Associate Director of Policy and Partnerships

The Opportunity

The Associate Director of Policy and Partnerships is an experienced, results-oriented professional who thrives on external engagement and excels at representing Reach Out and Read publicly in the states of Washington and Oregon. The Associate Director of Policy and Partnerships will report to the Regional Executive Director and they will work closely together to create and implement effective strategies to grow our policy and advocacy, partnerships, and communications work to support sustainability, growth, and visibility for Reach Out and Read in the Northwest.

The Associate Director of Development is a strategic, savvy, and effective advocate for Reach Out and Read and its initiatives, skilled at identifying opportunities, building relationships and partnerships, and cultivating champions who will advocate for Reach Out and Read. The Associate Director of Policy and Partnerships must be able to understand and summarize complex structures, systems, rules, legislation, and policies and create compelling materials and cases to demonstrate the potential benefits of increasing support for Reach Out and Read. The Associate Director of Policy and Partnerships must be a changemaker who is persistent, creative, strategic, motivates others, and adapts to an evolving and growing organization. As we expand our reach, we seek someone who thrives on external engagement and excels at representing us publicly. 

Key Responsibilities

Policy and Advocacy (50%)

• Create and enact multi-year policy strategies for Washington and Oregon aligned with Reach Out and Read’s National Public Policy Agenda.
• Build compelling cases for support and share information with decision makers and stakeholders through testimony, in-person and remote meetings, site visits, presentations, and other methods.
• Steward and grow public funding investments.
• Develop and manage relationships with state agencies overseeing early learning and health, legislators, and governors’ staff and advisors.
• Monitor for relevant public funding opportunities and position Reach Out and Read for inclusion.
• Represent the organization to policy and advocacy coalitions across the region and seek coalition support for ROR policy priorities.
• Build relationships and support from managed care organizations, early learning coalitions, and other stakeholder groups representing aligned sectors.
• Support ROR National policy efforts through local engagement with federal legislators.
• Provide strategy guidance to the Programs Team’s efforts to influence healthcare system support of Reach Out and Read and connect these efforts to ROR NW policy work.

Partnerships (20%)

• Create and implement a strategy for partnerships with external organizations aligned with strategic priorities.
• Collaborate with ROR Northwest colleagues to ensure cohesive representation of ROR’s mission, vision, and activities to external partners.
• Identify new opportunities for partnership that advance our work across the region and build ROR’s reputation as a collaborative and visible partner.
• Make recommendations to the Executive Director for partnership activities.
• Collaborate with the NW Management Team to develop and implement approved projects across multiple staff and departments.

Communications (20%)

• Collaborate with the Executive Director to develop and execute a strategy for communications to the public and external stakeholders.
• Maximize the use of communications resources and support provided to the Northwest Region by Reach Out and Read National and align with National communication strategies and brand standards.
• Partner with Northwest colleagues and the National Communications Team to increase Reach Out and Read’s visibility in the media.
• Utilize resources provided by ROR National and create original materials to ensure ROR Northwest’s website(s), social media, presentations, quarterly and annual reports, and other print and digital assets present current and compelling content.
• Provide project management and review communications developed by the Northwest program and development teams to ensure consistent messaging across the organization and to stakeholders and ensure Executive Director approval on new or revised communications materials.
• Serve as a back-up spokesperson to the media.

Leadership (10%)

• Serve as a member of the Northwest Region Management Team and contribute a policy, partnerships, and external communications perspectives to organizational planning and strategy.
• Ensure that policy, partnership, and communications work meets outcomes, goals, and deliverables.
• Plan, prioritize, and manage policy, partnership and communications work and resources.
• Track departmental progress; analyze and synthesize results and data; and forecast future results, needs, and challenges and report regularly to the Executive Director.
• Engage advisory committee(s) in support of advocacy, policy, and communications efforts
• Represent the organization in public events and meetings

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: 

• A minimum of 5-7 year of professional experience in policy making, organizing, or advocacy
• Familiarity with state government and trends in healthcare or education policy in Washington and/or Oregon
• Strong communication skills, including clear and effective written communication, small and large group public speaking skills, and strong story-telling ability.
• A successful track record in setting priorities, managing relationships and ability to prioritize, negotiate and work with a variety of internal and external stakeholders/partners.
• Experience creating communications materials and content.
• Proficiency with data analysis and ability to process and summarize complex information.
• Able to take initiative, remain self-motivated, and be persistent, while being a collaborative team member committed to shared success.
• Embrace a growth mindset and demonstrate agility in navigating change.
• Belief in the power of diversity and excitement for working in a diverse culture and on diverse teams
• Intermediate to advanced proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite 

Position Specifications

This is a full-time, exempt position. The Associate Director, Policy and Partnerships will work from a home-based office and should be located within approximately 90 miles of Olympia, WA or Salem, OR. Ability to travel, up to 25%, throughout Oregon and Washington plus availability to attend team retreats, site visits, and meetings in Oregon and Washington and one to two National meetings per year is required. Some overnight travel will be required and frequent travel to Salem and/or Olympia is expected.

Compensation and Benefits

The salary range for this position is $90,000 - $97,000 commensurate with experience. ROR offers a robust benefits package including medical, dental, and vision insurance, 401(k) retirement plan with match, paid time off, and more.

Making the Decision to Apply

To apply for this position, please submit a resume and answer a few questions through the application portal run by our recruitment partners at Positively Partners. For confidential inquiries or for assistance in completing the application, please contact Jung Yun at jyun@positivelypartners.org. All applicants will receive a response to their application.

Candidates who advance should expect to have a phone interview with the recruitment team at Positively Partners, followed by a virtual interview with the hiring manager, the NW Region Executive Director, and a final interview which will include opportunities to meet and engage with the Reach Out and Read team more broadly. Expected start date for this position is late Summer/Fall 2024.

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 4.4 million children across the county – half of whom identify as BIPOC and two thirds 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 6,200 clinics, safety net hospitals, medical systems, and other healthcare settings in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
• Reach Out and Read serves 4.4 million children and their families annually.
• More than 7.1 million new, developmentally appropriate books are integrated into well child visits with families annually.
• 36,000 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 Northwest partners with 400 clinics to currently serve 212,000 children across Washington and Oregon. More than 3,300 medical providers and twice that many clinic staff volunteer their time to add parent support and early literacy promotion to their standard of care.

------------------------------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 American 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 hr@reachoutandread.org and we will work to accommodate your needs.