Program Officer, Healthy Communities (BCNCF)

Blue Cross North Carolina Foundation - Durham, NC; Durham (NC); On-site; USD 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

Blue Cross North Carolina Foundation is seeking a Program Officer, Healthy Communities (BCNCF) to lead a place-based portfolio focused on health equity. You will support grantees, develop capacity-building activities, and manage partnerships to improve community conditions.

The role emphasizes collaboration and learning, with travel up to 50% in-state and occasional national engagement. A Bachelor’s degree and 5 years’ program-management experience are preferred.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree is required.
• 5 years’ experience in program management or demonstrated impact in community, with a preference for multi-sector, collaborative work.
• Strong writing and relationship development skills are essential.
• Strong project management skills and ability to manage multiple priorities.
• Willingness and ability to travel frequently – up to 50% in-state and 10% outside North Carolina.

Responsibilities

• Manage a multi-site, place-based initiative to address non-medical drivers of health and increase health equity.
• Engage grantees directly and in cohorts to support capacity building and connections to resources.
• Manage a dynamic portfolio of consultant relationships and contracts, including needs assessment, scoping, RFPs, contracting, and oversight.
• Plan and implement meaningful touchpoints with internal and external stakeholders.
• Lead with influence, mentoring staff and coordinating contractors, interns, or others as assigned.
• Develop processes to track details, implement workflows, and promote alignment among vendors and team members.
• Promote continuous improvement to enhance grantee experience, learning, and impact.

Skills

Strong writing

Relationship development

Project management

Collaboration

Education

Bachelor's Degree

Job description

Program Officer, Healthy Communities (BCNCF)

Posted on April 07, 2020

Summary of Position

Our grantees transform communities for better health by naming and addressing root-cause inequities to change community conditions. Current events show us there is no more important time to be supporting these efforts. We are seeking a colleague with a focus on increasing capacity for multi-sector partnerships to commit to equity, share power, and advocate for change at the community level. We are looking for a leader who will thrive in and contribute to a collaborative environment to implement and refine our approach to supporting communities.

You will be responsible for managing a body of work that includes multiple grantees, vendors, and other external partnerships. Your role is to support grantees and identify, develop, and manage capacity building, technical assistance, and consulting to help North Carolina communities develop partnerships and practices to improve health equity.

The foundational approach in the Healthy Communities strategy is to:

• Amplify community voice; elevate the experience and wisdom of those who experience inequities.
• Identify and act on inequities at the root‑cause level.
• Support multi‑sector partnership development that respects and responds to local context.

What You’ll Do

Manage a multi-site, place-based initiative aimed at addressing the non-medical drivers of health to increase health equity.

• Engage directly with grantees – at the individual level, and in cohorts – to support their work through capacity building, connections to resources, and facilitating introductions to support their goals.
• Manage a dynamic portfolio of consultant relationships and contracts. Provide end-to-end management including needs assessment, scoping, developing RFPs, contracting, and contract oversight.
• Plan and implement meaningful and reflective touchpoints (convenings, meetings, etc.) with internal and external stakeholders.
• Lead with influence externally and internally, including: mentoring and engaging other staff; creating space for all to participate in learning and relationship building; and providing oversight to contractors, interns, or others as assigned.
• Develop practices and processes to track details, implement workflows, and promote engagement and alignment among multiple vendors and team members.
• Contribute to a culture of continuous improvement with respect to both strategy and operations to enhance grantee experience, learn, and increase impact.

Support individuals and organizations—both internally and externally—to implement, learn from, and evolve our Healthy Communities strategy.

• Act as a specialist by deepening knowledge and spreading practices that support strong multi‑sector collaboration: governance and power sharing, commitment to equity, leadership by and accountable to community members experiencing inequities, advocacy for policy and systems change to impact health at the community level, and leadership by health care organizations to address root causes of poor health.
• Develop insights based on learning from the field; and identify and act on emerging needs, trends, and context to both flexibly design and adapt grantmaking and other support for stronger impact.
• Participate in meetings, convenings, and site visits around the state and nationally to represent the Foundation, stay current on new developments, influence the field, and bring back takeaways to the team to refine process, programming, and strategy.
• Promote collaboration and inclusion to the development of practices and processes at the initiative and organization level to maximize operational alignment, learning, and impact.

Qualities We Love

• Experience in community organizing, advocacy, advancing equitable practices in collaborations or organizations, movement building, and/or leadership development with an interest in developing new areas of expertise to support the mission.
• Highly collaborative with deep listening skills and an asset-based approach.
• Desire to identify and amplify solutions and support activities with an "all-hands-on-deck" spirit.
• Commitment to systems change grounded by connection to community.
• Oriented to supporting success of the team, grantees, and other external partners.
• Able to delegate and work collaboratively on a team while supporting professional growth of colleagues.
• Brings curiosity and willingness to engage on a team in the midst of cultural transformation to integrate an equity lens into its approach.
• Rooted in North Carolina.

Hiring Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree.
• 5 years’ experience in program management or demonstrated impact in community, with a strong preference for experience with community-based efforts and multi-sector, collaborative work.
• Knowledge, networks, and experience in the social sector.
• Strong writing and relationship development skills.
• Strong project management skills, and ability to both prioritize and manage multiple priorities.
• Ability to travel frequently – as much as 50% in-state and 10% outside North Carolina.