Senior Technical Advisor, Overdose Prevention Program

Vital Strategies; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 125,000 - 135,000; Full time

Job summary

Vital Strategies is seeking a Senior Technical Advisor for the Overdose Prevention Program. Based in the New York City metro area (hybrid), you will serve as the lead SME for RealFix replication, guiding city teams on rapid access to methadone and buprenorphine and coordinating with the Idea Exchange.

You will manage three cohorts across states, collaborate with Legal & Policy colleagues, and develop state-specific briefs.

Qualifications

• Minimum 10 years of experience in Medicaid or behavioral health policy.
• 3–5 years leading multi-stakeholder initiatives across agencies.
• 3–5 years advising government partners on program implementation.
• Experience applying state policy and financing analysis to health programs.
• Experience working with public health agencies and government partners.
• Experience producing written analyses and briefs for decision-makers.

Responsibilities

• Plan and sequence deliverables for three cohorts of cities.
• Coordinate with the Idea Exchange team on city needs and priorities.
• Maintain and adapt the work plan in response to shifting priorities.
• Identify and manage specialist consultants as needed.
• Attend cohort learning tours and provide real-time technical support.
• Review cohort replication plans and align with local conditions.
• Develop state-specific briefs with policy and regulatory input.

Skills

Research & analytics

Project management

Written & verbal communication

Public health policy

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in public health / public policy / nursing / social work / healthcare administration

Advanced degree preferred (MPH / MSW / MHA / JD / MD)

Tools

Microsoft Office Suite

Job description

Job Brief

Senior Technical Advisor, Overdose Prevention Program

Job Brief

Senior Technical Advisor, Overdose Prevention Program

Vital Strategies is a global public health organization. Our programs strengthen public health systems and address the world’s leading causes of illness, injury, and death. We currently work in more than 80 countries, supporting data-driven decision-making in government, advancing evidence-based public health policies, and mounting strategic communication campaigns. Vital Strategies’ priorities are driven by the greatest potential to improve and save lives. They include noncommunicable disease prevention, tobacco control, road safety, food policy, environmental health, and data for health. Our programs are concentrated in low- and middle-income countries and cities in Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Pacific. Please visit our website at www.vitalstrategies.org to find out more about our work.

We believe our programs are strengthened when they are developed and supported by people with diverse life experiences whose understanding of social and cultural issues can help make our work and workforce more inclusive. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion or creed, gender, national origin, ancestry, actual or perceived age, physical or mental disability, veteran or military status, marital status, sexual orientation or any other basis protected by local, state, or federal laws. As such, our commitment is to promote equal employment opportunities (EEO) for those seeking employment.

The Overdose Prevention Program partners with governments and communities to advance evidence-based strategies that reduce overdose deaths. Through grant funding and tailored technical assistance, the program helps government, institutional, and community partners strengthen policies, implement innovative programs, and mobilize local action to address the evolving overdose crisis.

Our work spans the neighborhood, local, regional, and jurisdictional levels, supporting sustainable public health solutions that are responsive to local needs. Program staff are organized into multidisciplinary regional teams, each managing a portfolio of states or Native communities. These teams work closely with colleagues in Operations and with subject matter experts in Communications, Program Evaluation & Knowledge Management, and Legal & Policy to deliver coordinated, high-impact support.

The Overdose Prevention Program funds projects and provides technical assistance tailored to the overdose crisis on the ground in U.S. states. We support government, institutional, and community partners to reform policy, innovate programs, and mobilize communities at the neighborhood, municipal, the county, and state level for reducing overdose deaths.

RealFix is a city-led program, developed and proven in Paterson, New Jersey, that helps residents with opioid use disorder access medication treatment (i.e., buprenorphine, methadone) rapidly when they need it. RealFix has joined the portfolio of the Bloomberg Cities Idea Exchange, a Bloomberg Philanthropies initiative that accelerates the spread of successful civic innovations. The Idea Exchange’s goal is to support replication of the RealFix model in at least 20 U.S. cities by December 2027, working with cities in three cohorts.

Vital Strategies serves as the subject matter expert (SME) partner to the Idea Exchange for RealFix replication, under a 16-month scope of work running from September 2026 through December 2027. Many of the policies, financing mechanisms, and systems that shape access to medication treatment are governed at the state level, which means cities face different implementation opportunities and barriers depending on where they are located. Vital Strategies’ role is to supply state-specific knowledge and relationships that replication requires -making strategic connections, developing informational briefs, and helping cities address implementation barriers.

