Reach Out and Read

The Opportunity

As the Program Manager, you will have the unique opportunity to help shape the future of Reach Out and Read Georgia. The Program Manager is an experienced professional who provides leadership to and coordination of Reach Out and Read programs in Georgia to support the program’s mission and ensure that children across the state arrive at kindergarten prepared to succeed in school. The Program Manager will work closely with the Executive Director and all team members to sustain, expand, and enhance Reach Out and Read programs. The Program Manager will raise awareness in local communities among strategic partners, provide multi-site program support and quality assurance to enhance the capabilities of our existing programs, will cultivate relationships with prospective new medical providers and strategic community partners to expand our reach and deepen engagement, and will periodically lead events and deliver trainings to strengthen our partnership outreach efforts with volunteers, Site Coordinators, medical providers, and community organizations. The Program Manager is a visible leader for Reach Out and Read, a valued strategic partner for the Executive Director, and for the organization nationally by actively helping to cultivate and maintain public, private, and strategic partnerships and submit community level grants.

Your Key Responsibilities Will Include:

Quality Assurance and Training:

  • Provide regular and on-going technical assistance and support to assigned program sites and to develop relationships with clinical and administrative staff in order to assess quality, deliver support and identify additional needs.
  • Assess programs’ adherence to the Reach Out and Read program model and assign quality ratings.
  • Support programs’ implementation of program quality improvement processes, monitor progress, and reassess, in partnership with the programs.
  • Conduct site visits to programs in assigned region with a frequency appropriate for sites’ identified needs and quality rating.
  • Cultivate Reach Out and Read champions and advocates from among each clinic’s medical providers and staff both internally at sites and externally as an additional resource to draw upon.
  • Support program leaders to identify and overcome barriers that negatively impact their program’s quality and sustainability.
  • Ensure all programs have training processes in place for their providers, so that existing and new providers are able to provide a high quality program.
  • Offer all providers ongoing professional development opportunities, and continually assess opportunities for professional development services that programs would find helpful.
  • Guide new programs through the process of applying, training providers, and implementing Reach Out and Read.
  • Convene Reach Out and Read Site Coordinators and Medical Consultants at least annually to discuss best practices, support and enhance programs, and facilitate dissemination of relevant information (by teleconference, workshop and/or meeting/Summit).
  • Oversee training of new Programs, their medical providers and support staff within 60 days after join date. Ensure existing Programs’ have access to retraining opportunities as necessary.
  • Identify, enlist, and support a group of 2-4 regional medical champions, to assure consistent training and retraining of Reach Out and Read Program Providers and Coordinators.
  • Periodically collect and analyze information about Programs in order to assess their training and technical assistance needs.
  • Assist in implementing, updating, and creating quality assurance or improvement tools.
  • Host quarterly webinars on topics supporting special initiatives or needs of sites.
  • Host special events at sites in partnership with strategic and funding partners.

Program Development:

  • Assure programs’ completion of twice-yearly progress report.
  • Review progress report data for assigned programs and use it to inform technical assistance plans and quality ratings for each program.
  • Continually track and document quantitative and qualitative program data using established tools and databases.
  • Provide data summaries for assigned region to support funding applications, partnership development and advocacy activities, as requested.
  • Develop and implement efforts to recruit new Programs serving additional children each year.
  • Provide technical assistance and support to prospective Programs in the application and start-up processes.

Customer Service:

  • Serve as a dependable, reliable contact for all Programs in the metro Atlanta region to ensure that 100% of inquiries are responded to within no more than 2 business days.
  • Provide on-going technical assistance and support to ROR Programs, by phone, e-mail, and via site visits.
  • Coordinate the distribution of book funds and/or books to Programs.

Partnership Development:

  • Assist Executive Director in implementing local, regional and statewide partnerships to help Reach Out and Read and its Programs become integrated within existing statewide early learning and family support systems.
  • Provide information and support to Programs about partnership opportunities that help sustain and enhance their programs long term.
  • Assist Executive Director with fund development in connection with Programs (e.g., arrange Site Visits for prospective that are needed for program exposure to support regional fundraising).
  • Assist in stewarding Georgia Advisory Board members as needed and requested.
  • Engage providers as prospective donors to help sustain their annual book budget (appeals, Virtual Book Drives, Barnes and Noble Holiday Book Drive, other)
  • Share expertise on National led Program Series calls as requested by Executive Director.
  • Ability to articulate organizational values of diversity, equity, and inclusivity internally and externally and weave into all activities ensuring all voices are lifted, acknowledged, and heard.
  • Ability to articulate the Reach Out and Read model, framework and lens of foundational relationships including core program, Beginning at Birth, Mirrors and Windows, Early Relational Health and other special initiatives.

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:

  • At least 10 years of program/project management and training experience is required.
  • Fluency in Spanish (speaking and writing) is preferred.
  • Experience with medical practice change efforts and quality improvement processes is preferred.
  • Education and/or experience within the fields of business, health care, early education, literacy, parenting support or related fields is preferred.
  • Exceptional interpersonal communication abilities, including writing and editing skills, verbal skills, and strong presentation skills.
  • Comfortable with presenting to physicians, residents, community partners.
  • Excellent customer service skills with a strong desire to solve problems.
  • Positive, self-motivated, independent worker who functions effectively in both “virtual” and in person professional and medical environments, while being an enthusiastic, collaborative team member.
  • Demonstrated success cultivating and sustaining partnerships and relationships among organizations.
  • Experience working with diverse populations and low-income communities.
  • Ability to work in fast-paced environments.
  • Proficiency in MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, Classy, Zoom, and Salesforce.

Position Specifications

This is a part-time, non-exempt position working approximately 20 hours per week. The Program Manager may work from a home-based office. Regular travel, up to 35% of the time throughout Georgia, and attendance at several state-wide conferences and one national meeting per year is required.


Compensation and Benefits

The hourly rate range for this position is $28.85 - $34.52 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 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, 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.

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