Join the Words Alive Team

Employment Opportunities - Detailed Description

POSITION TITLE: Program Director

COMPENSATION: $65,000 - $75,000

HOURS: Full-time position. Incumbent can expect 40-45 hours/week. Most work is 8-5, however programming and service events often happen on nights and weekends

BENEFITS: Employer-sponsored medical, dental, and vision insurance; 403B retirement plan; flexible spending accounts (medical and dependent care); mileage reimbursement; 13 paid holidays; generous PTO (starting at 16 days).

STATUS: Regular, Full-Time, Exempt

LOCATION:  San Diego, CA (option for partial remote work)

SUPERVISES: 

  • Family Program Manager

  • Read Aloud Program Manager

  • Young Adult Program Manager

  • Program Coordinator

  • Highly skilled volunteers, temporary employees (e.g. Teaching Artists), and contractors

REPORTS TO: Executive Director

START DATE:  Late-May to Mid-June 2022 (flexible)

WHO YOU ARE:   The ideal candidate for this role:

  • Innately believes they can create a future where all children, teens, and families are connected to the power of reading and the opportunities that provides.

  • Wants to be on the cutting edge of impact-driven work, and is driven to help Words Alive get there

  • Rolls-up their sleeves to do the hard work and (literal) heaving lifting to bring books and exceptional programming to San Diego’s youth

  • Activates community-driven solutions that engage partners, volunteers, and youth

  • Is looking for an opportunity to grow a successful organization to the “next level”

  • Has a nonprofit heart and a business mind

  • Demonstrates they can lead a team towards very aggressive goals, with a thoughtful, growth-oriented, coaching mentality

  • Approaches their actions, words, and work with a keen focus on inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility

POSITION OVERVIEW: Words Alive’s ultimate objective is that students and families believe in the power of reading and love what reading means in their lives. That is the tipping point between someone who can read and someone who calls themselves a reader. To get there, our programs aim specifically to influence what participants know, how they feel, and what they do about their own or their children’s reading development and enjoyment.

A member of the leadership team, the Program Director is responsible for programmatic and impact leadership of Words Alive. Setting and meeting aggressive impact goals, the top priority of the Program Director is to ensure that Words Alive provides top-notch, proven, exceptional programming in alignment with our mission and budget.  The Program Director ensures that the experiences of the students, families, community partners, and volunteers supporting programming are of the utmost quality and on a continual growth trajectory. The Program Director is a key external face of Words Alive in our community, including orchestrating the organization’s participation in formal program-related partnerships and contracts.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Executive Leadership (15%)

  • Serve as an active member of leadership team; developing, tracking, and evaluating organizational goals, objectives, strategies, and priorities and translating them into clear deliverables.

  • Uphold the organization’s unwavering focus on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.

  • Lead, manage, evaluate, and develop staff, volunteers, and contractors.

  • Develop, track, and manage departmental budget.

  • Serve as a key external face of Words Alive in the community.

  • Support Board and other committees focused on programming, evaluation, and impact.

Program Implementation (40%)

  • Set and meet aggressive annual impact and revenue targets connected with programming.

  • Drive all aspects of Words Alive’s programming including: content/curriculum, materials, funding, partnerships, contracts, staffing, evaluation, and implementation (e.g. in-person, remote/virtual, train-the-trainer, etc.)

  • Engage volunteers to support and lead program activities, including ensuring clear policies, procedures, communications, and appreciation structures are in place.

  • Oversee the development of marketing materials to support outreach to, and engagement with, program participants, potential partners, and the community.

    Mitigate issues and concerns from, or related to, volunteers, program partnerships, programming, etc.

Community Partnerships and Contracts (20%)

  • Cultivate strong relationships with new and existing partners.  Support team in managing a portfolio of 80+ partner schools and nonprofits

  • Ensure Words Alive is represented in community taskforces, partnerships, and with key stakeholders.

  • Negotiate and oversee contracts with cost sharing/fee-for-service agreements with partners.

  • Galvanize funding to lower barriers for partners accessing Words Alive’s programming.

  • Participate in thought leadership conferences and learning communities.

  • Produce regular programmatic impact reports for partners, investors, and the community at large. 

Program Evaluation & Impact (20%)

  • Oversee an unwavering commitment to measurable impact and our program evaluation framework, fostering a culture of scientific inquiry and reflection

  • Implement an evaluation process that captures program learning and impact data for program activities.

