Reach Out and Read Program Manager - Iowa

Program Manager

Remote, Iowa

The Opportunity

Reach Out and Read Midwest, an Affiliate of the national Reach Out and Read program, reaches close to 84,000 children annually across Nebraska and Iowa, distributing over 125,000 books through 167,000 well child visits. Our focus is on expanding access to early literacy support through trusted pediatric relationships, with a particular emphasis on partnering with clinics that serve children and families in under-resourced and rural communities. As part of a national movement, we contribute to a broader impact that reaches 4.4 million children and distributes over 7 million books each year.

The Iowa Program Manager plays a key role in supporting and strengthening the Reach Out and Read model across the state. While Iowa’s work shares many similarities with our efforts in Nebraska—including a focus on high-quality implementation and deep community partnerships—it requires a unique emphasis on stewardship, quality assurance, and long-term engagement.

This is a highly relational role—both within our growing Midwest team and externally with medical providers, clinic staff, and community partners. Reporting to the Executive Director and working in close partnership with the Nebraska Program Manager, the Iowa Program Manager will provide leadership, coaching, and technical assistance to existing and prospective Reach Out and Read program sites. The role requires a deep commitment to equity, cultural humility, and systems thinking, alongside a practical ability to support busy clinic environments and the families they serve.

Your Key Responsibilities Will Include:

• Support High-Quality Program Implementation (50%)
  • Build and maintain strong relationships with medical providers and clinic staff to support high-fidelity implementation of the Reach Out and Read model.
  • Conduct regular check-ins to assess model adherence, identify strengths and barriers, and develop action plans for continuous quality improvement.
  • Guide new clinics through the application and onboarding process.
  • Partner with clinic teams to enhance parent/caregiver engagement and ensure sustainable program integration.
  • Cultivate champions within clinics and across health systems, and engage system-level leaders to promote long-term program success.
  • Prioritize and expand programming in rural areas and in clinics serving high BIPOC and/or Medicaid populations.
  • Collaborate with the Executive Director to create community-building, networking, and digital engagement opportunities.
• Partnership Development and Sustainability (20%)
  • Support local and statewide efforts to integrate Reach Out and Read within early learning and family support systems.
  • Identify and build relationships with community partners to help connect families to local child and family supports through clinic sites, and contribute to the development of literacy-rich environments rooted in community needs.
  • Act as a strategic thought partner to the Executive Director to inform regional growth and planning.
  • Share partnership and funding opportunities with clinic sites to promote program sustainability.
  • Represent Reach Out and Read at relevant community and coalition meetings, as aligned with organizational goals.
• Program Data and Reporting (20%)
  • Ensure timely and accurate completion of twice-yearly site progress reports; identify and address challenges in reporting.
  • Analyze program data to inform support strategies through an equity, diversity, and inclusion lens.
  • Maintain accurate records in organizational databases and use data to support funding applications, advocacy, and decision-making.
• Book Support and Funding (10%)
  • Assist sites with book selection, ordering, and tracking processes.
  • Provide guidance on fundraising for book purchases and identify programs in need of financial support.
  • Recommend book fund allocations using an equity lens and coordinate distribution of books or funds as available.

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
• 2–5 years of professional experience in social work, health care, early education, literacy, parenting support, or a related field preferred.
• Experience supporting program implementation, continuous quality improvement, or professional development within health care, education, or family-serving systems.
• Strong interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills, with the ability to coach, influence, and collaborate across roles and settings.
• Proven ability to manage multiple priorities, meet deadlines, and adapt in a dynamic and evolving environment.
• Self-starter with effective time management skills and a track record of managing relationships and responsibilities independently.
• Proficiency with electronic communication and productivity tools, including databases, Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint.
• Enthusiasm for working within diverse teams and communities, and a belief in the power of inclusion.
• Ability to analyze and synthesize data to identify trends and inform planning, strategy, and communication with internal and external stakeholders.

Position Specifications:

This is a full-time (40 hours/wk), remote working, exempt position, located in Iowa. Regular travel throughout the state up to 40%, plus availability to attend team retreats, site visits, and frequent meetings in the Omaha area in addition to one to two national meetings per year is required. Some overnight travel will be required to accommodate statewide site visits and other meetings.

Compensation and Benefits:

The salary range for this position is $60,000 - $65,000, commensurate with experience. Reach Out and Read offers a robust benefits package including medical, dental, and vision insurance, a 401(k) retirement plan with match, paid time off, and more.

How to Apply

We encourage interested candidates to submit their application materials, including responses to a few brief questions, through our online portal. For confidential inquiries or assistance in completing the application, please contact us via email at search@positivelypartners.org, and a member of our team will follow up.

Timeline and Hiring Process

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. While the timeline is subject to change, candidates moving forward can anticipate an initial review period in late June to early July. For those advancing, will have a virtual interview with the Hiring Manager. Finalists will participate in a deeper interview process with members of the Reach Out and Read team and a comprehensive reference check. The anticipated start date for this role is August 2025.

Commitment to Diversity:

Reach Out and Read is committed to building an organization that embraces diversity, pursues equity, and fosters an environment of inclusion. Reach Out and Read 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. Reach Out and Read 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:

Reach Out and Read gives young children a foundation for success and reaches 4.6 million children across the country – half of whom identify as BIPOC and two thirds of whom come from low-income families. The nonprofit recently set a strategic goal to double its impact by 2030, to serve 10 million young children — 50 percent of all U.S. children from birth to 5.

In deep partnership with a network of clinicians, Reach Out and Read leverages the near-universal reach of the pediatric well-child visit. It uses children’s books and shared reading to support parents and caregivers in strengthening healthy relationships with their infants and young children from birth through 5 years old.

Reach Out and Read works directly with pediatric care providers to share the lifelong benefits of parents reading aloud with their children daily. Nurturing, language-rich interactions like shared reading give young children a foundation for success — building early language and literacy skills; teaching curiosity, patience, and empathy; and creating deep bonds between parents and their children. By integrating our evidence-based model into pediatric care and providing the tools and encouragement families need to read aloud together, we can transform pediatric care practices, foster healthy families and communities, and give children of all backgrounds and means a better start to life.

The Impact:

• Reach Out and Read program sites are located in 6,500 clinics, safety net hospitals, medical systems, and other healthcare settings in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
• Reach Out and Read serves 4.6 million children and their families annually.
• More than 7.7 million new, developmentally appropriate books are integrated into well-child visits with families annually.
• 39,000 clinicians 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.

Reach Out and Read 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.