Program Specialist VI, MOM Model Program Lead

TX-HHSC-DSHS-DFPS • Austin, TX

18d • Onsite

About The Position

The Delivery System Quality & Innovation (DSQI) Unit within the Medicaid CHIP Services (MCS) Office of Quality and Program Improvement seeks a highly qualified candidate to fill the position of Program Specialist VI, Maternal Opioid Misuse (MOM) Model Program Lead. The mission of DSQI is to incentivize, innovate, and educate to improve health care quality. The DSQI Unit develops and implements innovative quality improvement programs and incentives, provides education and technical assistance to increase the adoption of best practices, and evaluates the effectiveness of quality programs and interventions. The Program Specialist VI position will serve as the program lead on the MOM model, an initiative to transform the delivery system and improve continuity of care for pregnant and postpartum women with opioid use disorder (OUD). This innovative state and local partnership has the potential to save lives and impact one of the leading causes of pregnancy-related deaths in the United States. This position offers considerable exposure to the inner workings of health delivery, contracts and reporting, as well as assessing health outcomes and quality improvement. The MOM Model Program Lead is selected by and directly reports to the Manager in the DSQI Unit and will have considerable autonomy in their work. The MOM Model Program Lead will work closely with state and community stakeholders to continue MOM Model operations in Harris County, implement the MOM Model in Dallas County, and explore options for long-term sustainability of the Model. This position is based in Austin. Currently, this position is funded through August 31, 2027. The option to continue the position is dependent on direction from the Texas Legislature. The ideal candidate has a passion for women’s and maternal health, and/or behavioral health and thrives in an environment that emphasizes teamwork to achieve goals, excellence through high professional standards and personal accountability, curiosity to continuously grow and learn, critical thinking for effective execution, and integrity to do things right even when what is right is not easy.

Requirements

• A keen attention to detail.
• Skill in project management.
• Strong skills in communicating effectively both orally and in writing.
• Skills in conducting policy and data analysis, as well as performing research.
• Skill in synthesizing, analyzing, and evaluating complicated and technical information and translating it into easily understandable and concise documents and oral presentations.
• Skill in developing creative and workable solutions to complex problems and policy issues.
• Experience with exercising sound judgment with limited data and working independently with limited direction.
• Experience in contract management.
• Skill in developing and evaluating policies and procedures; to assess risk and develop contingency plans; and to make recommendations and decisions.
• Ability to negotiate with multiple parties, internally across an organization and externally with stakeholders, resolve conflicts, and establish and maintain effective working relationships.
• Knowledge of federal and state Medicaid and CHIP programs, services, and requirements.
• Familiarity with key concepts of delivery system reform, healthcare innovation, or population health.
• Ability to work cooperatively and effectively in a team environment.
• Skill in communicating and presenting information.
• Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with major course work in a field relevant to healthcare, human services, public health, social work, policy development, research or evaluation, or another related field.
• Work experience in a field related to healthcare research, public health, state government, social work, policy analysis or another related field.
• Experience and education may be substituted for one another on a year-per-year basis.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in a field related to Medicaid or Substance Use Treatment preferred.

Responsibilities

• Manages implementation of the MOM Model in Harris County and Dallas County.
• Serves as the HHSC liaison for the MOM Model, coordinating with a team of internal and external MOM Model stakeholders, which includes facilitating weekly meetings with contractors and coordinating data collection and other reports.
• Assists with close out activities for the MOM Model federal grant.
• Develops or implements special initiatives related to the MOM Model or other women’s behavioral health efforts, such as exploring long-term sustainability options.
• Maintains MOM Model governing documents including state/local agreements and budgets, operational guidance, policies, and applicable contract amendments within Texas Medicaid.
• Oversee the MOM Model contractual scope of work requirements and implementation for Dallas County and Harris County.
• Provides support in the contractor payment process by tracking spending and coordinating with MCS contract management to maintain MOM Model contracts.
• Develops high quality written project updates, summaries, reports, executive presentations, bill analyses, and other documents, and serves as the primary subject matter expert for the MOM Model.
• Other duties as assigned within DSQI team in the area of quality improvement.

Benefits

• Our comprehensive benefits package includes 100% paid employee health insurance for full-time eligible employees, a defined benefit pension plan, generous time off benefits, numerous opportunities for career advancement and more.
• Excellent health benefits,
• Lifetime monthly retirement annuity,
• Generous time off benefits.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 1,001-5,000 employees