Reach Out And Read Northeast Program Specialist - Massachusetts Based

The Opportunity

Reporting to a Program Manager, the Program Specialist has a unique opportunity to provide support and leadership to Reach Out and Read program sites by fostering engagement and assuring program quality across the assigned region. The Program Specialist is a valued strategic contributor to the Northeast team and works closely with the Reach Out and Read Northeast Programs team to sustain, expand, and enhance Reach Out and Read program sites.

This is a highly relational job, both within a tight-knit virtual team and when working directly to support our medical and clinical partners. As the Program Specialist, you must 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 colleagues in virtual and in-person working environments. It requires a commitment to equity combined with the ability to influence without direct authority and diagnose systems challenges while respecting and supporting clinic and family cultures. The Regional Program Specialist has frequent contact with their assigned programs through in-person and virtual visits, as well as through phone and email, and develops champions for the Reach Out and Read program among medical providers and staff.

Key Responsibilities:

Supporting High Quality Program Implementation (60%)

• Develop relationships with clinical and administrative staff to cultivate Reach Out and Read champions and advocates.
• Collaborate with ROR clinic teams to support the high-fidelity implementation of the ROR model. Conduct meetings to assess adherence to the model, identify strengths to build on to enhance engagement and support for patients' 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.
• Guide new clinics, as assigned, through the application and program implementation process.

Program Data and Reporting (25%)

• Assure sites’ completion of twice-yearly progress reports. Analyze, understand, and address barriers to accurate completion.
• Continually track and document quantitative and qualitative site data, using established tools and databases.
• Maintain accurate data within the myROR database.
• Gather, analyze, and report data from myROR as needed to support funding applications, partnership development, and advocacy activities, as requested.
• Collect anecdotal data, stories, testimonials, photos from ROR programs for use in development and communications.

Book Support and Funding (10%)

• Support sites in managing book funding and in the 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.

Partnership Development and Sustainability (5%)

• Assist the Regional Program Director in implementing local, regional, and statewide partnerships.
• Attend relevant community and coalition meetings as assigned and aligned with organizational goals.

Other

• Regular travel to sites within the region. Availability to attend quarterly regionwide team meetings is required.
• Other administrative or programmatic duties may be assigned to support the overall success of Reach Out and Read Northeast Region.
• Assist with and attend special events/workshops held within the region.
• As funding allows, assist health centers, clinics, and private practices in applying to become a Reach Out and Read program to make Reach Out and Read universal in clinical settings serving the region’s youngest children, especially those living in poverty.

The above statements are intended to depict the general nature and level of work assigned to the employee(s) in this job. They are 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 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
• Self-motivated worker who functions effectively in a virtual work environment while being an enthusiastic, collaborative team member.
• Ability to prioritize multiple tasks, meet deadlines, and adapt to change within a hybrid work environment.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to coach, influence, mediate, and deliver results through others.
• Ability to analyze, synthesize, and utilize data to communicate with internal and external stakeholders.
• Education and/or experience providing program implementation and/or professional development support.
• Effectively uses electronic information and communications systems (databases, the Internet, and office suites, including Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint).

Additional desirable qualifications (not required)

• Experience working in a healthcare setting.
• Experience working with diverse populations and underserved communities.

Position Specifications

• This is a full-time, 40-hour-week, non-exempt position based in Boston. The Program Specialist works from a home-based office and may reside in Suffolk, Essex, Bristol, or Norfolk counties.
• Regular travel throughout an assigned region, plus the availability to attend team retreats, site visits, regional meetings, and one to two national meetings per year is required.

Compensation and Benefits:

The hourly rate for this position starts at $23.00/hr and is 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, 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 4.4 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.
• Reach Out and Read Northeast: Reach Out and Read Northeast reaches over 400,000 families and provides more than 660,000 books annually through 3,600 medical providers in 538 clinics.

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

ROR is an 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.