Posted on December 6, 2012

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Policy Specialist, Health Reform Implementation

The National Academy for State Health Policy is seeking a policy specialist to join the Washington, DC office, working primarily on State Refor(u)m (http://www.statereforum.org), an online network for health reform implementation. State Refor(u)m is a growing community of more than 4,500 registered users, with a user-generated library; a roadmap for states to organize, post, and share their progress; discussion spaces; staff-curated charts and infographics, an active blog, and more. The project is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The policy specialist will work closely with the project’s director and other staff to monitor state’s progress on health reform, engage users to contribute to the online community, and produce engaging electronic charts, infographics, blog posts and webinars. Successful candidates will have significant health policy knowledge; strong analytic, writing and project planning and organization skills, and an interest in social media and communications. The candidate must also have the ability to work with state officials, other stakeholders and National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) staff to successfully carry out work consistent with our mission of promoting excellence in state health policy and practice. Some out of office travel may also be required.

Specific responsibilities include:

• Monitor state and national activity relevant to state implementation of health reform, identifying emerging trends in policy and practice.
• Review, analyze and organize state and national materials, likely into ongoing charts and infographics, related to health reform implementation within the structure of the State Refor(u)m website.
• Plan, research, and write short analyses, syntheses and blog posts on current and emerging issues in health reform implementation.
• Plan and execute audio, web and in person meetings and conduct presentations, ranging from small conference calls and advisory group meetings to webinars and in person national briefings and symposia.
• Draft online communications, and e-newsletter, web and social media content.
• Develop and implement activities to identify, engage, and support state officials and program administrators and facilitate state-to-state learning and exchange through multiple methods, including online.
• Collaborate with teammates and assist with State Refor(u)m user engagement campaigns.
• Help improve and create systems and methods for emerging project management practices and methods used by the State Refor(u)m team.
• Support to NASHP steering committees and participate in NASHP staff team work to plan and implement NASHP’s annual conference, including responsibility for planning workshop content and securing speakers.
• Build and maintain working relationships with key stakeholders.
• Represent NASHP and relevant project work at state and national meetings and conferences.
• Actively participate in efforts to improve individual and team quality of performance. Participate in staff/team meetings and training. Work with others to coordinate organization-wide communication and problem solving.

Qualifications:

• Minimum qualifications for a policy specialist include a masters or other graduate degree in public policy, public health, law or related areas, plus four years of relevant work experience. Work experience may substitute for a graduate degree.
• Experience with state government, either through direct work experience or policy or analytic experience closely tied to state programs, preferred.
• Knowledge of and experience in one or more areas of health policy required.
• Excellent writing, communication, analytic and organizational skills required.
• Experience distilling complex concepts into concise, engaging, creative and accurate written products preferred.
• Ability to manage complex workload and balance assignments to achieve quality results in a timely manner required.
• Ability to create and sustain positive working relationships with staff and diverse constituencies and work independently as well as collaboratively required.
• Strong interest and some experience with social media and online communications.

NASHP offers competitive benefits and salary commensurate with experience. The salary range for policy specialists is in the $60s-$80s.

About NASHP

The National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) is an independent academy of state health policy makers working together to identify emerging issues, develop policy solutions, and improve state health policy and practice. NASHP provides a forum for constructive, nonpartisan work across branches and agencies of state government on critical health issues facing states. We are a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to helping states achieve excellence in health policy and practice. NASHP has offices in Portland, Maine and Washington DC. For additional information on NASHP, visit www.nashp.org. The National Academy for State Health Policy is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Application Instructions

Those interested in applying for this position should e-mail a cover letter and resume to: search@nashp.org, with “Policy Specialist – Health Reform Implementation” in the subject line. NO CALLS PLEASE.