Assistant Vice President of Program

Reports to: Vice President of Program

WHO WE ARE 

Guided by the belief that every child should experience the joy of reading, Book Trust is a national early literacy organization working to engage every child in book access, choice, ownership, and joy cultivating literacy-rich communities. We envision a world where every child, especially children from underserved communities, has access to books and discovers the power of reading. Currently serving more than 50,000 students across 12 states, Book Trust acts as an equity game changer, helping students build personal libraries with books they choose and become life-long learners in the process.

WHAT YOU DO

The Assistant Vice President of Program provides critical strategic direction and guidance to the organization in three key areas of work: diversifying Book Trust programming, developing a Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning practice at Book Trust, and optimizing program implementation for our key stakeholders including students, their families, and school-based staff. The Assistant Vice President of Program also provides management support to direct report(s).

RESPONSIBILITIES

Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning

• Lead the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning workstream, developing and implementing frameworks to assess the effectiveness of Book Trust’s services.
• Oversee the collection, analysis, and reporting of program data to promote continuous improvement; respond to cross-departmental inquiries for program data to support external storytelling and funder requests.
• Partner with Manager of Program Operations to build expertise in Book Trust systems that currently house data .
• Facilitate knowledge sharing and capacity-building within the team to encourage data-driven decision-making and stakeholder engagement.
• Partner with members of the Program Team to develop mechanisms for refining and tracking Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), while owning progress monitoring towards team priorities.

Co-Design Program Innovation + Strategy

• Partner with the Vice President of Program to drive key innovation initiatives, adapting to market changes and evolving user needs; focus on deepening the organization’s understanding of current and future users to maximize impact.
• Support the development and implementation of a test-and-learn strategy for piloting new Book Trust services.
• Translate insights from pilots into actionable inputs that inform ongoing strategic planning.

Program Implementation + Optimization

• Ensure program activities align with organizational goals and priorities, contributing to the overall strategic direction of the organization.
• Oversee and support the Program Director in leading Book Trust’s flagship Book Access program, while developing and optimizing the Customer Service strategy to enhance the distribution experience and address the needs of school- and district-based staff.
• Establish expectations that all program implementation efforts are grounded in data-driven, user-centered decision-making; use insights from data to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of program delivery.
• Oversee the successful launch and monitor sustainability of new program offerings that come out of piloting efforts.

People Management + Leadership

• Manage and develop direct reports, ensuring they have clear expectations, the necessary resources to excel, and are connected to the organization’s values and culture, while fostering their leadership abilities and workplace satisfaction.
• Cultivate a positive and impact-oriented remote work culture within the Program Team, encouraging proactive collaboration and ownership.
• Manage by influence, reputation, and goodwill the collaboration of stakeholders across the organization to meet the Program Team’s goals.
• Provide support for Book Trust’s emerging DEI work and consistently demonstrate personal commitment to equity and inclusion in the management of others.
• Oversee allocated budget within the Program Team, providing mentorship to direct report(s) as they build their skill set in budget development and management; ensure sound fiscal management and efficient allocation of resources.

Organizational Stewardship

• Model and foster Book Trust’s core values.
• Responsibly steward financial and human resources.
• Continuously deepen your expertise and readiness to be an equity-centered team member and contributor in our effective family engagement efforts, self-aware, inclusive in your work, and able to be an agent of change.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

REQUIREMENTS AND QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s Degree required; advanced degree or related educational and professional training preferred.
• At least 8 years related program management experience at regional and/or national levels (nonprofit, philanthropy, industry, government and education, focused on social impact).
• PK – 12 Education and or/early literacy experience preferred.
• Experience facilitating program design using human-centered design methodologies (ie: design-thinking, user-centered design, etc).
• Experience in data management, analytics, and reporting, including generating actionable insights from data, and supporting data-driven decision-making processes.
• Experience using CRM platforms, particularly Salesforce, to manage customer relationships, track activities, and enhance client engagement through data-driven strategies.
• Experience leading teams and complex projects in high-ambiguity contexts.
• Experience with multiple stakeholder groups across the education landscape (including school-based staff, district-level partnerships, etc).
• Experience with project management.
• Ability to travel as needed.