The Opportunity
Recruitment Specialists have a unique opportunity to increase Reach Out and Read’s impact in the region. This new position will help us expand our programming at public health centers that offer children and families in at-risk and underserved populations comprehensive care. Individuals in this highly relational position will interact with other recruitment team members, a tightly knit Northeast team, and health center personnel. The position requires a strong commitment to equity and a willingness to approach health center staff and families with cultural humility and respect. Recruitment Specialists will be the public face of Reach Out and Read, guiding and supporting health centers through the onboarding process and then handing their ongoing support off to the programs team. The position reports to the Northeast’s Director of Special Projects and its Program Director.
Key Responsibilities:
Site Recruitment and Support
- Develop relationships with executive, clinical, and administrative staff at targeted sites.
- Identify their decision-makers, processes, and timelines.
- Cultivate Reach Out and Read champions.
- Help site leaders identify and overcome barriers to program participation.
- Through regular, frequent contact and support help FQHCs move through the decision-making process and secure their participation in the program.
- Guide FQHCs through the process of applying, training providers, and implementing the program.
- Perform a “warm handoff” of fully trained and onboarded sites to the FQHC Ongoing team, ensuring continuity of support throughout the transition.
- Help develop and test needs assessment and recruitment tools as needed.
Program Data and Reporting
- Thoroughly document interactions with site personnel using established tools and procedures.
- Maintain accurate information about each site.
- Gather, analyze, and report information needed for team updates and funder reports.
(The above statements are intended to depict the general nature and level of work assigned to the employee(s) in this job. The above is not intended to represent an exhaustive list of accountable duties and responsibilities required).
Qualifications and Experience
There are innumerable ways to learn, grow, and excel professionally. We take this into consideration when looking at each applicant’s experience. We want to get to know you and the unique strengths you would bring to our work. We are most likely to be interested in your candidacy if you demonstrate most of the qualifications and experiences listed below:
- Commitment to Reach Out and Read’s mission, model, and to eliminating disparate opportunities and outcomes for children based on race, ethnicity, language, or socio-economic status.
- Excellent oral and written communication skills.
- Ability to coach, influence, mediate, and deliver results through others.
- Ability to cultivate and sustain partnerships and relationships among diverse stakeholders and organizations.
- Self-motivated and comfortable taking initiative, but also an enthusiastic, collaborative team member.
- Ability to prioritize multiple tasks, meet deadlines, and adapt to change.
- Education and/or experience in the fields of health care, early childhood systems, literacy, or nonprofit marketing.
- Ability to use electronic information and communications systems (databases, the internet, and office suites including Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint).
- Residency in or willingness to relocate to one of the region’s five states (Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, or Upstate New York) is required, with a preference for residents in Western New York.
Position Specifications
Full-time, 40 hours per week, non-exempt, position. The Recruitment Specialist will work regularly from a home-based office but travel to clinic sites within the region. Access to dependable transportation is required.
Compensation and Benefits
Salary will be competitive with similar roles at non-profit organizations of a comparable size, and you will also receive a robust benefits package. The hourly rate range for this position is $24 - $26, and is commensurate with experience. We offer medical and dental insurance, 401(k) retirement plan with match, paid vacation, professional development stipend, 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. We believe that changing the world begins with holding ourselves and our workplace to that same standard.
About Reach Out and Read, Northeast
Reach Out and Read, Northeast is part of a national nonprofit that was founded in 1989. Reach Out and Read works to ensure that all families create meaningful everyday moments through shared reading aloud and relationship building. 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. Reach Out and Read, Northeast serves children across the region – half 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 checkups and teach parents how to engage their child with a book to promote positive parent-child interactions during the span of 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, 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.