The Opportunity
The Nebraska Program Manager has a unique opportunity to help shape the future direction of ROR throughout the state of Nebraska as we work to launch the ROR Iowa-Nebraska Regional Affiliate. As the first-ever hire for ROR in Nebraska, the Program Manager will be a critical partner to the ROR National team and the future Regional Affiliate Executive Director, helping to design a program support plan that will inform the strategic direction of the new Affiliate.
The ROR Nebraska Program Manager is an experienced professional who provides support and leadership to Reach Out and Read program sites by fostering engagement and assuring quality. This is a highly relational job, both within a developing team, and when working directly to support our medical clinic partners. As the Program Manager, you will cultivate relationships with medical providers and community partners to expand ROR’s reach and embed our program within the broader ecosystem of support for children and families. This position requires a commitment to equity combined with the ability to influence stakeholders and diagnose systems challenges, while respecting and supporting clinic and family cultures. The Program Manager will initially report to the National Director of Programs, with a future shift to the Nebraska-Iowa Regional Executive Director.
Key Responsibilities:
Support High-Quality Program Implementation (50%)
- Develop relationships with medical providers and clinical and administrative staff at participating sites to cultivate Reach Out and Read champions and advocates.
- Collaborate with ROR clinic teams to support the implementation of the ROR model with high fidelity. Conduct meetings to assess adherence to the model, identify strengths to build on to enhance engagement and support to patient's parents/caregivers, identify opportunities to overcome barriers that negatively impact quality, and develop and monitor action plans to assist clinics in achieving improvement goals.
- Build partnerships with health systems through interactions with clinic contacts, articulating best practices for program sustainability, and supporting the engagement of system leaders and decision-makers.
- Develop and implement efforts to prioritize and expand programs in rural areas and clinics serving high BIPOC and/or Medicaid populations in alignment with organizational goals.
- Guide new clinics, as assigned, through the application and program implementation process.
- Develop community-building, networking, and digital communications opportunities in collaboration with the future Executive Director.
Partnership Development and Sustainability (20%)
- Support local, regional, and statewide partnerships to help ROR programs integrate within existing statewide early learning and family support systems.
- Act as a thought partner with the Executive Director on strategic planning and growth for the Nebraska-Iowa Regional Affiliate.
- Provide information and support to sites regarding partnership opportunities that help sustain and enhance their programs long term.
- Attend relevant community and coalition meetings as assigned and in alignment with organizational goals.
Program Data and Reporting (20%)
- Assure sites’ completion of twice-yearly progress reports. Understand and address barriers to accurate completion and use learnings to inform clinic action plans.
- Analyze site data to make decisions about the creation of program support strategies through a lens of equity, diversity, and inclusion.
- Continually track and document program data, using established tools and databases and maintain accurate data within the myROR database.
- Gather, analyze, and report data from myROR.org as needed to support funding applications, partnership development, and advocacy activities, as requested.
Book Support and Funding (10%)
- Support sites in selection and ordering of books to meet the needs of their patients.
- Provide support for efficient tracking processes to support accurate data collection and reporting.
- Provide resources and support to clinics on raising funds for their book responsibilities.
- Identify programs in need of book funding support and use an equity lens to make recommendations about the allocation of funds to individual sites.
- Coordinate the distribution of book funds and/or books to sites when funds are available.
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.
- 5+ years of education and/or experience within the fields of social work, health care, early education, literacy, parenting support, or related fields is preferred.
- Experience providing program implementation, continuous quality improvement, and/or professional development support within the fields of health care, early education, literacy, parenting support or related fields.
- Demonstrated ability to coach, influence, mediate, and deliver results through others using excellent interpersonal, oral, and written skills, creative problem-solving, and attention to detail and follow through.
- Ability to prioritize multiple tasks, meet deadlines, and adapt flexibly within a growing organization. Excellent interpersonal, oral, and written skills to interact effectively with medical staff, providers, and colleagues.
- A successful track record in setting priorities, managing relationships, and personal time management as a self-motivated worker.
- Ability to effectively use electronic communications systems as primary work processes, including database systems, internet use, and MS Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint is required.
- Belief in the power of diversity and excitement for working in a diverse culture and on diverse teams.
- Ability to analyze, synthesize, and utilize data to determine trends over time to develop plans and communicate with internal and external stakeholders.
Position Specifications
Full-time (40 hours), remote working, exempt position, located in Nebraska. Regular travel throughout the state, plus availability to attend team retreats, site visits, and frequent meetings in the Omaha and Lincoln areas in addition to one to two national meetings per year is required. Some overnight travel will be required to accommodate statewide site visits and other meetings.
Compensation and Benefits
The salary range for this position is $62,000-$68,000 annually and is commensurate with experience. ROR offers a robust benefits package including medical, dental, and vision insurance, 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 distribute 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, 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 notify us and our HR team will work to accommodate your needs.
