Senior Research Consultant for Foundational Literacy

Room to Read India; New Delhi; On-site; INR 1,200,000 - 1,800,000; Full time

Job summary

Room to Read India is seeking a Research Lead for a 12-month scoping project on reading fluency and comprehension in akshara scripts. The role oversees desk reviews, stakeholder interviews, expert review and advisory-board validation, guiding consultants and coordinating roundtables.

The Lead will collaborate with government and sector partners, ensure evidence quality, and shape a shared sector narrative on fluency and comprehension. Travel is required.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in education, linguistics, social sciences or related field.
• 10+ years in education research, including leading research or evidence reviews on literacy or early-grade learning.
• Strong understanding of reading fluency and comprehension; ability to publish for policy audiences.
• Strong written and verbal communication in Hindi and English.

Responsibilities

• Lead the synthesis, evidence review and research agenda for the project.
• Design and oversee desk reviews and stakeholder interviews with government, academia and sector partners.
• Coordinate expert reviews and advisory-board validation throughout the project.
• Convene roundtables and disseminate findings to a wide audience.

Skills

Research leadership

Analytical thinking

Collaboration and influence

Clear communication

Education

Master's degree in education, linguistics, social sciences or related fields

Doctoral degree or equivalent research standing

Job description

Room to Read India is leading a 12-month scoping and planning project (INV-109769) on reading fluency and comprehension in akshara scripts. The project is run by Room to Read India Trust from December 2026 to November 2027. It does not implement a program in schools. It builds the evidence base and a research agenda for the sector.

The work sits within Research and Insights, one of Room to Read's four core competencies, alongside Curriculum and Content, Educator Training and Coaching, and Delivery Structures. Its outputs are an evidence synthesis, a report and research agenda, two roundtables of about 40 participants each, and a dissemination event of about 100 participants. A four-member advisory board validates the findings, and the findings are published openly.

Position Overview:

The Research Lead provides overall research leadership for the India literacy innovations evidence scoping a 12-month project on reading fluency and comprehension in akshara scripts. The person in this role will steer the desk review, stakeholder interviews, expert review and advisory-board validation, and own the quality of the evidence report and research agenda. The Lead will guide the Research Consultant and the Documentation Consultant and represent the research with experts, government and sector partners. The role also involves convening the two roundtables, meeting and working with literacy experts from around the world and helping build a shared sector narrative on fluency and comprehension. This is a full-time, in-office consultancy, working with the Senior Lead, IDTS, and in regular touch with Senior Director, Programs, and the Director, RM&E. It requires occasional travel for stakeholder interviews and the two roundtables

The Role Involves:

Research Leadership and Design:

• Lead the research approach for the evidence of scoping, within the scope and timeline committed to the donor.
• Agree research questions, sources and methods with the Senior Lead, IDTS and the Sr. Director, Programs.
• Guide and review the work of the Research Consultant and the Documentation Consultant and keep the research on schedule against the Implementation Calendar.

Evidence Review and Stakeholder Engagement:

• Oversee the desk review and evidence of mapping of existing research, programs and practice.
• Bring a linguist's lens to the evidence: how orthography, morphology, vocabulary, syntax and text structure shape fluency and comprehension across akshara scripts, and what other factors have a formidable impact on literacy gains if the fluency (CWPM) construct remains unresolved.
• Design the interview approach and conduct stakeholder interviews and discussions with government, academic, practitioner and sector partners (Months 1 to 3).
• Work with government bodies and sector forums, and work with the Director, RM&E on measurement questions.
• Build relationships with literacy experts in India and around the world and help build a shared sector narrative on fluency and comprehension.

Expert Review and Advisory-Board Validation:

• Coordinate expert review of the draft synthesis (Month 3).
• Brief and work with the four-member advisory board to validate the findings (Months 10 to 12) and make sure their input is reflected in the final outputs.

Roundtables and Dissemination:

• Convene the two roundtables (May and July 2027) and shape their agenda and content, each with about40 participants, including up to 5 international participants and up to 20 from other states.
• Contribute to the dissemination event (about 100 participants, Months11 to 12) and to the open publication and share-back of findings.

Synthesis, Report and Research Agenda:

• Lead the synthesis of evidence and write the evidence report and research agenda (Month 10).
• Ensure outputs are accurate, evidence-based, clearly written and consistent with Room to Read's language and the commitments in the investment document.
• Publish the report and research agenda for wide dissemination and connect the research to classroom reality so that it is useful to practitioners and government.
• Support progress reporting to the donor as requested by Room to Read India.

Other Duties:

Undertake any other work assigned from time to time to meet the needs of the project.

Qualifications:

Required:

• Master's degreein education, Linguistics, Social Sciences, Development Studies, or related fields.
• Minimum 10 years of experience in education research, including leading research or evidence reviews on literacy or early-grade learning.
• Strong understanding of reading fluency and comprehension, and of how children learn to read in Indian languages and akshara scripts.
• Experience leading desk reviews, qualitative interviews and synthesis, and writing clear research reports for policy and practice audiences.
• Well versed in research methods and tools for literacy and assessment, including oral reading fluency, and experienced in publishing research reports for wide dissemination.
• Experience working with government education systems, experts, and sector partners.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills in Hindi and English.
• Willingness to travel for interviews and roundtables.
• Doctoral degree or equivalent research standing in a relevant field.
• Experience in foundational literacy and numeracy programs, NIPUN Bharat, or work with SCERT and DIET.
• Experience designing research agendas or convening expert round tables.
• Reading proficiency in one or more additional Indian languages.
• Experience managing consultants or small research teams.
• Research leadership sets clear questions and methods and guides others to deliver on time.
• Analytical thinking: turns varied evidence into clear, defensible findings.
• Sector credibility engages experts, government, and partners with confidence.
• Collaboration and influence work across teams and consultants without direct authority.
• Clear communication: writes and presents findings for policy and practices for audiences.

This is a full-time, in-office consultancy for the project period, December 2026 to November 2027.

Room to Read is a child-safe organization. All personnel are expected to adhere to Room to Read's Child Protection Policy, Child Protection Code of Conduct and Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) Policy.