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Position Summary
Reach Out and Read Wisconsin seeks a results-oriented and entrepreneurial professional to lead all aspects of Reach Out and Read in the state, with primary responsibility for fundraising, fiscal management, and elevating Reach Out and Read’s brand.
The Executive Director oversees implementation of public and private partnerships and systems development at the state and community level, including programmatic, policy, advocacy, funding, and communications strategies. They are a visible local leader for Reach Out and Read Wisconsin and a valued strategic partner for Reach Out and Read nationally, actively cultivating partnerships and demonstrating effective outcomes-based strategies. Reporting to the Reach Out and Read National Center’s Chief Operating Officer and working closely with Wisconsin and National Center colleagues, the Executive Director creates and implements long-term strategies that encompass both current need and future growth, with an overall goal of ensuring the sustainability of Reach Out and Read’s work throughout the state.
As an evidence-based, highly scalable program, Reach Out and Read has the potential to significantly influence child and family outcomes across the state. The Executive Director embodies Reach Out and Read’s core values of passion, excellence, respect, and innovation and leads a strategic and highly effective team towards ambitious outcomes.
The Executive Director will oversee a total team of 10 staff, with three direct reports (Program Director, Development Director, and Operations Manager), and will build a close partnership with the Medical Director. Reach Out and Read Wisconsin’s budget for FY23 is $1.2M.
Key Responsibilities
Leadership, Strategy, Management, and Operations:
- Lead the team with a strategic, outcomes-driven approach to achieve our mission and best serve children, families, and communities, through ensuring that our intervention is conducted with fidelity to the proven model
- Direct and oversee the work of the team, including recruitment, hiring, day-to-day supervision, and performance evaluation. Maintain an organizational climate which attracts, retains, and motivates a quality, diverse staff. Support the continued learning and professional development of the ROR WI team, ensuring cohesion and teamwork among personnel.
- Develop and administer the region’s annual budget and manage and oversee monthly finances to ensure sufficient operating reserves and cash flow to meet financial obligations. Partner with the national finance team to optimize planning and implementation of fiscal operations.
- Engage and grow a state-wide existing Advisory Council composed of individuals committed to serving their community and providing actionable services to Reach Out and Read
- Maintain a working knowledge of significant developments and trends in the field of early childhood, as well as issues and trends affecting nonprofits
- Maintain official records and documents and ensure compliance with federal, state, and local laws and regulations
Fundraising:
- In partnership with the Development Director, oversee all fundraising and philanthropic aspects of the Reach Out and Read program in the region, including foundation, corporation, government, health care organizations, and individual support
- Set and achieve assertive development goals by identifying opportunities for long-term sustainability and growth within Wisconsin
- Cultivate organizational understanding that fund development and philanthropy are critical to our mission and organizational health
Program Services, Support, and Growth:
- Oversee the apportionment of books to program sites, balancing the many factors involved including grant funds, program needs, site functioning, and local site fundraising
- Partner with the Program Director, Operations Manager, and Medical Director to strategize and implement continuous quality improvement systems
- Support the design and implementation of ongoing evaluation and research opportunities
Fiscal Management:
- Assume fiscal responsibility for the management of donor funds and grants. Comply with grant deliverables and manage spending within budget parameters
- Work with the National Center Finance Team to provide required backup and input that will expedite the flow of financial transaction processing, controls, and reconciliations
State and Local Advocacy:
- Work to procure funding from state and local governments through their annual budgets and initiatives
- Represent Reach Out and Read to elected officials and their staff, members of the Administration, and other stakeholders in demonstrating Reach Out and Read’s effectiveness in early childhood development and pediatric primary care.
- Stay informed of the legislative budgeting process and Reach Out and Read’s status within it.
- Assess other opportunities within state and local governments to ensure Reach Out and Read is integrated into early childhood and/or pediatric primary care efforts
Communications, Community Relations, and Partnerships:
- Serve as the primary spokesperson and champion for the efficacy of Reach Out and Read’s model and services in communications locally, and throughout the region. Represent the programs and point of view of the organization to agencies, organizations, and the general public.
- Work with the Marketing Communications Manager to develop a communications and media strategy. Partner with the national Marketing Manager and regional Program Director to support local public relations and participate in high priority national public relations initiatives.
- Network with and establish/maintain local, regional, and statewide partnerships to help Reach Out and Read programs throughout the region become integrated within early learning and family support systems
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
- 10+ years of progressive leadership and management skills, including excellent organization, project management, and time-management skills, with attention to detail and follow-through
- Strong interpersonal and public communications skills, including effective public speaking experience and excellent writing ability
- Self-motivated and inspirational problem solver with demonstrated ability to coach, manage, and develop high performing, diverse teams to achieve strategic objectives
- Proven fundraising experience with demonstrated success at donor cultivation and stewardship, and grants procurement and management
- Demonstrated success cultivating and sustaining partnerships and collaborative relationships among diverse organizations and groups at the statewide or community level. Experience with advocacy, political strategy, relevant public policy, and systems efforts
- Background in, or familiarity with, early childhood development or pediatrics a plus, as is experience working in or with community health centers and/or physicians
Our 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.
To learn more about Reach Out and Read, visit www.reachoutandread.org.
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.
Reach Out and Read Wisconsin partners with more than 260 clinics to currently serve 170,000 children, or one in three of the infants, toddlers and preschoolers throughout the state. More than 1,800 medical providers and twice that many clinic staff volunteer their time to add parent support and early literacy promotion to their standard of care.