Founding Regional Executive Director, Iowa-Nebraska 

Remote, Based in Iowa or Nebraska

The Opportunity

Reach Out and Read seeks a results-oriented, collaborative, and entrepreneurial professional to launch and lead our work in Iowa and Nebraska. The Founding Regional Executive Director will lead all aspects of Reach Out and Read in this two-state Regional Affiliate, primarily responsible for fundraising, strategic planning, fiscal management, and elevating Reach Out and Read’s brand. As an evidence-based, highly scalable program, Reach Out and Read has the potential to influence child and family outcomes across Iowa and Nebraska significantly. The Regional ED will lead the effort to ensure this potential is realized.

The Regional Executive Director oversees the implementation of public and private partnerships and systems development at the state and community levels, including programmatic, policy, advocacy, funding, and communications strategies. They are a visible local leader for Reach Out and Read Iowa-Nebraska and a valued strategic partner for Reach Out and Read nationally, actively cultivating partnerships and utilizing effective outcomes-based approaches to their work.

Reporting to the National Senior Director of Growth during this first phase of Affiliate development, with an eventual transition to the Chief Operating Officer, the Regional Executive Director creates and implements long-term strategies that encompass both current needs and future growth, with an overall goal of ensuring the sustainability of Reach Out and Read’s work throughout Iowa and Nebraska. Leveraging the existing work of the Reach Out and Read Iowa Affiliate, this new two-state effort will create opportunities for collaboration and efficiencies of scale as we grow with quality. Once fully onboarded, the Regional ED will oversee two current program staff: the Nebraska Program Manager and the Iowa Program Manager. Working in partnership with National colleagues, Iowa-Nebraska staff, and the Regional Medical Directors, the Regional ED will manage and grow the $1.2M annual budget.

Your Key Responsibilities Will Include:

Leadership

• Lead the team with a strategic, outcomes-driven approach to achieve the mission and serve children, families, and communities.

• Direct and oversee team operations, including recruitment, hiring, supervision, and performance evaluation.

• Maintain an organizational climate that attracts, retains, and motivates a quality, diverse staff.

• Support the professional development of the Iowa-Nebraska team, fostering cohesion and teamwork.

• Serve as the primary spokesperson for Reach Out and Read, representing the organization to agencies, stakeholders, and the public.

Fundraising

• Lead all fundraising efforts, securing support from foundations, corporations, governments, and individuals.

• Cultivate understanding within the organization that philanthropy is critical to the mission.

• Set and achieve assertive development goals by identifying opportunities for long-term sustainability and growth within Iowa and Nebraska.

• Procure state and local government funding and represent Reach Out and Read to elected officials and stakeholders.

Strategy

• Develop and implement strategic goals for long-term sustainability and growth within Iowa and Nebraska.

• Engage and grow an Advisory Board of committed individuals to support and expand Reach Out and Read services.

• Collaborate with the National Director of Programs to set priorities for site support and program growth.

• Partner with Program Managers to strategize and implement continuous quality improvement systems.

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.

Operations and Finance

• Administer the annual budget and manage monthly finances, partnering with the national finance team for fiscal planning.

• Oversee the allocation of books to program sites, balancing program needs and grant funding.

• Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local regulations, maintaining official records and documents.

• Collaborate with the national team on communications and media strategies to support public relations initiatives.

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

Position Specifications:

Full-time (40 hours), remote working, exempt position, located in either Iowa or Nebraska. Regular travel, up to 25% time throughout Iowa and Nebraska, and attendance at one to two national meetings per year is required. Some overnight travel will be necessary to accommodate meetings.

Compensation, Benefits & Location

Reach Out and Read offers a comprehensive benefits package. The salary range for this position is $110,000 to $120,000 per year. 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.

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. 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 6,200 clinics, safety net hospitals, medical systems, and other healthcare settings in all 50 states, and Washington, D. C.

• Reach Out and Read serves 4.4 million children and their families annually.

• More than 7.1 million new, developmentally appropriate books are given to children annually.

• 36,000 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.

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.