Health Equity Program Associate

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The Public Health Institute (PHI) is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting health, well-being, and quality of life for people throughout California, across the nation and around the world. As one of the largest and most comprehensive public health organizations in the nation, we are at the forefront of research and innovations to improve the efficacy of public health statewide, nationally, and internationally.

PHI was distinguished as one of the top 50 “Best Non-Profit Organizations to Work For” by the Non-Profit Times in a national search.

 Summary

The Public Health Institute (PHI) is seeking a full-time Health Equity Program Associate for one of its programs, Berkeley Media Studies Group (BMSG). The ideal candidate is a detail-oriented person who can work effectively with diverse partners, including health department and governmental staff, community organizers and advocates, and others interested in building their organizational capacity to advance racial and health equity, especially through narrative change and communications. The Health Equity Program Associate will thrive in a fast-paced work environment that could entail working with housing justice advocates one day and providing targeted support on communicating about racial and health equity to health departments and their community partners in rural counties the next.

This is a regular full-time position (40 hours/week, 100% FTE). While this is a remote position, the incumbent must be based in California and be able to travel to conduct and attend various trainings, community meetings, and conferences primarily in California.

The typical hiring range for this position is from $68,581 to $84,003, based on 100% FTE. Full salary range for this position: $68,581 to $99,425, per year. The starting salary is determined based on the candidate’s knowledge, skills, experience, as well as budget availability.

About Berkeley Media Studies Group

Positioned at the intersection of narrative change, media advocacy, and public health, BMSG is a small, nimble team committed to improving community health by building advocates’ capacity to make the case for equitable systems and environments. We do this by studying how public health and social justice issues are portrayed in the news and other communication channels and, using insights from that research, help advocates become more skilled communicators adept at changing narratives, especially news narratives that undermine health. We also work with journalists who want to deepen their reporting on the social and structural factors that influence health.

We take our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion seriously in our work with advocates and reporters and in the culture we’ve created internally. We strive to foster a working environment that prioritizes well-being and values every team member. Our philosophy is that we are humans first, employees second. We encourage people to bring their whole selves — all backgrounds and neurotypes welcome — into our workspace, identify professional development and growth opportunities for staff, and host regular brainstorming sessions to encourage creative thinking. If a norm or process isn’t working, we challenge and address it. BMSG’s average employee tenure is eight and a half years.

About this position

Berkeley Media Studies Group supports partners working to create a just world where every community thrives. Our partners organize and advocate to change policies and systems to make that happen. We, in turn, help them by analyzing how their issue is being discussed in the news and other public spaces and then provide targeted support to help them be strategic about how they make change — and how they communicate about their goals.

We’re looking for a motivated and passionate person to join our health equity team, which works with all of the teams within BMSG to support a variety of partners in advancing equity in California and across the country. The position will work with BMSG’s Health Equity Coordinator to develop long-term relationships with our partners so we can best meet their needs, identify and synthesize relevant research to develop tools and resources, facilitate meetings with partners and BMSG staff, support project management, develop and assist with delivering tailored in-person and virtual strategic consultation to a wide range of partners including health departments, foundation grantees, community-based grassroots coalitions, and youth-led organizations.

The Health Equity Program Associate will apply communication research in real-world situations with local government and community-based groups. The ideal candidate will be passionate about racial justice and public health and eager to support practitioners and advocates in shifting the public debate about the issues that impact health. The ideal candidate also practices cultural humility and enjoys collaborating with others, is confident leading projects, and has a strong eye for detail. This position is also responsive to our partners’ needs and emerging and urgent equity issues, so the ideal candidate will be comfortable pivoting to new issues quickly, reprioritizing workloads, and engaging in deep listening with partners to understand how we can best shift and support their needs. Much of the work is focused on the ever-changing policy landscape and while the position includes project management and planning ahead, a sense of adventure and openness to change will be helpful.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

