Sr. Program Manager: Medical Respite & Alliance for Health Equity

JOB SUMMARY 

The Illinois Public Health Institute (IPHI) is seeking a Senior Program Manager to join the Alliance for Equity team. The Senior Program Manager will work with staff and partners within IPHI’s Center for Community Capacity Development (CCCD) with a primary focus on supporting systems change projects within the Alliance for Health Equity and the Illinois Medical Respite Capacity Building Initiative. Work will include managing a grantmaking program for medical respite expansion across Illinois; leading project management for technical assistance and systems change projects, including coordination of subject matter experts, service providers, and people with lived expertise; synthesizing and presenting policy input related to Illinois’ Medicaid 1115 Waiver implementation; developing training content; writing and editing reports; qualitative data analysis; coordinating meetings and events; and supporting communications initiatives. The Senior Program Manager position is full-time exempt; IPHI’s standard work week is 37.5 hours. The Senior Program Manager reports to the Program Director for the Alliance for Health Equity. 

ABOUT IPHI

The Illinois Public Health Institute (IPHI) is dedicated to fostering collaboration and promoting health equity throughout Illinois and the nation. We lead transformative initiatives and advocate for policies that benefit communities, particularly those facing health disparities. IPHI provides convenings, facilitation, training, policy advocacy, outreach, information sharing, and technical assistance to foster multi-sector community collaborative health transformative initiatives. We are committed to ensuring that all individuals and communities have the opportunity to attain optimal health supported by an effective multi-sectoral public health system. 

ABOUT THE CENTER FOR COMMUNITY CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT

IPHI’s Center for Community Capacity Development (CCCD) provides training, consultation, and strategic planning services to public health system partners to support activities including assessment, action planning, strategic planning, performance management, quality improvement, and implementation and evaluation of evidence-based strategies, policies and systems change. 

The Illinois Medical Respite Capacity Building Initiative (IMRCBI) supports the expansion and sustainability for medical respite and recuperative care programs for people experiencing homelessness across Illinois. Since 2022, IPHI has administered grants and technical assistance to over 20 communities across Illinois with funding from IDHS and the Office to Prevent and End Homelessness (OPEH) and supported system-building initiatives including the launch of the Cook County Medical Respite Network, a statewide learning collaborative, and engagement in the Medicaid 1115 Waiver.

The Alliance for Health Equity is a collaboration across hospitals, government, and community partners working to improve health equity, wellness, and quality of life across Cook County. Since 2015, the Alliance has produced three collaborative community health needs assessments (CHNAs) and fostered partnerships and policy and systems change initiatives related to social and structural determinants of health and mental health and substance use disorders. The Alliance supports several systems change initiatives to address priority community health needs including the Illinois Medical Respite Capacity Building Initiative.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 

Project Management

• Create, manage and implement work plans for several simultaneous projects. Coordinate workplan implementation to include a range of partners such as workgroup members, grantees, funders and clients, subject matter experts, subcontractors, and community members.
• Partner with health care providers, government agencies, and other organizations to implement processes and approaches to advance equity.
• Partner with IPHI’s contracts team to lead and delegate tasks within the life cycle of grant agreements and contracts including but not limited to the initiation of new or renewal agreements/contracts, execution and delivery of sub-grants and contracts, reporting, and closeout of the agreements as obligations are fulfilled and/or agreements are terminated.
• Manage and report on budgets and recommend necessary changes to support program implementation. Track and maintain status of contracts, and work with directors, contracts team, and finance team to address any amendments or changes.
• Collaborate with consultants, subject matter experts and people with lived expertise to design processes for assessment and implementation tracking. Manage and interpret quantitative and qualitative data, and present data to support decision-making.
• Coordinate technical assistance for grantees and partners across projects. 
• Develop and implement capacity building activities such as learning collaboratives, webinars, and training sessions. Lead and delegate all aspects of meeting design, logistics, and follow-up including agenda development, interactive meeting design, presenter recruitment, marketing and communications, and event logistics.

Strategy, Planning, and Program Development

• Set priorities for program, policy and systems operations and lead the development, design and execution of program deliverables. Work with directors to recommend program goals, policies, budget and funding modifications.
• Provide technical support to team members and partners to apply health equity and racial equity frameworks and tools to program planning, systems development, partnership and engagement strategies, and evaluation.
• Research and report on best practices, policies, and innovation-- particularly to address health and racial inequities, including Medicaid innovations and community power building innovations.
• Contribute to policy analysis, data synthesis, environmental scans, and background research to support policy and systems development.
• Develop, support and nurture relationships with potential funders and clients, recommend funding opportunities, and lead proposal development for resource development initiatives.