Vital Strategies’ work under this scope is limited to technical, educational, and implementation support. It does not include lobbying, legislative or political advocacy, campaign activity, or efforts to change laws or regulations. Policy-related activities are limited to monitoring the existing policy landscape and helping cities understand and operate within it; any guidance provided is educational and non-partisan.

Job Purpose:

The Senior Technical Advisor is Vital Strategies’ lead subject matter expert for the RealFix replication project and the manager of its day-to-day delivery and is Vital’s point person to the Idea Exchange team. The position brings deep expertise in the state-level conditions that determine whether and how cities can facilitate rapid individual access to methadone and buprenorphine treatment and support sustained individual engagement. This position will translate that expertise into training and practical guidance for city teams to act on.

Alongside the subject matter advisory and educating role, the Senior Technical Advisor supports the project day to day: sequencing deliverables across three overlapping cohorts, drawing colleagues’ and consultants’ inputs in when they are needed, maintaining the work plan, and serving as the standing counterpart to the Idea Exchange team. Collaboratively with Vital’s project team, the Advisor will contribute to assessing how a given state’s policy and operational environment will affect implementation, advising cities on adapting the model within that environment while preserving its essential program elements, provide expertise as challenges arise, and monitor significant policy developments so guidance stays current.

This is a new role for the Overdose Prevention Program. It is a full-time position, on a hybrid schedule preferably based in the New York City metro area, but we are open to consideration of remote candidates in NJ. We offer highly competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits. The salary range for this position is $125,000 to $135,000 USD.

Functional Relationships:

The Senior Technical Advisor is an integral member of the project team – a multidisciplinary team of experts. Reporting to the Principal Evaluation & Knowledge Management Advisor, the position collaborates closely with Legal & Policy colleagues and Overdose Prevention program leadership. This role contributes subject matter expertise to the Idea Exchange team. While the Advisor’s work will focus primarily on this project, they may be called upon from time to time to share their expertise more widely with the Overdose Prevention Program team.

Duties & Responsibilities:

The position combines subject matter expertise with day-to-day project management through the following duties and responsibilities:

Project Management and Delivery -

Manage delivery of the project: plan and sequence concurrent, deadline-bound deliverables for three cohorts of cities (located in states where Vital has relationships) who are moving through the program at different stages, with each new state’s analysis landing before that cohort begins planning.

Serve as the standing counterpart to the Idea Exchange team through a biweekly meeting, aligning on city needs, implementation barriers, and priorities for targeted support.

Maintain and adapt the work plan as priorities shift and keep delivery on track against what has been committed.

Identify and manage specialist consultants as needed

Anticipate periods of concentrated demand — the front-loaded state analyses, and the short windows in which each cohort’s replication plans arrive — and plan capacity accordingly.

State Policy, Financing, and Regulatory Analysis -

• Assess how a state’s Medicaid program, opioid settlement fund processes, and telehealth and opioid agonist treatment (OAT) prescribing rules affect whether a city can connect residents to treatment rapidly — establishing which components of the model are reimbursable, how coverage and enrollment work in practice, where funding can be secured, and what the regulatory environment permits.
• Lead development of state-specific, internal-facing briefs which include barrier analyses and planning recommendations with legal and regulatory input from Legal & Policy; synthesize into guidance the Idea Exchange can use for planning and curriculum development
• Conduct literature reviews and synthesize emerging evidence to inform analysis and advising, as needed drawing on relationships with state agencies, Medicaid leaders, provider organizations, to test and strengthen the analysis.
  
  

Technical Assistance -

• Serve as the primary technical expert and point of contact for city teams implementing RealFix — bridging treatment practice, financing, state policy, and covering site-specific strategies and integration into local care pathways.
• Advise cities on adapting RealFix to their state policy and operational environments while preserving the model’s essential elements
• Advise on implementation of care transitions and continuity of care strategies – including warm handoffs and wraparound supports – that keep residents connected to treatment as they move from rapid initiation into ongoing care.
• Provide expert guidance on treatment and overdose prevention policy and practice within the systems that deliver OAT, including opioid treatment programs, office-based providers, pharmacies, and Medicaid managed care organizations.
• Advise on strengthening low-barrier access to OAT, improving retention in care, and integrating harm reduction practice into the treatment pathway.
• Design and facilitate virtual workshops for each cohort on agreed SME topics, such as the treatment continuum of care.
• Provide SME support for Idea Exchange’s field cities’ virtual learning curriculum by responding to questions and hosting supplementary office hours for each cohort.
• Attend each cohort’s in-person learning tour in Paterson, New Jersey to provide real-time technical support and advice
• Review cohort cities’ replication plans and provide guidance to align best practices with local conditions.
  
