Reach Out and Read

The Opportunity

Reporting to a MidAtlantic Senior Program Manager, the Maryland Program Manager has a unique opportunity to help shape the future direction of Reach Out and Read in the area assigned. The Program Manager will be a valued team member who plays an essential role in supporting early childhood system work through the medical home and community. This is a highly relational job, both within a tight-knit virtual team, and when working directly to support our medical and clinic partners. It requires a commitment to equity combined with the ability to influence without direct authority and recognize challenges in the system while respecting and supporting clinic and family cultures. By establishing collaborative relationships with medical providers and staff at multiple program sites and providing professional development services and implementation guidance, the Program Manager provides the support needed to adhere to Reach Out and Read best practices. The Program Manager has frequent contact with their assigned programs through regular communication and visits and helps develop champions for the Reach Out and Read program among medical providers and staff.

You are an ideal candidate for the position if you are a results-oriented professional who is eager to lead efforts to expand and improve programming and communicate effectively with external partners to achieve outcomes. You will be best suited for this position if you are experienced in managing several stakeholders, have an interest in providing excellent customer service, can progress work independently, and remain solutions-focused. As the Program Manager you will need to be a problem solver eager to learn new skills and technology; adapt to an evolving and growing organization; and work as an effective team member with remote colleagues in a virtual working environment.

The Program Manager will support all current Reach Out and Read sites in the State of Maryland.

*The ideal candidate lives within this geographic area.

Key Responsibilities

The primary functions of this position consist of the following:

Programmatic Assistance and Support (50%):

  • Maintain regular contact with ROR sites to develop relationships with clinical and administrative staff to assess quality and model fidelity, deliver implementation support, provide professional development, and identify additional needs.
  • Create and implement program quality improvement plans to support ROR sites’ efforts to reach a higher level of program quality as needed.
  • Support ROR sites’ implementation of program quality improvement processes, monitor progress, and reassess, in partnership with clinical and administrative staff.
  • Support ROR site leaders to identify and overcome barriers that negatively impact their program’s quality and sustainability.
  • Conduct in-person and virtual site visits to ROR sites in your assigned region with a frequency appropriate for sites’ identified needs and quality rating.
  • Cultivate Reach Out and Read champions and advocates from each ROR site’s medical providers and staff.
  • Offer all medical providers opportunities to participate in ongoing ROR professional development.
  • Guide new ROR sites through the process of applying, training providers, and implementing Reach Out and Read.

Community Connectivity (30%):

  • Collaborate with early childhood and medical systems in the region to ensure the medical home is activated as a partner in support for families.
  • Coordinate resources and services with community partners as needed.
  • Represent Reach Out and Read in community meetings and convenings.
  • Participate in asset mapping work to better understand geographic territory.

Program Data and Reporting (10%):

  • Review progress report data for assigned programs and use it to inform program support plans and quality ratings for each program.
  • Track and document quantitative and qualitative program data using established tools and databases.
  • Provide data summaries for your assigned region to support funding applications, partnership development, and advocacy activities, as requested.
  • Support ROR sites in the region to ensure completion of required reporting, including Progress Reports, parent surveys, and Outlines of Roles and Responsibilities. Analyze, understand, and address barriers to accurate completion/participation in processes.

Book Support and Funding (10%):

  • Support ROR sites in the selection and ordering of books to meet the needs of their patients.
  • Provide guidance for efficient tracking processes to support accurate data collection and reporting.
  • Identify ROR sites in need of book funding support and collaborate with the Leadership Team in the allocation of funding to individual sites.
  • Assist with fund development and advocacy in connection with ROR sites (e.g., arrange site visits for prospective or existing donors or legislators).

