Program Operations Specialist (Temporary)

University of Washington Medical Center

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences within the UW School of Medicine currently has an outstanding opportunity for a Temporary Program Operations Specialist. Seven Directions at the University of Washington is the first national public health institute in the United States to focus solely on improving Indigenous health and wellness. We are committed to cultivating and sharing knowledge, connecting communities and resources, and working to achieve shared goals for future generations. With funding from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) National Center for Injury Prevention and Control for “Building Capacity for Tribal Overdose Prevention Program,” Seven Directions is partnering with “Safe States” and the National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI) to increase the capacity for overdose and injury prevention within tribes and tribal-serving organizations by building the Indigenous workforce and providing a forum for tribes to network and share Indigenous practices for prevention. Seven Directions will specifically focus on the Indigenous Workforce Development for Overdose Prevention activities under this project to support American Indian and Alaska Native participants in addressing tribal health issues while fostering leadership and capacity-building among Indigenous populations. The Program Operations Specialist (Payroll Title: Pro Staff Temp Position (E S)) is a key member of the Seven Directions team under the general direction of the Project Lead and works alongside senior team members in implementing a variety of project and research activities, such as: evaluating the internship and placement programs; managing implementation of the internship/placement program for students and recent graduates to serve within tribal health departments or tribal serving organizations working on overdose and/or Indigenous evaluation initiatives; and coordinating delivering professional development and training opportunities for students and recent graduates. The ideal candidate will be a highly organized project manager on any given team; with a special emphasis on leading evaluation development and implementation; developing dynamic workshops and trainings; facilitating discussions among interns, mentors, sites, and funding partners; and providing technical assistance to community partners. In addition, the ideal candidate will bring experience working with AI/AN communities as well as an understanding of and humility toward AI/AN historical, contemporary, and cultural contexts. Seven Directions works with a wide range of tribes and Indigenous-serving organizations representing a wide range of social and cultural environments (e.g., urban vs. rural, Northwest vs. Plains vs. Southwest) that require cultural humility, understanding, and flexibility. The frequent telephone/video and e-mail contacts as well as occasional in-person contact with American Indian/Alaska Native communities require extraordinary tact and cultural sensitivity. This also applies to regular communication with funders, as well as other tribal and institutional partners.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Public Health, Social Work, Public Affairs, Psychology, American Indian Studies, or related fields and two years of relevant experience. Equivalent education/experience will substitute for all minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license/certification/registration.
Knowledgeable and experienced in program evaluation.
Familiar with the tribal and urban Indigenous health system and tribal health governance.
Familiarity with issues affecting American Indian and Alaska Native health, healing, cultural diversity and strengths.
Experience facilitating meetings and discussions for internal and external (i.e., community, funders) partners.
Dynamic and engaging presentation and facilitation style.
Excellent problem-solving, organization, relationships, and project management skills.
Ability to be innovative, resourceful, and creative.
Curiosity, enthusiasm, willingness, and a positive attitude towards learning new and diverse concepts, methods, tools, knowledge and data systems, community cultural contexts, and solving problems.
The ability to work as a collaborative, cooperative, and congenial member of a close-knit scholarly research, practice, and administrative team, as well as work independently (experience in virtual team environments is a plus).
Detail-oriented; high degree of accuracy in all aspects of work.
Discipline and organizational ability to work in a hybrid environment both from a home-based office and on site at 7D offices.
Ability to respond to and accommodate dynamic priorities and schedules of faculty supervisors, including ability to set project calendars, provide reminders, and step into project management roles; ability to work independently.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree in Public Health, Social Work, Public Affairs, Psychology, American Indian Studies, or related fields.
One to two years of Indigenous evaluation knowledge and experience.
Four to five years' experience working with tribal nations and American Indian or Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities in both urban and rural settings.
Knowledgeable substance use/misuse, stigma, mental health, and public health practice in general and among AI/AN communities.
Ability to conduct one-on-one interviews and facilitation of focus groups, collect quantitative and qualitative data.
Familiarity with literature management software packages, e.g., EndNote, Zotero, etc. and qualitative software management and analysis software packages, e.g., Dedoose, Atlas.ti etc.
Experience working closely as a trusted resource with communities to identify needs, define strategy, develop action plans, identify deliverables, present results, measure outcomes, and provide recommendations.
Knowledgeable public health communication best practices and effective communication for different populations.
Familiarity with project management tools and/or software packages, e.g., MS Project, Smartsheet, etc.

Responsibilities

Lead design of a comprehensive evaluation for the internship/placement program, in collaboration with the project lead, using an Indigenous evaluation, as appropriate.
Engage key stakeholders and partners from NNPHI, Safe States, NCIPC, and both students and post-graduate interns in evaluation planning and integration of their guidance/feedback.
Collect knowledge and feedback about internship activities, professional development activities, and participants’ experiences through a mix of Indigenous data collection methods.
Develop an evaluation plan to include evaluation questions, approach, success indicators/measures, activities calendar, and analysis plan.
Lead implementation of plan including data collection, analysis, and interpretation.
Review and update processes, strategies, and materials for every component of the program: internship/placement, training and professional development.
Disseminate invitation to host sites to host interns/placements and implement through Seven Direction contacts/networks.
Disseminate invitation to students/recent graduates through Seven Directions listservs, social media, and relevant partners’ media channels.
Implement application and matching of interns, recent graduates with sites.
Coordinate with sites to complete individualized workplan for internship/placements.
Develop and facilitate program orientation, training series, and professional development opportunities with team.
Develop and facilitate internship/placement program contribution to grantee in -person meeting, with team, as needed.
Provide ongoing logistical support or technical assistance to hosting agencies as needed, with team.
Ensure program evaluation objectives are completed.
Work closely with NNPHI, Safe States, and NCIPC to identify broad list of tribal health departments or tribal-serving organizations working on overdose and injury prevention to host student interns and post-graduate placements.
Work with agency partners to develop internship position descriptions and identify supervision structures.
Compile position descriptions for prospective interns to review.
Collaboratively develop intern selection and matching criteria for interested intern applicants.
Develop internship application platform.
Develop marketing materials to publicize the internship opportunity.
Review applications and match interns to agencies.
Coordinate with funders and partners, as needed, to bring students/interns and/or provide professional development opportunity at the in-person meeting.
Share findings at gathering ground, communities of practice, and presentations with project leads to participants/attendees.
Coordinate drafting of briefs and reports for participants, partners, and funders, in collaboration with project lead and team.
Co-develop presentations of findings from internship and professional development program.
Assist with ongoing grant submissions.
Conduct literature reviews for proposals.
Assist with data collection instruments and analysis plans.
Assist with evaluation plan development.
Develop workplan in ASANA in collaboration with project lead.
Track workplan and complete reporting for funders.
Submit invoices, requests for supplies and services, through UW finance dept.
Coordinate travel logistics for in person meetings with team.
Take a leadership role in developing and implementing an evaluation plan for the internship/placement program.
Take a leadership role in implementing the internship/placement, training, and professional development program.
Manage placements of students and recent graduates with partner organizations.
This position will support senior staff and faculty with coordinating students and provide mentorship and training on research activities and public health practice for undergraduate and graduate students.