• Support BMSG’s Health Equity Coordinator in building and maintaining professional relationships with partners.
  • Represent BMSG at meetings with partners. Assess complex interpersonal dynamics, needs, and concerns among a wide array of partners of different backgrounds, operating in diverse political contexts from passing state-level policy to working with local partners to build capacity for change.
  • Maintain strong relationships with partners and quickly become familiar with their issues and goals, as well as their approach to equity work.
  • Adopt and develop processes for being responsive to partners’ evolving needs.
• Assist with providing tailored technical assistance (TA) and training on communicating about racial and health equity.
  • Integrate various approaches into BMSG’s technical assistance, which may include approaches from narrative change, journalism, media advocacy, community organizing, and policy change strategies.
  • Triage and prioritize requests from partners and look for opportunities and synergies across projects, issues, partners, and geographies to strengthen BMSG’s work and our ability to support advocates.
  • Conduct literature reviews on message guides or communication research related to diverse topics such as housing and health justice, addressing anti-health movements, building governmental infrastructure for equity, or bringing racial equity into decision-making.
  • Review drafts of communication and media advocacy plans, news releases, op-eds, talking points, and other materials from partners and provide feedback.
  • Assess partners’ needs and generate, implement, and evaluate ideas for meeting these needs via developing new resources, conducting trainings, and webinars.
• Develop materials, including best practices for communicating about racial and health equity; writing/editing tips; case studies; blogs; and other tools.
• Coordinate logistics for virtual and in-person trainings, meetings, and consultations; document multiple client interactions including:
  • Develop, deliver, and track communication for online events (webinars and meetings), including invitation emails and other promotions (e.g., online invitations), RSVPs, and prep calls with speakers. Support event delivery and post-event activities and subsequent follow-up.
  • Track projects and partner requests, develop strategies for meeting requests, partnering with other BMSG staff as needed, and assess and evolve our role based on changing needs and contexts.
• Assist with project management using program management software (e.g., Monday.com, Smartsheets, Sheets, and/or Excel) to track activities across projects, capture impacts, and write grant reports.
• Write proposals, case studies, and advocacy materials for publication in professional journals, newsletters, and websites and other writing projects as assigned, such as project updates for funders.
• Work with BMSG’s other teams (Research, Training, and Communication) to collaborate on projects and coordinate work.
• Travel throughout California and nationally occasionally overnight or weekends as required.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

• 5 years of relevant experience, including experience working in community organizing related to racial and health equity, governmental equity work including but not limited to public health, experience providing communications support to organizing or advocacy campaigns, or working for an elected official.
• A bachelor’s degree and/or certificate in journalism, communication, public health, public policy, or related field, or substitute with two additional years of relevant experience.

Other Required Qualifications

• Passion for public health, media, and communication and a commitment to racial and social justice.
• Conceptual and practical qualifications:
  • Able to build and maintain trusting relationships with diverse partners, ranging from community advocates to government agency staff.
  • Comfortable with conflict and challenging situations. Ability to be transparent in seeking to address challenges.
  • Support BMSG’s Equity Coordinator in assessing equity and power dynamics in various situations and deciding when it is important to take our cues from partners and when we need to take a leadership role.
  • Familiarity with core concepts and research related to racial and health equity and able to apply them to various products such as training materials and tools.
  • Demonstrated understanding of the public policymaking process at the local, state, and federal levels. Familiarity with addressing power dynamics as a facet of achieving equity, such as using power-mapping/analysis or other approaches from community organizing.
  • Experience with community or union organizing, working in a political office, working for a government agency, or working for a base-building/power-building organization or other contexts that demand sensitivity to group processes including the ability to listen attentively, read partner cues, and tailor interactions accordingly.
• Strong abilities, skills, and work habits:
  • Ability to write clearly and succinctly for a variety of audiences and to synthesize and assess large amounts of information, including public opinion and narrative research, from different sources.
  • Strong project and time management skills, good attention to detail, ability to take initiative, and strong organizational skills including the ability to organize and track project deliverables.
  • Responsive to partner requests for information and assistance. Flexibility with timelines that ebb and flow based on partner needs.
  • Ability to work well with minimal supervision, to work collaboratively with other staff members, and to stay focused while handling multiple assignments and priorities.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with media advocacy, such as writing and placing op-eds or other media-ready materials.
• Experience with online meetings (e.g., Zoom), social media management platforms, and Constant Contact.
• Spanish-language ability.
• Master’s degree in public health, public policy, or related field.

OTHER INFORMATION

Berkeley Media Studies Group’s fiscal sponsor, Public Health Institute (PHI), is an equal-opportunity employer and an inclusive organization. People of diverse backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply.

All employees are required to adhere to PHI’s Covid-19 protocols. Employees whose essential job duties require them to work in person are encouraged to take a proactive and highly protective approach to safeguarding their health. This approach can occur irrespective of what a host entity may require and includes such strategies as voluntarily wearing a mask or taking other reasonable precautions in their workspace.

FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT (FLSA) STATUS

This position is classified as exempt based on the job duties. However, based on the FTE, salary level of the employee, or federal/state/local laws, the employee may be classified as nonexempt.

EEO Statement

The Public Health Institute is committed to a policy that provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, sex, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, pregnancy, medical condition including genetic characteristics, physical or mental disability, veteran status, gender identification and expression, sexual orientation, and to make all employment decisions so as to further this principle of equal employment opportunity. To this end, the PHI will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, pregnancy, medical condition including genetic characteristics, physical or mental disability, veteran status, gender identification and expression, sexual orientation, and will take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are offered employment and employees are treated during employment without regard to these characteristics.

For further information regarding Equal Employment Opportunity, copy and paste the following URL into your web browser: http://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/compliance/posters/pdf/eeopost.pdf

ADA Statement:

The Public Health Institute is committed to providing access and reasonable accommodation in its services, programs, activities and employment for individuals with disabilities. To request disability accommodation in the application process, contact the Recruitment Team at least 48 hours in advance at Recruitment@phi.org.

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We’re so pleased the Public Health Institute is an organization you would like to work with. Do you have questions about this opportunity? If so, email our recruitment team at Recruitment@phi.org.

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