Operations / Administration Senior Manager, Program & Impact (Full Time, Hybrid)
Job Description
About Read Ahead
Read Ahead is dedicated to helping New York City youth strengthen the literacy and social-emotional skills they need to thrive in school and beyond.
Since 1991, Read Ahead has connected public elementary school students with caring mentors from leading corporate and community partners. During weekly sessions, mentors and mentees read together, discuss books and their lives, and engage in fun and educational games and activities. Read Ahead sessions are designed to help children grow their confidence, love of reading, literacy skills, and other skills essential for success.
In 2020, Read Ahead developed a completely virtual program to provide essential support during a challenging year of remote and hybrid learning. Combining our 30 years of experience with new technology platforms and an educator-designed curriculum, Read Ahead continues to match children with supportive mentors for fun, live program sessions that build connection, confidence, literacy skills, and more.
With the development of our new virtual program, and anti-racism and anti-oppression commitments (https://readahead.org/anti-oppression-commitments-oct2020/), Read Ahead has an opportunity to deepen our impact for students. We are committed to ongoing improvement as an organization, and are eager to take bold new steps to create better outcomes for the students, families, and schools we serve.
Read Ahead expects each staff member to be an active and engaged collaborator in Read Ahead’s organization-wide efforts to advance DEIB goals including, but not limited to, participating in team meetings and ensuring that all project plans and outcomes are aligned with DEIB goals.
Read Ahead provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status or any other protected characteristic as established by applicable law. We seek to build a diverse staff representative of the communities we serve. All qualified applicants are strongly encouraged to apply.
Hybrid Work Policy
As an organization that partners with New York City public schools, afterschool service providers, families, corporate partners, and other stakeholders, Read Ahead recognizes that in-person work is required to achieve our mission moving forward. We have adopted a hybrid work policy to allow us to continue our work with students and schools as safely as possible.
The Senior Manager, Program & Impact will typically work approximately 2-3 days/week in-person to perform essential job responsibilities, with a schedule determined by program needs and approved by the Senior Director, Program & Impact. Essential in-person responsibilities for this role include, but are not limited to:
- Meetings with Read Ahead staff and external stakeholders (e.g. bi-weekly staff meetings, bi-weekly program team meetings, quarterly school leadership and after school partner meetings, etc.)
- Support for Program Coordinators leading sessions on-site on a needs-basis
- School recruitment and engagement events (e.g. Annual family nights at partner schools, PTA meetings or caregiver orientation workshops)
- Fundraising and donor cultivation events and event preparation (e.g. Read Ahead’s annual gala)
- School site visits to conduct program observations during the school year and additional stakeholder support as identified by the Senior Director, Program & Impact
- Program, operations, and event support during key times of the year
In addition to the essential in-person job responsibilities described above, this role also includes other essential functions which may be performed remotely. A list of responsibilities is included below, and are subject to change based on organizational need.
Position Overview
The Senior Manager, Program & Impact directly reports to the Senior Director, Program & Impact. The Senior Manager will supervise three full time Program Coordinators overseeing a portfolio of four school partners. Key responsibilities include ensuring program fidelity, supervising direct reports, managing school relationships, and leading program evaluation.
Portfolio Schools: P.S. 33, P.S. 51, P.S. 111, P.S. 130
Program Management
- Leads program management at three key Read Ahead school partners
- Meets weekly with each Program Coordinator in school portfolio to share progress on program implementation and supports team with interventions if needed
- Hold PC cohort team accountable for tracking attendance on a weekly basis
- Reports family engagement progress and milestones directly to Senior Director of Program & Impact ensuring that PCs are regularly checking in with family members each month via email, text or calls
- Ensures program at partner schools is implemented with fidelity and supports PCs with troubleshooting any issues between mentor-mentee matches and school site
- Works in partnership with the Senior Director, Program & Impact to regularly evaluate culturally responsive approaches to program sessions within school portfolio
Supervision
- Coordinates the professional development of Program Coordinators based on interest, availability, and Read Ahead goals
- Supports PCs in troubleshooting frontline issues between mentor-mentee matches, school communication, and program logistics
- Ensures that PCs regularly provide program highlights on a quarterly basis during the school year for external communication purposes
- Leads annual performance reviews of PCs in portfolio
- Conducts quarterly mentor communication audits with each PC
- Serves as expert of Read Ahead’s policies and procedures to ensure that all Program Coordinators consistently communicate organization-wide expectations
- On a quarterly basis, work a Tuesday – Saturday schedule to ensure Program Coordinators are supported with their direct managers during Saturday sessions
School Relationships
- Leads monthly meetings with school partners with key liaison at school (i.e. Principal, Community School Director, Assistant Principal, Parent Coordinator etc.)
- Acts as Read Ahead’s primary representative with portfolio of schools including all communications to school partners
- Hold schools accountable to the partnership agreement, or Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed before the start of the school year (i.e. requesting student demographics, monthly meetings, and any other expectations per school)
- Ensures that the Read Ahead program at each school site has everything needed to be set up for success, including confirming program schedules and logistics with school team
- Plans teacher appreciation initiatives with portfolio of schools and leverage PCs as needed
Program Quality and Evaluation
- Schedules in-person site visits at partner schools to conduct observations and provide feedback to Program Coordinators
- Monitors and analyzes attendance at each school and supports PCs with brainstorming interventions accordingly
- Analyzes attendance data based on subgroups. Examples of attendance indicators include the following: race, ethnicity, gender, disability (IEP), Multilingual Learners (MLL), grade, geographic location etc.
- Monitors successful implementation of Read Ahead platforms in program sessions including Epic and BookNook
General Responsibilities
- Be an active and engaged collaborator in Read Ahead’s organization-wide efforts to advance our DEIB goals. This will include, but is not limited to, participating in team meetings and / or working groups, and ensuring that all project plans and outcomes are aligned with DEIB goals.
- Executes all responsibilities with an anti-racist lens that centers student voices, culturally responsive family engagement strategies, and program quality and evaluation
- Drives organization-wide family engagement strategy including, but not limited to, outreach strategy during school year, Read Ahead open houses for prospective families, and marketing initiatives to promote Read Ahead programming
- Works closely with Senior Director of Program & Impact to align DEIB goals to program implementation at each school partner
- Spearhead a BookNook program pilot working group with Senior Program Coordinators during school year in efforts to assess program launch and impact
Qualifications
Read Ahead General Qualifications
- Passion for Read Ahead’s mission.
- Experience with and committed allyship to communities and students of color.
- Ability to think strategically, understand the big picture, collaborate effectively with internal and external stakeholders, and implement vision.
- Ease with engaging in open, productive disagreements with colleagues, with a firm commitment to a decision once made.
- Practices a growth mindset, along with a deep commitment to genuine learning and self-improvement for themself and others.
- Highly self-aware and reflective with the ability to give and receive feedback.
- Familiarity, comfort, and ability to thrive within a small, dynamic team.
Position-specific Qualifications
- Team player, proactive approach to program work and interest in leading innovative strategic projects
- Skilled manager, with the ability to understand diverse perspectives and tailor support accordingly
- 5-6 years in nonprofit and/or education sector serving New York City public schools, families and communities or youth literacy/mentoring programs strongly preferred
- Passion to lead, coach and support staff to grow professionally
- Enthusiasm for staying up-to-date with education and mission-related news