  

Relationships and Pipeline Development -

• Project manage the successful planning and implementation for RealFix in cohort cities
• Facilitate introductions to government officials at the city, county, and state level, and to other stakeholders in the Idea Exchange’s priority states, drawing on Vital’s existing networks and relationships.
• Strengthen the pipeline of prospective RealFix cities by identifying communities and advising the Idea Exchange team on outreach and engagement strategies.
  
  

Strategic Reflection and Learning -

• Coordinate periodic strategy discussions with the Idea Exchange team to assess lessons learned, emerging opportunities and barriers, and inform future state prioritization and expansion.
• Contribute to program reports and recommendations for the Idea Exchange program and synthesize learnings to inform RealFix replication beyond the current term.
• Foster a culture of curiosity, collaboration and shared learning that supports a holistic approach to the work.
  
  

Qualifications:

Education -

• Bachelor's degree in public health, public policy, nursing, social work, healthcare administration, or a related field, or equivalent combination of skills and experience required. Advanced degree (MPH, MSW, MHA, JD, MD, or equivalent) preferred.
  
  

Skills And Abilities -

Content expertise:

• Working knowledge of behavioral healthcare financing policy and practice, including fee-for-service, pay-for-performance, and value-based models of service reimbursement.
• Working knowledge of opioid settlement funds, including how allocation, decision-making, and disbursement processes operate at the city and county level, and what it takes for a program to successfully access them.
• Working knowledge of the regulatory landscape for telehealth, medication treatment prescribing, and peer specialists
• Expertise in regulatory review, and the ability to synthesize information and data into practical, implementation-ready recommendations.
• Demonstrated subject matter expertise in medication treatment and overdose prevention
  
  

Work competencies:

• Strong research and analytic skills, including the ability to assess a state environment, identify implementation barriers, and make evidence-informed, actionable recommendations tailored to local conditions.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills and effective presentation and facilitation skills, with experience translating technical content into accessible materials and guidance for diverse audiences.
• Excellent project management skills, with proven ability to independently manage multiple concurrent deliverables and competing demands across a phased, multi-cohort program.
  
  

Values and orientation:

• Deep commitment to racial equity and public health justice, with experience operationalizing these values in work with government and health system partners and the communities they serve.
• Demonstrated commitment to valuing diversity and contributing to an inclusive working and learning environment.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite or equivalent; familiarity with data collection and visualization tools is a plus.
  
  

Experience:

Required -

• Minimum 10 years of directly relevant professional experience in Medicaid or behavioral health financing and policy, medication treatment, overdose prevention, substance use, health policy, public health, or closely related fields.
• Minimum 3–5 years of experience leading or managing complex, multi-stakeholder initiatives, including strategy implementation, partnership management, or systems change efforts across institutional and/or government settings.
• Minimum 3–5 years advising or providing technical assistance to government partners at the city, county, and/or state level on program implementation.
• Demonstrated experience applying state-level policy and financing analysis to the design or implementation of a health program, including identifying barriers and workable paths through them.
• Demonstrated experience working with institutional partners, public health agencies, or government partners to advance public health initiatives.
• Experience producing written analyses, briefs, or assessments that informed planning or investment decisions.
• Experience monitoring program implementation and using data, quality improvement, and/or evaluation findings to strengthen outcomes.
• Demonstrated experience working effectively in cross-functional and multidisciplinary teams.
  
  

Preferred -

• Prior experience working for a U.S. state, county, or federal government agency, particularly a state Medicaid, behavioral health, substance use, or public health agency.
• Experience navigating city or county opioid settlement fund processes.
• Experience with municipal government and/or city-led programs.
• Experience supporting the replication, adaptation, or scaling of a proven program model across jurisdictions.
• Experience working with philanthropic funders and their delivery partners on time-bound, deliverable-driven engagements.
• Experience working across multiple states, regions, or geographically dispersed teams.
  
  

Working Conditions:

• Up to 30% domestic travel may be required, including each cohort’s in-person learning tour in Paterson, New Jersey, and travel to participating cities and to meetings with state and local partners.
• This position is funded under a scope of work running September 2026 through December 2027.