Full-Time, Two-Year Fellowship Available: Community Health Integration Fellow

Massachusetts Public Health Association; Boston (MA); Hybrid; USD 65,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a passionate team dedicated to advancing health equity in Massachusetts! As a Community Health Integration Fellow, you will play a vital role in shaping healthcare policy and advocating for social needs within the healthcare system. This two-year fellowship offers a unique opportunity to work closely with community leaders and healthcare stakeholders, driving meaningful change and ensuring that marginalized voices are heard. With a focus on collaboration and strategic advocacy, you will help create a patient-centered healthcare experience that leads to equitable health outcomes. If you are ready to make a difference and tackle systemic issues in public health, this is the role for you.

Benefits

Health Insurance

Dental Insurance

Paid Time Off

Flexible Work Schedule

Qualifications

• Strong interest in health equity and healthcare systems in Massachusetts.
• Excellent research and writing skills to navigate complex bureaucracies.

Responsibilities

• Develop a two-year strategy for addressing health equity through healthcare.
• Facilitate the Alliance for Community Health Integration coalition.

Skills

Health Equity Advocacy

Research Skills

Policy Analysis

Facilitation Skills

Communication Skills

Organizational Skills

Strategic Thinking

Community Engagement

Education

Graduate Degree in Public Health, Law, Social Work, or Public Policy

2-4 years of experience in community or public policy campaigns

Job description

Full-Time, Two-Year Fellowship Available: Community Health Integration Fellow

The Massachusetts Public Health Alliance (MPHA) seeks a Community Health Integration Fellow to join our committed team of health equity advocates. This is a two-year position based in Boston. MPHA staff are currently working a hybrid weekly schedule – meaning some days remotely and some days in the Boston office. More details are below.

Organizational Overview

The Massachusetts Public Health Alliance (MPHA) is a champion for public health in the Commonwealth. We are a catalyst for change, eliminating health inequities and promoting healthy communities for all. As a statewide organization, MPHA engages local leaders, state organizations, public officials, and others to improve the health of all the Commonwealth’s residents. MPHA uses an effective combination of advocacy, education, community organizing, policy development, and coalition leadership to secure investments in public health, promote health equity, and bolster our public health infrastructure. In all our work, we seek to improve the social conditions in neighborhoods, schools, and workplaces that have an impact on health and to listen to the voices and priorities of communities most impacted by health inequities.

Promoting racial justice is a core component of MPHA’s work and identity. As MPHA pursues policy changes to promote health equity, we strive to confront the history of systemic racism and other forms of oppression that have been embedded in public policy. MPHA’s Health Equity Policy Framework guides our external work and internal practices in addressing all forms of health inequities. The framework places special emphasis on racial inequities because we believe that this injustice needs explicit attention.

MPHA’s success depends on a small but excellent staff and its ability to work as a team. We believe that our ongoing success depends on a diversity of lived experiences and talents as we strive for greater health equity in Massachusetts.

Position Summary

The Community Health Integration Fellow will be a core part of the Policy & Campaign Team working to advance MPHA’s health equity policy agenda. The selected candidate will have a fire in the belly for justice and liberation and be a bold advocate for fundamental systems change. They will value teamwork and strong connections with staff and allies.

The Community Health Integration Fellow will be MPHA’s staff lead on advancing equity through healthcare, giving shape to MPHA’s policy work in addressing health-related social needs within the healthcare system to improve quality and cost-effectiveness of care; bringing community voice to the table with hospital systems to influence hospital policy and funding decisions that impact social drivers of health; and pressing the healthcare system to partner with communities and use its political power to advance community-driven policy change. The Fellow will be MPHA’s staff expert on healthcare payment reform as a mechanism for creating a patient-centered healthcare experience resulting in equitable health outcomes and healthier people, especially those from historically marginalized groups. The Fellow will be responsible for leading MPHA’s advocacy with MassHealth, developing relationships with key stakeholders and experts, and convening the Alliance for Community Health Integration (ACHI), an MPHA coalition. The selected fellow will provide the coalition with a deeper understanding of the MassHealth system, navigate the regulatory landscape, conduct analysis and research on Accountable Care Organization models and payment reform approaches, and monitor data collection from the Flexible Services Program for continuous quality improvement purposes. The fellowship will also maximize the impact of ACHI by organizing ongoing feedback to MassHealth that informs and generates key recommendations for successfully integrating the Flexible Services Program within MassHealth. The position reports to the Deputy Director.