  • Synthesize program data into coherent evidence and learning to be shared with and understood by multiple audiences.

  • Utilize data to identify best practices, celebrate successes, surface areas of improvement, and recommend strategies to promote growth.

  • Issue annual reports to the community, partners, and donors on the impact of Words Alive’s programming; provide valuable information to executive leadership and the Board of Directors on the viability and continuity of programming.

  • Work as a thought-leader within the organization and ecosystem of partnering organizations to ensure that the impact of programming is maximized at all levels.

Other Duties as Assigned (5%)

 

EXPECTATIONS, EXPERIENCE & REQUIREMENTS

  • A great sense of humor!

  • 5+ years working in program leadership, program management, evaluation, analysis, partnerships, and/or strategy for a social sector organization.

  • 5+ years directly supervising a diverse cohort(s) of volunteers, donors, and/or staff.

  • Proven understanding of community models of change; collective action models.

  • Highly organized; proven project and staff management skills.

  • Self-starter with exceptional time management skills and ease in moving quickly through many priorities simultaneously.

  • Proficiency and ease with numbers, data, budget projections, and budget management. Ability to draw conclusions from large data sets.

  • Impeccable written and oral communication skills

  • High emotional intelligence, able to easily develop deep, trusting relationships with diverse individuals from many different backgrounds

  • Strong ability to work as part of a team and independently in a variety of environments (office, home, school/nonprofit sites, etc.)

  • Optimistic, positive, welcoming, thoughtful, gratitude-driven, and professional demeanor.

  • Unwavering commitment to inspiring children, teens, and families to becoming life-long learners

  • Love of continuous learning and growth

 Educational and Technical Skills

  • At least 8 years of relatable experience.

  • Bachelor’s degree, or equivalent experience.

  • Experience with data, analysis, budgeting, and/or program evaluation.

  • Excellent computer skills with proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook), remote working platforms (Teams, Zoom), online applications, and search engines.  

Preferred Qualifications:

  • Graduate degree

  • Experience in a teaching, education, and/or impact evaluation role.

  • Experience managing a $100,000+ departmental or project-based budget.

  • Proven success managing a portfolio of revenue-generating partnerships/sales portfolio.

  • Exemplary success managing staff/volunteers serving various roles within an organization.

  • Experience working with underserved population(s).

  • Prior experience volunteering with or working for a literacy, education, or nonprofit organization.

  • Written and/or verbal fluency in language(s) in addition to English.

This position requires:

  • Ability to work on a computer and phone for at least 50% of the day, and often more.

  • In-office work.  The office is on the second floor of a building with no elevator.  Reasonable accommodations will be made.

  • Use of personal cell phone, as necessary, during remote and site-based work.

  • Ability to drive to and from meetings, activities, and events mostly throughout San Diego County but occasionally throughout Words Alive’s service area. Overnight travel is a rare possibility. 

  • Availability early mornings, evenings, and weekends to engage with key stakeholders, program participants, and funders, as required.

  • All staff support in receiving and delivering program material to/from the office - the second floor of an older building without an elevator. Staff must be able to lift to 30 pounds regularly. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals to perform essential functions.

 

WORDS ALIVE VALUES & CULTURE
At Words Alive, our programs and impact made in the community are driven by our core values, which represent the motivation, dedication, and focus of our Words Alive staff and volunteers. Our values include:

  • Commitment: by pledging to make reading matter for everyone

  • Equitability: by working to level the playing field

  • Empowerment: by investing in lifelong learners

  • Responsiveness: by listening to community needs and developing innovative solutions

  • Collaboration: by partnering with the community

  • Connectedness: by creating a familial environment that includes all Words Alive participants and supporters

APPLICATION PROCESS

  1. Submit a resume and cover letter that clearly explains your interest in this role via email (only) to: [email protected].  You may choose to submit a video in lieu of a cover letter.  Please, no phone calls.

  2. Resumes will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

  3. As this is a senior leadership position, applicants should expect a multi-week screening and interview process including phone, Zoom and/or in-person interviews with hiring manager, department staff, and a Board committee.  

START DATE:  Mid-May to mid-June, 2022 (flexible)

POSTING DATE: March 24, 2022