General Summary:

The Program Manager for the Northeast Resource Center for Vision Education (NERCVE) will support the UMass Boston Vision Studies program through community engagement, professional development, grant management, and development. The incumbent will engage with the professional community to foster local, national, and international relationships; will maintain connections with liaisons, local education agencies, and state education agencies; will create and facilitate professional development opportunities that support professionals in all areas of vision studies.

The Program Manager, NERCVE will support the Vision Studies team with federal grant writing, data collection, and reporting. The program manager will identify and generate revenues by leading the development of projects that expand programs, projects, training, and research in the areas of vision studies at a local, state national, and international level.

Examples of Duties:

• Provide professional development opportunities to local, national and international agencies serving individuals who are blind or visually impaired; guide the development and implementation of projects with a focus on capacity development and demonstration; work with graduates and community professionals to assess needs and support leadership opportunities through the center or university;
• Responsible for quality assurance activities related to all professional development, technical assistance and product development at NERCVE, such as applying for and maintaining ACVREP credits;
• Serve as the Community Engagement Coordinator for the Vision Studies program and NERCVE; create and maintain relationships with program liaisons, local education agencies, and state education agencies;
• Support the management of Vision Studies/NERCVE projects including monitoring subcontracts and partnerships, meeting local, state and federal reporting requirements, ensuring projects are implemented in a timely fashion and in accordance with contractual commitments; organize and supervise the activities of designated staff;
• Serve as secondary liaison with the project staff at the U. S. Department of Education and Rehabilitation and other federal agencies in the areas of training and program development; manage some aspects of the local contracts and individual consultation contracts with individuals and agencies participating in the training and consultation activities of Vision Studies/NERCVE; responsible for day-to-day communication with agency staff and the negotiation of work tasks; organize project reports for review as required by funding agencies;
• Responsible for the development of data systems needed to document project performance and impacts as defined by the funding agencies, as well as insuring that the data needs for project management, evaluation and quality assurance activities are available;
• Work with other ICI and SGISD staff to increase collaboration and cohesiveness across projects and focus areas through shared staff resources, project collaboration, integrated work plans and other relevant approaches;
• Serve as a leader in the field of vision studies and program design for other entities in the University Centers for Excellence system as well as other disability systems at the national and state levels;
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

Master's Degree in vision education, vision rehabilitation, special education with credentials in visual impairment, or a closely related field and five-seven (5-7) years of previous experience in providing training and technical assistance for staff, consumers, community based agency personnel or others addressing the issue of preservice and in-service training, program development, systemic change, and interagency collaboration in the education and or rehabilitation of individuals who are blind or visually impaired required. A PhD can be substituted for four (4) years of the required work experience.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing and provide empathy in difficult interpersonal situations;
• Strong analytical skills to collect information from diverse sources, apply professional principles in performing various analyses, and summarize the information and data in order to solve problems or offer insights into program impacts;

Application Instructions:

Please apply online with your resume, cover letter and list of three professional references.

Review of candidates will begin following the application closing date.

Only Internal candidates in the Professional Staff Bargaining Unit will be considered during the first 10 business days of the posting. All other candidates will be considered after that period.

Salary Ranges for the appropriate Pay Grade can be found at the following link:

Grade:33 Salary Ranges

This is an exempt union position. This is a grant funded position with a current end date of 06/30/2023, subject to renewal contingent on funding and university needs.

All official salary offers must be approved by Human Resources.