Manager- Agenda for Children Literacy Initiative

ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT:

The Department of Human Service Programs (DHSP) creates and coordinates services that enhance the quality of life for Cambridge residents. Driven by the needs of residents, DHSP’s extensive services and programs touch almost every sector in the city: from newborns to older adults, from school-aged children to homeless families, from non-profit organizations to local employers.

ABOUT THE ROLE:

The Agenda for Children Literacy Manager will lead City efforts to help children enter school ready to learn how to read and write by educating and supporting their parents and caregivers. This role uses the Social Determinants of Health framework to address factors like economic stability, education, and racism that affect community well-being. As manager of this initiative of the City of Cambridge, the Manager will balance the interests of many stakeholders and will be responsible for maintaining and developing strong collaborations with City and community partners. The Manager will also be responsible for the ongoing development, implementation, and evaluation of comprehensive and innovative programing. Examples of programs include Let’s Talk, Pathways to Family Success and Cambridge Dads, a unique partnership between Center for Families and AFC. This critical role will also help connect early literacy development directly to the broader maternal and child health (MCH) outcomes for families in Cambridge. Day-to-day supervision for the position will be shared between the Department of Human Services and the Cambridge Public Health Department.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

Specific duties include but are not limited to the following:

• Collaborate with the Office of Early Childhood to provide leadership and support for city-wide strategic planning and advocacy efforts focused on children from birth to age eight
• Plan, organize, supervise, implement, and expand parent education programming that teaches parents how to support their children’s literacy development, including workshops, home visits, playgroups, family events and Book Bike
• Engage the community, and specifically the families that the Agenda is designed to serve, in the planning and evaluation of Agenda activities
• Develops and implements strategies for ensuring that the Agenda’s programming equitably serves Cambridge’s diverse community, particularly for low-income individuals and families and residents from historically marginalized communities
• Conduct ongoing programmatic evaluation to ensure that the Agenda’s activities are meeting programmatic goals and effectively serving Cambridge families. Evaluation should include the development of clear and specific program goals, related metrics, and evaluation activities designed to measure the extent to which goals are being met
• Develop and monitor program budgets
• Actively promote the professional growth and development of program staff to support them in working effectively with families in ways that are consistent with best practices in adult learning and family engagement
• Supervise program staff, including the Early Literacy Program Supervisor, Pathways to Family Success Coordinator, Cambridge Dads Coordinator and 6-8 Literacy Ambassadors
• Lead strategic planning efforts across city departments to embed the Agenda’s goals and priorities into with city and community partner initiatives including the Department of Public Health’s Maternal and Child Health Outcomes

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered
• Demonstrated program experience working in early education, public health, or social service demonstrated focus on maternal and child well-being, family support, or early childhood development
• Demonstrated experience in developing and monitoring budgets
• Demonstrated experience building consensus among stakeholders with different agendas

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Proven knowledge of the Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) as they impact low-income and immigrant families and Maternal and Child Health principles
• Strong leadership and supervisory experience, with the ability to manage staff and multiple concurrent projects.
• Strong analytical and evaluation skills
• Strong oral and written communication skills
• Strong public speaking, training and facilitation skills
• Demonstrated commitment to working with diverse communities representing different ethnic, racial, socio-economic, cultural and educational backgrounds
• The City of Cambridge's workforce, like the community it serves, is diverse. Applicants must have the ability to work and interact effectively with individuals and groups with a variety of identities, cultures, backgrounds, and ideologies.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Master’s degree
• Knowledge of issues facing Cambridge children, youth, families, and service systems preferred

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS, WORKING CONDITIONS, WORK FLEXIBILITY AND ACCOMODATIONS:

• General office environment with air conditioning and fluorescent lighting. 
• Must have sufficient mobility to travel to different sites within the City on a regular basis. 
• Employee must occasionally transport materials including boxes of books weighing up to 50 pounds from one site to another.
• This position may be eligible for hybrid work under the City’s Telework Policy depending on operational needs.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

SUMMARY OF BENEFITS:

• Competitive health, dental, and vision insurance
• Vacation and Sick leave eligible
• Paid parental leave
• Sick Incentive Pay Eligible
• 3 Personal days
• 14 Paid Holidays
• Management Allowance, $2,700/year
• City employee commuter benefits (T-Pass reimbursement Bluebikes membership, EZRide Shuttle membership)

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS:

Please upload the following documents to complete your application:

• Resume
• Cover Letter

SUMMARY OF BENEFITS:

• Competitive health, dental, and vision insurance
• Vacation and Sick leave eligible
• Paid parental leave
• Sick Incentive Pay Eligible
• 3 Personal days
• 14 Paid Holidays
• Management Allowance, $2,700/year
• City employee commuter benefits (T-Pass reimbursement Bluebikes membership, EZRide Shuttle membership)