Job Posting
Director of Communities of Practice (CoP)– NARME
In his plenary at the 2024 NARME Summit, NARME Board Member and co-founder Dennis Stoica made a compelling case that the best way to radically increase funding to the Relationship and Marriage Education (RME) field is to clearly demonstrate that our collection of interventions is a highly cost- effective way to at least partially solve problems that already receive large amounts of funding. He showed how the US spends over one trillion dollars per year to solve problems that RME can effectively address, yet total federal funding for our field is only $150 million per year – and ended his presentation with the rallying cry “If we’re dealing with a trillion, at least give us a billion!”. He announced the availability of a grant from an organization that he founded (the Community Marriage Initiatives Fund) to NARME to fund a half-time (20-hour per week) “Director of Communities of Practice” Independent Contractor position for one year at the rate of $30,000.
The main responsibilities of this person will be to:
1) Become an expert in the field of Communities of Practice (CoP)
2) Organize CoPs for NARME members in at least three of the following six potential RME Practice
Areas which Dennis described in his plenary:
A) Improve student test scores in public elementary and middle schools
B) Reduce recidivism in public prisons and jails
C) Reduce county-wide divorce rates
D) Reduce turnover rates of foster parents in the child welfare system
E) Increase child support payments from non-custodial fathers to mothers
F) Reduce re-occurrence of domestic violence.
The initial emphasis will focus on improving student test scores by empowering NARME members to offer RME programs to parents of elementary and middle school students.
3) As part of the process of organizing these CoPs, mobilize a network of new and existing NARME members who are key leaders and strategic partners in each of the Practice Areas to become active members of the respective CoPs and arrange for interactions and interchanges of information to occur between these people including:
A) Webinars and Zoom meetings
B) Plenaries, Workshops, and/or Breakout Groups at the 2025 NARME Summit
C) Other opportunities as appropriate
4) Begin developing Repositories (Clearinghouses of Information) for all six RME Practice Areas listed above with an initial emphasis on improving student test scores – with these Repositories to include the following:
A) Case Statements
B) Results of any research / studies that demonstrate the effectiveness of RME in each area
C) Relevant resources that can be used in grant applications in each area – that clearly show the connection and alignment between RME and each area
D) Reports of best practices in implementing RME in each area
E) Descriptions of possible project designs that could demonstrate RME’s effectiveness in each area
F) Other relevant materials
5) Provide guidance to NARME members on how the upcoming 2025 Healthy Marriage and
Responsible Fatherhood (HMRF) grant opportunity can be utilized to demonstrate the effectiveness of RME programs in some or all the above six potential RME Practice Areas – and (with input from Dennis) provide guidance to NARME members on how they can tailor their upcoming grant applications to accomplish this.
The ideal candidate will have most or all of the following characteristics:
1) Master’s level of education (or above) in a related field – or equivalent work experience
2) Excellent writing skills
3) Excellent research skills
4) Excellent analytic and organizational skills
5) A level of passion for the RME field meeting or exceeding that of Dennis Stoica
6) A strong work ethic
7) An insatiable desire to make a difference in the world
8) Be a self-starter who does not need a high amount of supervision
9) Able to inspire and motivate others to take action in support of our Mission
10) Walk the talk – by using the communication skills we teach in our RME classes in all interpersonal interactions.
Characteristics of the position:
Work from home
Flexible work hours
Can be located anywhere
Report to Dennis Stoica
This is a 12-month half-time (20 hours per week) Independent Contractor position working for NARME, with a compensation level of $30,000 per year ($2,500 per month)
If you are interested in this position, please perform the following three activities, in the order listed below:
1) Watch (or re-watch) Dennis’ 2024 NARME plenary which can be found at the following link:
2) Perform some preliminary research on Communities of Practice so that you become familiar with that concept
3) Send a cover letter with CV or resume to DJStoica@gmail.com. In your cover letter, please explain why you would be an ideal candidate for this position.