Read managers, supplemental development options, and stretch assignments to help all staff reach their professional development and career goals.
Our Professional Development Program is an ongoing initiative designed to help meet the needs of all Room to Read staff by offering tailored training and development opportunities that build staff capacity and facilitate career advancement.
Staff participate in a very thoughtful annual review and goal setting process. These processes allow individuals to set attainable goals and receive feedback from their peers and managers on their performance.

Annual Performance Bonus

Our performance bonus is another way we recognize and reward the amazing performance of our staff.

The decision to award the bonus is based on our annual organization-wide goals being achieved and our ability to fund the bonus. The bonus is distributed based on individual performance as determined through the Annual Review Process.

International Assignment Policy

We have developed an International Assignment Policy for those times when work takes you a long way from home.

In some cases Room to Read does hire expatriates (U.S. citizens living abroad) and Third Country Nationals (Non-U.S. citizens living in a country other than the U.S. or their country of citizenship) for regional positions or roles where local talent is not available. For those individuals choosing to accept employment outside of their home country, we offer benefits which meet their unique needs and we will share more details throughout the recruiting process.

Hiring @ Room to Read: Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between Global Office and Country Office positions?

Room to Read's Global Office (GO) works collaboratively, across multiple geographies, to design programs, develop and oversee worldwide policies, raise funds, and drive awareness for our work. Our Global Office is staffed by passionate, talented individuals from around the globe, with locations in North America, Europe, Asia/Pacific, Southeast Asia, South Asia and Southern Africa.

Room to Read's Country Offices (CO) work to contextualize and implement high quality programs based on Room to Read's global designs. Consistent with commitment to supporting local initiatives, our Country Offices are staffed primarily by local/regional nationals. We maintain Country Offices in Southeast Asia, South Asia and Southern Africa.

What is your hiring philosophy?

Recruitment for all Global Offices positions is managed out of Room to Read’s San Francisco Headquarters and the Asia Global Office based in New Delhi. Each Country Office has the authority to recruit their own staff and make hiring decisions with input from the Global Office as necessary.

We prioritize hiring local nationals whenever possible, and we are dedicated seeking out talent within all of our labor markets. We’ve found that by doing so we build the capacity of the local labor market; maintain strong relationships with local governments; and strengthen our relationships with local communities which leads to long term success and sustainability in our regions.

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

What is the recruitment process like?

We strive to create a thoughtful and efficient recruiting process that gives both Room to Read an opportunity to get to know candidates and candidates the opportunity to get to know us. We’ve found that this approach is the only way to make a perfect match.

We will ask you to complete an application that asks for some general information about you and your professional experience, but we’ll ask most of our questions as part of a conversation that starts with a recruiter phone screen, and eventually includes a wide range of team members. We want to make sure you have a chance to get to know us so that there are no surprises when you join the Room to Read team, and we love thoughtful questions!

The interview process varies a bit from country to country and position to position, but in most cases you can expect the following:

A phone screen with one of Room to Read’s recruiters
A second round interview either in person, by phone or video conference with the hiring manager
A final round interview, that is typically conducted in person, and includes all members of the hiring team as well as key members from other teams in the organization. Since we are a global organization there are many times when some of these conversations happen by phone.

Don’t be surprised if we ask you to prepare a presentation or complete a homework assignment. We are just trying to get a sense of your work, and we hope you will embrace the opportunity to share your talents and ideas with us! Some of our most successful campaigns and project plans have started with a great response to a homework assignment or presentation, so think of it as your way to hit the ground running on day one.

How long does your recruiting process take?

There are many different factors that impact the length of the recruiting process. Our goal is to fill open positions as quickly as possible because each individual at Room to Read plays a key role on their team and teams depend on them for their contributions. That said, there are times when unexpected delays do arise and we really appreciate your patience. You are always welcome to contact your recruiter directly for an update on the timeline.

Will I hear back if I’m not moving forward?

Due to high applicant volume, we regret that we are not able to send personalized responses to each application. That said, if you do advance to the phone screen or interview stage, we will let you know the outcome of the conversation.

What do we look for in candidates?

It really depends on the position, but in general, we look for a mix of technical skills, soft skills and most importantly a passion for our mission. To be successful at Room to Read, you will:

Have passion for our mission and a strong desire to impact a dynamic nonprofit organization
Be a proactive and innovative thinker who achieves results and creates positive change
Have a very high level of personal and professional integrity and trustworthiness
Embrace diversity and a commitment to collaboration
Thrive in a fast-paced and fun environment

Should I write a cover letter and to whom should I address it?

YES! We love cover letters and we want to know why you’re interested in joining Room to Read and how your skills match the job description, particularly if you’re transitioning from another sector. We are less concerned with who the letter is addressed to. “Dear Hiring Manager” is fine with us!

Can I request feedback on my application?

Unfortunately, we aren’t able to provide feedback on applications or interviews. We are very fortunate to attract many qualified candidates. Room to Read's interview process is very competitive which makes many of our hiring decisions quite difficult.

I’m interested in a number of positions on your website, can I speak with someone about which position to apply for?

You are welcome to apply for as many positions as you would like, and we’ll review your application for each position individually. If your qualifications match our job description for a particular position, we’ll reach out to schedule a phone interview.

Do you offer internships?

Room to Read welcomes and encourages students who are currently enrolled in school, and are passionate about transforming the lives of millions of children, to get involved in our work through internships. These opportunities provide hands on experience with a growing international organization.

Interns work alongside a manager who provides direction and oversight for the completion of specific projects and are invited to participate in team meetings, informational interviews, and other relevant opportunities.

Room to Read offers internships as project opportunities arise; however, the majority of our internships are offered during the summer in our New York and San Francisco offices. The application process will begin once an opportunity has been posted to our site.

Room to Read offers internship opportunities across various departments. Past projects have included:

Legal Intern: conducted research and finalized a standard MOU (Memoranda of Understanding) that Room to Read now uses around the globe when working with governments and partner organizations.
Development Intern: supported the development department in expanding our Youth Engagement Program. Through research and communication with supporters, proposed a strategy for marketing the program and increasing its reach.
Program Operations Intern: developed an Education 101 tool that included detailed information on education globally as well as country specific statistics and information.
New Country Operations Intern: assisted in the development of the Asia expansion report. Revised expansion strategy/guidelines and assisted with the finalization of a country and legal assessment report.

Can I volunteer with Room to Read?

Yes! Volunteering or interning in the office at Room to Read is a great way to support our mission. Our volunteer positions allow you to significantly contribute to Room to Read, gain valuable skills, and get to know our amazing staff. These opportunities are posted on our job board when they are available.

Unfortunately, we do not accept volunteer applications for our in-country projects as we do not operate volunteer programs in any of our countries of operation. Due to our strong commitment to community development, most of our work on the ground is done by our local teams and local partner organizations. We have found this model promotes longer term sustainability for our projects.

We also have thousands of volunteers around the world who are self-directed, highly motivated, and passionate about promoting education. We are always looking for energetic individuals who are interested in raising awareness and funds for Room to Read. There are many ways to get involved like joining a chapter, organizing a fundraising campaign or spreading the word about our programs at your place of work or school.

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Do you offer informational interviews?

Unfortunately, due to the number of requests we receive and the busy schedules of our staff, we aren’t able to conduct as many informational interviews as we would like to. We will do our best to accommodate your request, and we also hope that you’ll find the information on our website helpful. Please don’t hesitate to apply for positions that you’re interested in so that we can evaluate your application, and start the conversation that way.