Job Responsibilities

• Develop and hone a two-year strategy for MPHA’s policy goal of Addressing Health Equity through Health Care, identifying key moments for advocacy and education and drawing on the skills and knowledge of Alliance for Community Health Integration (ACHI) coalition members.
• Convene and facilitate the Alliance for Community Health Integration (ACHI) coalition: reinvigorate ACHI, including cultivating and strengthening relationships with past coalition members, coordinating meeting agendas, logistics, facilitation, and coalition communications in order to drive coalition advocacy.
• Provide technical assistance and grow the engagement of coalition members and partners in strategic advocacy to advance health equity through cost containment, payment reform, and other healthcare system levers.
• Play a leadership role in executing MPHA’s and ACHI’s strategy to advance healthcare payment reform as a mechanism for creating a patient-centered healthcare experience resulting in equitable health outcomes and healthier people, especially those from historically marginalized groups, working closely with the Deputy Director.
• Gather and synthesize information: represent MPHA with coalitions, community partners, and policymakers and synthesize information from external partners for MPHA staff and Policy Council to propel MPHA’s work with MassHealth and healthcare system actors forward.
• Draft research memos, white papers, MPHA public comment, training materials, and other collateral to give shape to and support advocacy within MPHA’s policy priority of advancing equity through health care.

Qualifications

We understand that there are many paths to acquiring experience. Therefore, we welcome candidates from diverse and nontraditional backgrounds for this role, including those who have demonstrated transferable skills to carry out the major duties outlined in this job description.

• Strong interest in and familiarity with models to address health equity through health care systems in Massachusetts. Ability and confidence to quickly become MPHA’s in-house subject matter expert on the MassHealth Health Related Social Needs program (formerly known as the Flexible Services program) and related processes/issues including the 1115 Waiver, the Health Policy Commission, health care cost containment, health related social needs, etc.
• Strong research and writing skills: ability to understand, learn, navigate, and distill information involving complex bureaucracies. This position will be required to develop an intimate understanding of the state and federal regulatory landscape as well as private and public health insurance schemes.
• Confident and persistent facilitator: experience facilitating meetings with an eye towards moving agendas and coalition work forward; able to allocate time across tasks within a timeline; ability to listen critically to discussion on topics where you may not yet have expertise and synthesize main points and action steps to move the process forward; willingness to follow up and follow through in order to maintain relationships with partners and achieve coalition goals.
• Strong communicator and team player: excellent formal and informal written and verbal communication skills, including experience translating complex policy topics for a variety of audiences. Ability to flex communication styles and methods for a variety of organizational cultures and settings. Comfortable with public speaking and facilitating challenging conversations. Great sense of humor. Rigor and high standards are complemented with an ability to encourage fun and contribute to a strong team internally and among coalition partners.
• Highly organized and motivated: exceptionally well-organized with strong attention to detail. Ability and desire to work in a fast-paced environment, and ability to prioritize and switch gears quickly between multiple projects and subjects. Fast and enthusiastic learner interested in growing knowledge in a wide variety of topic areas.
• Strategic: skilled at communicating in ways that build credibility, inspire, align people, and motivate action. Experience identifying the appropriate asks of individuals, creating commitments, and establishing mutual accountability.
• Trustworthy: able to build relationships and establish deep trust with folks across identities and socially assigned circumstances (e.g., race, class, religion, orientation, gender).
• Humble: able to listen well and support problem-solving processes grounded in the experiences of low-income communities and communities of color; willingness to adapt plans and make decisions that align with the goals and values of stakeholders.
• Minimum of 2-4 years of experience working in community, legislative, labor, or public policy campaigns. A graduate degree may be substituted for professional experience. Recent graduates with advanced degrees in public health, law, social work, and public policy are encouraged to apply.

MPHA is an equal opportunity employer committed to a workplace that reflects the diversity of the people of Massachusetts. We make a particular effort to recruit people of color to apply.

Salary and benefits

The salary range for this fellowship is $65,000-70,000 annually for a maximum of 2 years. MPHA offers excellent health, dental, and paid time off benefits.

Location

MPHA is located at 50 Federal Street in Boston, accessible by public transportation. MPHA staff work hybrid schedules – meaning both in the office and remotely. Staff are in the office together on Tuesdays and Thursdays for staff meetings and team building and are requested to be in the office other days as needed. Availability for occasional early morning, evening, or weekend events and meetings is required.

To Apply:

Applications will be accepted until Wednesday, November 27 at 5pm and reviewed on a rolling basis. Individuals interested in applying should visit: https://www.tfaforms.com/5154277. You will be asked to complete basic application information and provide a cover letter, resume, and short writing sample (no more than 3 pages). In your cover letter, please include context for your writing sample and explain what skills your writing sample demonstrates. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed.

MPHA will invite selected candidates to first-round interviews within two weeks after the application deadline. If you are not invited to a first-round interview, unfortunately that means we are not moving forward with your application.