Reading Partners is changing the education landscape. We are a leader in working to solve the literacy crisis in our country by leveraging community volunteers in under-resourced schools. Our diverse and expansive volunteer base provides one-on-one tutoring to students twice weekly, and our program is proven to help children master the reading fundamentals they need to unlock their potential as successful, happy and confident readers in school and in life. Our people are our heartbeat and our greatest resource; we are all passionately rallied around our mission to help children become lifelong learners by empowering communities to provide individualized instruction that works. Join our stellar team leading the charge to deepen our impact and expand our service. Watch this video to learn more about Reading Partners.

The high level:

The Community Engagement Director (CED) is part of an energetic team of leaders working together to leverage Reading Partners’ mission in the community. The Community Engagement Director’s main role is to lead, develop, and drive an ambitious community engagement strategy for the entire region. The Community Engagement Director leads a small team of Community Engagement Manager, Community Engagement Coordinator, and AmeriCorps members to recruit, train, celebrate and retain a diverse portfolio of volunteers to serve as literacy tutors in our reading centers. Reporting directly to the Executive Director of South Carolina, the Community Engagement Director’s role is truly externally facing and is focused on leading strategy and building sustainable community partnerships. The Community Engagement Director is an expert relationship builder, a dynamic thought partner, and an inspirational regional leader and part of the Sr. Leadership team in South Carolina.

What you’ll do:

Each year, create and drive an innovative and sustainable community engagement strategy in the region to meet and exceed volunteer recruitment targets.

• Create community partnerships to increase community engagement and recruitment in the North Charleston community.
• Meet volunteer recruitment benchmarks, including:
  • Oversee volunteer recruitment and onboarding strategy to meet a minimum of 850+ online and in-person tutors, with a goal to increase these numbers annually.
  • Ensure at least 70% of sessions are delivered by volunteers
  • Ensure a 90% tutor satisfaction rate
• Meet monthly volunteer training target goals
• Oversee volunteer recruitment and appreciation events, including:
• Maintain a high rate of volunteer retention, year over year, of at least 40%, and build strategies to achieve and maintain that retention level by 2025.
• Generate more than 3,000+ leads annually with a conversion rate of 40%, and a goal to increase both annually
• Achieve 90% or higher volunteer satisfaction rating on end-of-year survey
• Increase tutor representation in the pipeline by 25% in key demographic areas that are currently underrepresented (African American, Latinx, Male)

Each fiscal year, lead a team of community engagement staff and AmeriCorps members toward successfully reaching or exceeding volunteer recruitment, retention and training goals.

• Manage one Community Engagement Associate and a Community Engagement Manager in all aspects of work through coaching, professional development, and managing goals
• Develop and execute community engagement trainings, and assist with onboarding and orientation of AmeriCorps members throughout the region, with support from the Executive Director, Community Engagement staff, and Program staff

Develop external and internal relationships with key stakeholders and collaborate closely with the Executive Director, Program staff, and Development staff to drive Reading Partners’ external brand and achieve annual regional goals.

• Work with the Program team to increase student enrollment
• Manage a portfolio of 20-40 highest-stakes partner organizations, ensuring that partners meet or exceed enrollment goals and that each relationship is optimized.
• Build partnerships with government entities, other local nonprofits, affinity groups, and develop new models for partnership
• Collaborate closely with the Executive Director, Sr. Leadership staff, and the Regional Advisory Board to drive Reading Partners’ external brand.
  • Including the following potential committees/positions: Strategic Volunteer Engagement Committee (SVEC) Tutor Advisory Committee (TAC) Tutor Ambassador Role
• Oversee regional marketing and communications for volunteer and partner networks
• Advocate for the organization’s interests and promote a positive image through media, press releases, and social media platforms.

Lead the Community Engagement team in regional innovations to adapt to changing education landscapes in collaboration with national and other regional Community Engagement staff.

• Design and execute community engagement programs, events, and initiatives
• Identify and establish strategic partnerships with local businesses, schools, nonprofits, and governmental agencies to further the organization’s objectives.
• Strategize leverage of public events to increase Reading Partners South Carolina’s local presence
  • Creation and support of local tabling events representing RPSC
  • Collaborating with local nonprofits, ensuring RPSC’s presence at important community events, meetings, and forums.
• Design new regional processes for recruiting and onboarding returning and new volunteers for online programming, ensuring 100% compliance and safety for students.
• Create and oversee processes for recruiting and managing alternative volunteer positions outside of Reading Partners’ one-on-one tutoring model.
• Create engagement and appreciation strategies for stakeholder networks to ensure tutor and ambassador pipelines for future years.