Qualifications and Experience

There are innumerable ways to learn, grow, and excel professionally. We respect this when we review applications and take a broad look at the experience of each applicant. We want to get to know you and the unique strengths you will bring to the work. We’ll honor your lived and professional experience as key aspects of your candidacy for the role and prioritize applicants with experience dismantling the structural inequities that disproportionately impact children and families with traditionally marginalized identities. We are most likely to be interested in your candidacy if you can demonstrate the majority of the qualifications and experiences listed below:

  • Commitment to increasing equity in opportunity and outcomes for children and to recognizing factors known to significantly impact differential outcomes for children, including race, ethnicity, language, and socio-economic status
  • Experience facilitating professional development and quality improvement processes.
  • Experience developing advocates to lead and motivate colleagues in quality improvement efforts.
  • Excellent customer service skills with a desire to solve problems and work with doctors and other medical professionals in a clinical setting.
  • Self-motivated, independent worker who functions effectively in a “virtual” work environment, while being an enthusiastic, collaborative team member. Demonstrated ability to take both initiative and direction, maintaining a focus on mission and collective team impact.
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
  • Ability to prioritize multiple tasks, manage/meet deadlines, and adapt flexibly within a rapidly growing organization.
  • Ability to effectively use electronic communications systems as primary work processes, including database systems, internet use, and MS Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint.
  • Access to dependable and regular transportation for frequent in-state travel.

Additional desirable qualifications (not required)

  • Experience with practice change efforts and Quality Improvement processes in a healthcare setting.
  • Experience within the fields of health care, early childhood systems, literacy, parenting support, or related fields.
  • Experience working with diverse populations and underserved communities.
  • 5 years of experience/education in the fields of health care, social work, parenting support, or early education or related fields is preferred

Position Specifications

This is a full-time, exempt position. The Washington, D.C. Program Manager will work from a home-based office, as part of a virtual team. Regular travel throughout the assigned region and attendance at regional meetings is required.

Compensation and Benefits

Salary will be competitive with similar roles at non-profit organizations of a comparable size. The salary range for this position is $58,000 - $68,000, commensurate with experience ROR offers a robust benefits package including medical, dental, and vision insurance, a 401(k) retirement plan with match, paid time off, and more.

Commitment to Diversity

Reach Out and Read is committed to building an organization that embraces diversity, pursues equity, and fosters an environment of inclusion. ROR sits at the intersection of health and education, uniquely positioned to play a critical role in addressing systemic disparities and inequities in the public health framework. ROR strives to be an antiracist organization, using its influence to fight against social injustice by supporting a culture of learning, empowerment, equity, and a deep appreciation for the unique experiences that we each bring to our communities. And, we believe that changing the world begins with holding ourselves and our workplace to that same standard.

About Reach Out and Read

Founded in 1989, Reach Out and Read is a national non-profit organization working to ensure all families have the opportunity to create meaningful everyday moments through shared reading aloud and building relationships. By leveraging pediatric care to champion the positive effects of reading daily and distributing books, Reach Out and Read gives young children a foundation for success and reaches 4.2 million children across the county – half of whom identify as BIPOC and a quarter of whom come from low-income families.

Reach Out and Read’s tens of thousands of trained pediatric providers use books as a diagnostic tool during regular check-ups, and teach parents how to engage their child with a book to promote positive parent-child interactions during the rapid brain growth between birth and age five. The daily practice of reading aloud with a parent supports children’s literacy and math skill development, and their social-emotional development, and prepares them for future success in school. Working together with our sites and providers, we leverage our three decades of expertise, build on our literacy foundations, and engage our shared networks as a catalyst for change, focusing on equitably strengthening and deepening our impact on the children, families, and communities we serve.

The Impact

• Reach Out and Read program sites are located in 6,000 clinics, safety net hospitals, medical systems, and other healthcare settings in all 50 states, Washington, D. C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

• Reach Out and Read serves 4.2 million children and their families annually.

• More than 6.5 million new, developmentally appropriate books are given to children annually.

• 33,000 medical providers currently participate in Reach Out and Read

• Our peer-reviewed body of evidence demonstrates that Reach Out and Read parents are two-and-a-half times more likely to read regularly to their children, and that children experiencing Reach Out and Read show enhanced language development.

To learn more about Reach Out and Read, visit www.reachoutandread.org.

------------------------------EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER------------------------------

Reach Out and Read is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, cultural heritage, ancestry, political belief, age, marital status, pregnancy, physical or mental disability or veteran status. Reach Out and Read is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act and we are committed to making special accommodations for your interview or work as a member of our team. If specific accommodations are needed, please email HR @ reachoutandread.org and our HR team will work to accommodate your needs.

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