Food Sovereignty Initiatives Specialist

Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board•Portland, OR

1d•$58,500 - $68,500•Onsite

About The Position

The Food Sovereignty Initiatives Project Specialist’s (FS Project Specialist) primary responsibility is to oversee the Northwest Tribal Food Sovereignty Initiative, including the Wellness for Every American Indian to Achieve and View Health Equity (WEAVE-NW) Tribal Food Sovereignty grantees, food sovereignty activities, and Northwest Tribal Food Sovereignty coalition. Responsibilities include developing, coordinating, and facilitating meetings, conferences, and trainings, coordinating the strategic planning and implementation of workplans and future external funding opportunities, providing food sovereignty grantee oversight, providing tribes with subject matter expertise (specifically around food systems, food sovereignty, access to food, and traditional food topics), supporting the budget management for food sovereignty initiative events, and providing overall project support as needed. This position is also responsible for collaborating with other WEAVE-NW team members for projects related to food sovereignty (such as food-related issues around diabetes, nutrition, diet and exercise, tobacco, and chronic disease prevention). Under the guidance of the WEAVE-NW Project Director, the FS Project Specialist also collaborates with other NPAIHB staff members, including fellow WEAVE-NW team members and the Project Director Evaluator to achieve the goals and objectives of assigned subawards. The Food Sovereignty Initiatives Project Specialist serves on the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board’s WEAVE-NW team of public health professionals which manage and facilitate the strategies and activities under the Good Health and Wellness in Indian Country (GHWIC) initiative. The Food Sovereignty Initiative Project Specialist reports to the WEAVE-NW Project Director. This scope of work is housed within the NW Tribal Epidemiology Center (“NW-TEC” or “EpiCenter”) Division. This position is based at NPAIHB’s offices in Portland, Oregon. Local travel and/or overnight travel outside of the area is required approximately 10% of the time, mostly within the service area.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree preferably in health promotion/disease prevention, community public health, public health, or related field
A minimum of (4) years of demonstrated experience in health promotion/disease prevention, community public health, or related field may serve as an acceptable substitute
At least 3 years of experience practicing in a health promotion/disease prevention program
Preparing written reports
Demonstrated knowledge, discretion, tact, judgment, and overall ability in working effectively with federal, Tribal, and other professionals, and facilitating participation and partnership in the activities of the WEAVE-NW project
Proficiency with computer applications (specifically Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other Microsoft Office Suite programs)
Strong technical writing skills, including good spelling and grammatical skills, and the ability to produce polished writing under a deadline
Excellent research and analysis skills
Excellent interpersonal skills
Must be sensitive to cross-cultural differences, and able to work effectively within their context.
Ability to work with minimal supervision, exercise initiative, and make independent decisions and recommendations
Ability to make professional oral presentations in settings at the national, regional, and community levels, as well as in Tribal settings
Ability to complete tasks in a timely and accurate manner
Ability to travel occasionally is approximately 10% of the time

Nice To Haves

At least 2 years of professional experience working in Tribes, Tribal organizations, Tribal communities, or Tribal health clinics
Direct experience working with Northwest Tribes
Experience in planning, organizing, implementing, and ongoing development of public health-related coalitions

Responsibilities

Provides WEAVE-NW program direction and support in alignment with NPAIHB Strategic Plan
Facilitates the delivery of WEAVE-NW food sovereignty content for the NWTEC, and for NPAIHB programs, including the Food Sovereignty and the GHWIC grant, along with future projects and services
Participates in (and leads, as appropriate) all NPAIHB WEAVE-NW related grant meetings and program discussions
Facilitates and provides staff support to the NW Food Sovereignty Committee, and assists with running the Food Sovereignty meeting during the Quarterly NPAIHB Board of Directors Meeting (QBM)
Leads the development of NPAIHB’s WEAVE-NW food sovereignty initiatives, along with NPAIHB staff, Tribal partners, and consultants
Conducts long-term and short-term research (including surveys, feasibility studies, and research studies) to guide WEAVE-NW program development, improvement of services, and development of Tribally based best practices for NW Tribes
Creates and implements capacity building and quality improvement strategies based on the needs and priorities of Northwest Tribes
Updates WEAVE-NW priorities throughout the year, as directed by Northwest Tribes, and through the NPAIHB Strategic Planning process and/or annual federal and state policy priorities
Works closely with Director of Government Affairs and/or Executive Director to identify Northwest, federal, and state policy priorities related to WEAVE-NW
Assists in finding and pursuing grant funding from other sources for WEAVE-NW and food sovereignty
Supports collaboration and compliance between projects, partners, and funding agencies to meet all goals and objectives for each grant’s fiscal period and the larger strategic plan of the NPAIHB
Establishes and maintains relationships with Portland Area IHS and Tribal health program leadership and staff to enhance broad regional participation in projects
Represents the NPAIHB and its NWTEC and Health projects at state and national meetings, conferences, events, and workgroups relating to WEAVE-NW
Supports the preparation and submission of all required project reports for the WEAVE-NW program
Engages staff in the collection of pertinent data to meet reporting requirements
Maintains well-organized filing systems for all WEAVE-NW related required documentation and supporting records (both electronic and hard copy) in compliance with both NPAIHB and funding agency requirements, including securely archiving files as appropriate
Prepares activity reports for NPAIHB Delegates (for Quarterly and ad hoc Board Meetings), the Deputy Director, eMar, and funding agencies
Submits a Monthly Activity Report (MAR) to the Project Director at the end of each month, and any additional reports required to track project activities as needed
Collaborates with the WEAVE-NW and other NPAIHB staff to meet related goals and objectives, with supervisor approval
Supports unique Tribal provider education within formal systems and Tribal training structures, and acts as a lecturer, instructor, or preceptor as appropriate
Performs other duties as assigned by the WEAVE-NW Director, Division Director, and/or Executive Director
Works closely with supervisor to support the identification of Northwest, federal, and state policy priorities related to WEAVE-NW
Manage coalitions, listserv, and newsletter content
Monitor, implement, track completion timelines
Coordinate with evaluation specialist to assure subaward tribes are completing evaluation plan and evaluation data collection is complete and submitted