Health Specialist
Opportunity Type: Job Opportunities, Public Health OpportunitiesLocation: New England, MA
Salary: $78,000 - $83,400 annually
Opening Date: January 04, 2019
Closing Date: January 14, 2019
Website: http://careers.umassp.edu/presidentsoffice/en-us/job/497319/health-specialist
Health Specialist – University of Massachusetts Office of the President
Primary Work Location:
Home-based Office
Normal Work Schedule:
Standard full time work schedule consisting of five eight-hour days and 40 hours each workweek. Work performed in addition to the regular work hours may be necessary and may require a change in availability at specific times to accommodate for variations in work demands.
Job Summary:
The University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute (UMDI) Regional Head Start Unit provides training, consultation and other technical assistance (TTA) to Head Start grantees throughout the six New England states. This training, consulting and technical assistance supports Head Start programs in their continuous improvement of comprehensive child development services to low-income children and families from birth to age five, with special focus on helping preschoolers develop the knowledge and skills they need to be successful in school. The UMDI Regional Head Start group also supports Head Start programs’ work with families to help them understand and meet their children’s educational, health, nutritional, dental and social emotional needs. Head Start federally funded programs are operated throughout the United States through grants to local public and private non-profit and for-profit agencies.
The Head Start Health Specialist is responsible for supporting the TTA work of the Regional Head Start Network through the collection and analysis of health data, providing education on health trends and breakthroughs to TTA specialists, functioning as liaison to the National Center on Health and Wellness, as well as other agencies relevant to the work of the Regional Office.
Essential Functions:
The responsibilities of the Head Start Health Specialist include, but are not limited to:
- Serve as a resource to other TTA specialists on comprehensive health services for children birth to five and their families who are served by Head Start grantees, including mental health and environmental health and safety, in accordance with the requirements of the Head Start Program Performance Standards;
- Serve as a liaison between regional and central Office of Head Start (OHS) and the National Center on Health and Wellness and other agencies relevant to the work of the Regional Head Start Office;
- Participate in case conferences about individual grantees, at the request of the Regional Office;
- Serve as a resource to other TTA specialists on strategies for engaging families served by Head Start grantees around issues on health;
- Serve as a point of dissemination to Head Start program and TTA specialists about health data specific to grantees;
- Aggregate and analyze state and regional health data from a variety of sources to identify emerging trends and patterns impacting Head Start and Early Head Start grantees;
- Provide training on topics related to health to regional office staff, grantees and state partners, at the direction of the Regional Office;
- Provide direct TTA to Head Start grantees, as directed by the Regional Office;
- Facilitate grantee’s planning, implementation and follow-up, using a process consultation approach;
- Attend quarterly meetings with the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Regional Office in Boston, and additional meetings of contract staff;
- Comply with all national, regional, contract, and UMDI planning and reporting requirements.
Other Functions:
- Incorporate other tasks specific to health reflective of evolving national priorities as presented by the Office of Head Start, National Centers, Regional Office, and/or aggregate regional assessment data.
- Other special project-related work as required.
Minimum Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, Education, Experience):
- A minimum of a Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited university or college in public health, mental health, health education, maternal and child health, or health administration;
- A minimum of five years’ experience related to health services in a Head Start/Early Head Start program specific to the development and implementation of comprehensive health services, including the integration of health services to other Head Start service areas;
- Demonstrated ability to analyze health related data and assist grantees to make data driven decisions in order to improve the effectiveness and quality of program operations;
- Demonstrated ability to communicate clearly, both orally and in writing to various audiences;
- Demonstrated experience with the provision of ongoing consultation or technical assistance related to health services for children birth to five years old;
- Demonstrated ability to help grantees prioritize health goals and objectives, including those related to a grantee’s school readiness goals;
- Demonstrated experience addressing the health needs of children from diverse backgrounds such as children with special health care needs, children with disabilities, children who are dual language learners, children in family child care settings, and/or children who are experiencing homelessness;
- Demonstrated experience and/or education in the implementation of effective strategies supporting family engagement and/or family wellbeing, and;
- Proficient in use of Microsoft Applications, including Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Outlook.
Preferred Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, Education, Experience):
- Master’s Degree from an accredited university or college in public health, mental health, health education, maternal and child health, or health administration.
Working Conditions:
- Must maintain a home office, with high-speed internet access, sufficiently free of distractions to allow work to be done.
- The following will be supplied at no cost: laptop computer, printer/copier, LCD projector, computer speakers, cell phone. Other equipment and resources may be provided. All must be returned to UMDI when leaving UMDI service or upon the conclusion of the contract.
- Ability to travel throughout New England at least 50% of the time. Nationwide travel on occasion.
- Must be able to transport and set up equipment and materials to TTA sessions weighing up to 20 lbs. per item.
- The physical/mental demands and work environment factors described above are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.
Additional Details:
- This is a full time benefited position;
- This position is funded by grants and/or contracts, and is contingent upon funding;
- No relocation assistance provided;
- Salary range for this position is $78,000 – $83,400;
- Any job offer within the President’s Office is specifically conditioned upon the potential candidate consenting to and successfully completing a background review;
- Potential candidates will not be contacted for interviews until after the posting closes.
Job no: 497319
Position type: Staff Full Time
Campus: UMass President’s Office
Department: UMDI – TTA Head Start
Categories: Donahue Institute
Advertised: Jan 03 2019 Eastern Standard Time
Applications close: Jan 14 2019 Eastern Standard Time