Other duties as needed.

How you’ll do it:

Leadership&Management:

• Lead the community engagement function at the regional level. Demonstrate a genuine interest in coaching, inspiring, and developing staff toward goals. Demonstrate an ability to provide clear guidance and goals, to delegate, and to provide growth opportunities while supporting progress along the way.Support our emerging national network of community engagement staff.

RelationshipDevelopment&Collaboration:

• Demonstrate an advanced ability to build and leverage sustainable partnerships. Leverage existing relationships and build new transformational relationships in the community. Establish highly collaborative cross-functional relationships, and collaborate effectively with all internal stakeholders. Celebrate wins with all stakeholders.

Communication:

• Externally, demonstrate the ability to genuinely promote Reading Partners and our mission through a variety of strategies. Provide excellent customer service to partners and volunteers. Have a high level of comfort with public speaking and with crafting mass communications. Be able to differentiate communication and deliver compelling messaging that is tailored to your audience.
• Internally, set up strong systems for communication and messaging, tailor communication to audiences, and contextualize messaging. Demonstrate a strong aptitude for effective communication, remotely and in person, with direct reports, school stakeholders, and other Reading Partners staff. Be able to conduct difficult conversations with grace and ease.

StrategicLeadership:

• Support regional growth strategy by forecasting volunteer capacity needs. Create and drive innovative community engagement strategies for growing region. Create transformational partnerships solutions in the face of competition for resources, time, etc. with a high degree of adaptability and flexibility. Anticipate challenges and/or questions, and proactively execute solutions. Always act in accordance with larger strategic priorities and make measurable progress against these larger goals through partnerships and internal team members. Be able to make quick, sound, and on-the-fly decisions that consider all stakeholders.

About you!

You’llbesuccessfulinthisroleifyou:

• Demonstrate knowledge of the Charleston, South Carolina, education landscape and the broader community
• Have 5+ years of progressive experience in community engagement, outreach, or related roles.
• Have direct management experience of volunteers, interns, and/or emerging professionals
• Experience in customer service, marketing or social media, client management, or community organizing is a plus.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to build and maintain positive relationships.
• Experience in program development and execution.
• Knowledge of local community dynamics and issues of social justice.
• Excellent organizational and project management skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively with diverse stakeholders.
• Familiarity with budget management and reporting.
• Have database management experience and a high level of comfort with Salesforce, MS Office, G-Suite
• Have access to reliable transportation to travel within the Charleston metropolitan area on a daily basis
• Have flexibility and adaptability in work style and work schedule, including some night and weekend time
• Boast a deep belief in our mission
• Root your work in our core values
• Hold a Bachelor’s degree and/or equivalent prior experience in nonprofit management, business development, communications, or a related field.
• Can prove eligibility to work in the U.S. legally

Bonus Points if you:

• Have experience working in the launch phase of projects or programs
• Are an AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, or other national service alum/alumna

What we offer:

Reading Partners’ compensation and benefits programs are designed to attract, motivate, engage, and retain top talent to propel our mission forward. We aim to set salaries based on objective, external, high-quality market data. Our salaries are adjusted for candidates in different geographic regions. We do our very best to ensure that we’re bringing our best offer – therefore, we do not engage in salary negotiations.

• This is a full-time, exempt, salaried position. The pay range for this position is $85,136 – $106,420 for South Carolina.
• We offer a comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental, vision, disability, life insurance, flex spending accounts, generous paid time off, commuter benefits, an Employee Assistance Program (EAP), and currently a 403(b) match option.
• Reading Partners employees scheduled 30 hours or more are eligible for Unlimited Paid Time Off (PTO)
• Professional development reimbursement fund up to $1,000 per year.

The other things you need to know:

• Travel: This position travels regularly/or other amount throughout South Carolina. This position may also involve occasional travel to Reading Partners’ National Headquarters in Oakland, CA.

What’s Next?

If you’re interested in joining our Reading Partners team, please submit the following application materials to our online job posting:

• A cover letter describing your interest in Reading Partners and how your past experience has prepared you for this role. Please include your salary needs.
• Resume

At Reading Partners we respect and honor the diversity in our workforce, and we are an Equal Opportunity Employer.