Relationship Management and Communication

• Cultivate and manage relationships with collaborators in public health, healthcare, homeless services, community development, and related sectors. 
• Continuously engage community members affected by racial and health inequities and people with lived expertise throughout the implementation of strategies.
• Develop, manage and deepen relationships with funded partners (such as medical respite grantees) and other key partners and collaborators to leverage expertise and advance program goals, identify community-driven solutions, problem-solve, and be a trusted resource, advocate, and technical partner.
• Manage and collaborate with subcontractors, subject matter experts, and grantees.
• Hold and manage relationships with funders and clients and ensure strategic alignment with other Alliance for Health Equity and IPHI programs.
• Work with IPHI communications manager and other team members to create and manage communications to advance program goals.
• Represent IPHI in local, state, and national initiatives, including presenting and participating in external convenings, conferences, and/or committees.

Continuous Improvement and Evaluation

• Identify and recommend program improvement opportunities to deepen program impact, create program capacity, promote operational efficiencies, and improve budget management.
• Monitor and report on IPHI and partner activities and achievements.
• Work with the CCCD team—and across teams at IPHI—to address barriers, ensure health equity, make connections across programs and conduct quality assurance and quality improvement activities.
• Update evaluation tracking tools and collect program evaluation data.
• Work with directors and leadership to identify and solve problems, address barriers, and conduct quality assurance and quality improvement activities.

Supervision and Administrative tasks 

• Supervise other team members (program associates, program managers, and/or interns).
• This role requires managing some programmatic and supervision administrative tasks efficiently and accurately with no direct supervision. 

Other duties as assigned.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Master’s degree and 5 years’ experience, or a bachelor’s degree with an equivalent 7 years' experience in public health, community development, healthcare administration, planning, public administration, public policy, social work, or related field.  
• A strong commitment to health equity, diversity, inclusion, and addressing the systemic factors that produce health inequities and disparities.  
• Strong project management experience. Must be thorough and detail-oriented within a big-picture, vision-oriented framework. 
• Strong critical thinking skills and the ability to anticipate and solve problems promptly and professionally. 
• Experience working with diverse populations in a variety of community and organizational settings with a commitment to equity.
• Strong writing and communication skills, including communications focused on equity. 
• Strong interpersonal communication and group facilitation skills. 
• Strong data analysis skills – quantitative and qualitative data. 
• Expert understanding in Microsoft Office (Outlook, SharePoint, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, etc.) and virtual meeting tools. 
• Proficient in Salesforce/CRM software and online survey forms, and the ability to use project management tools. 
• Ability to embrace performance expectations and hold oneself accountable to commitments. Ability to assess and incorporate feedback. High level of emotional intelligence.
• Believes in and follows the Servant Leadership model.
• Knowledge and experience related to programs and systems to address homelessness.
• Existing relationships and experience working and living in communities impacted by health inequities in Illinois is highly valued for this position. 

WORK ENVIRONMENT AND JOB REQUIREMENTS

• The position is full-time, exempt, 37.5 FTE hours per week. 
• Must be able to sit at and operate a computer and other office equipment for a significant portion of the workday. 
• Must be able to move about the office and at offsite events to access files, and supplies, and assist with event setup. 
• This position entails occasional work on evenings or weekends and must be able to travel for one or more nights from time to time.
• The position requires frequent communication with internal and external partners about program activities. Must be able to exchange accurate information in these situations. 
• IPHI is a collegial workplace that is highly collaborative. Must be able to work well in a team and collaboratively with external partners.  

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:  $83,400 annual salary. IPHI offers competitive benefits that include health, dental and disability insurance; sick and vacation time; paid parental leave benefit; and a retirement plan with employer matching contributions.  

LOCATION: This position is located in Chicago. IPHI operates a hybrid office work model where team members work in the office two days per week (Tuesday - Thursday). CCCD’s team day is Wednesday. Individuals are required to work in the office on their team day and either Tuesday or Thursday. You may work remotely or in the office the other three days per week. There is travel for meetings and site visits within Chicago, suburbs, and Illinois. Occasional overnight travel within Illinois or nationally for conferences and training may be required.

COVID PROTOCOLS: Ongoing COVID safety protocols are in place. We do require proof of vaccination or will accept a request for exemption based on religion. Although we do not require wearing a mask in our office, we do provide Kn95 masks to be worn in our common spaces or when working with others, should you want to engage in mask wearing.

START DATE: Immediate. 

IPHI values multiple pathways toward attaining professional experience and education. Candidates are encouraged to describe equivalent experiences in lieu of educational attainment, including leadership successes, progressive leadership roles, content expertise and thought leadership, and relevant experiential learning. Individuals with lived experience in the priority program areas or experience as a peer service provider are encouraged to apply.

IPHI’s Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: IPHI is committed to fostering a diverse and equitable work environment. We prioritize equal opportunities for all applicants, ensuring that race, color, religion, gender identity, gender expression sexual orientation, pregnancy, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or any other personal characteristic or any other identity or characteristic does not impact the consideration process for positions within the organization. This commitment extends to actively encouraging applications from underrepresented groups such as women, people of color, individuals with disabilities, and members of the LGBTQIA+ community. By embracing diversity and promoting inclusivity, IPHI aims to create a workplace where everyone feels valued and respected, contributing to a culture of innovation and collaboration.  

Visit www.iphionline.org for more information about IPHI and www.allhealthequity.org for more information about the Alliance for Health Equity