Hello wonderful colleagues,
I will soon be transitioning from my role as Director of Health Literacy to a part-time role with the organization as I begin graduate school for a dual degree in Public Health and Global Policy Studies at University of Texas - Austin. The Literacy Coalition is hiring a new, full-time Director of Health Literacy to ensure we are fully staffed for the increasing workload of the program. We are hoping to find an ambitious professional with substantial knowledge and skills in health literacy, health communication and program leadership to seamlessly continue AND expand the organization’s health literacy efforts in Texas.
We would love your help targeting potential candidates as the new Director of Health Literacy! Please find the job description included in the body below. We are doing a national search to fill the position, and would greatly appreciate your help by forwarding the job posting on to any colleagues in your network. I'm also hoping to get some interested candidates from this listserv! A short summary and full job description are included below.
Hiring Immediately: Director of Health Literacy
The Literacy Coalition of Central Texas is seeking an ambitious, self-starting professional to serve as the organization’s Director of Health Literacy. With excellent communication skills and a solid knowledge base in health literacy, training and assessment, the Director of Health Literacy will serve as the primary representative for all health literacy program efforts. Primary functions of the position include relationship building, program development, implementation and evaluation of interventions among healthcare providers, the Literacy Coalition’s 70+ literacy partners, and government and non-profit agencies serving vulnerable populations.
Please submit a cover letter and resume/CV via email by 5:00PM on Monday, April 29th.
Contact: Meg Poag, Executive Director, mpoag@willread.org
Read on for full description:
Literacy Coalition of Central Texas
Job Description: Director of Health Literacy
About the Organization
The Literacy Coalition of Central Texas (LCCT) improves the quality and availability of literacy services and interventions in Central Texas. We support and coordinate literacy programs outside the public K-12 educational system, including adult literacy, GED classes, English language instruction for adults, family and early childhood literacy programs, and specialized literacy training for health literacy, computer literacy and financial literacy. The Coalition creates a more literate Central Texas by providing the resources necessary to address this under-funded network of vital programs.
The Literacy Coalition connects literacy organizations in our region to the funding, advocacy, professional development and service support they need to increase the availability of high quality programs. While there are 70+ organizations in Central Texas working to make individuals more literate, LCCT alone is working to coordinate, strengthen and grow our community’s literacy system so that we can reverse the increasing trend of illiteracy.
Several of our innovative programs are nationally recognized:
- Our training for new English language instructors is endorsed as a national model by ProLiteracy, the national accrediting body for adult literacy programs.
- We are a national leader in health literacy, collaborating with large healthcare agencies across Texas, and are one of eight nation-wide vendor-consultants of the American Medical Association.
Health Literacy Forward, a program of the Literacy Coalition, partners with hospitals, clinics and social service agencies to provide high quality, fee for service interventions in the healthcare setting to improve effective health communication and health literacy. The initiative offers assessment, intervention services and trainings for healthcare professionals. While 75% of preventable readmissions result from miscommunication, Health Literacy Forward offers evidence-based solutions to improve the health outcomes of low literate and low health-literate patients. A certified vendor-consultant of the American Medical Association, Health Literacy Forward helps healthcare agencies improve communication at the individual and system level, ensure compliance with accreditation and regulatory requirements, and improve patient experience, safety and reported quality of care.
Reporting Relationship
Reports directly to Executive Director
Qualifications
Required: Masters degree in public health, health communications, business, communication, public policy, or related field. At least 5 years experience in healthcare quality, program management, community planning or related experience. Experience administering a government- funded program. Minimum of five years of experience supervising staff.
Preferred: Masters degree in public health, business or public policy AND six or more years experience supervising staff. Five or more years experience in non-profit/human services leadership, health care quality or patient-safety. Two or more years of meaningful experience working with health literacy/health communication.
Primary Purpose
Serve as primary representative of the organization for all health literacy efforts, including relationship building and program implementation among healthcare providers, the Literacy Coalition’s 70+ literacy partner organizations, and City-, State-, and non-profit partners. Lead efforts to assess needs, develop and identify products and services, and build relationships to sustain the health literacy initiative through earned-income, grants, and contracts. Supervise small internal staff, contract trainers and interns.
Duties
- Identify, develop and maintain strategic relationships with diverse partners from healthcare, literacy, government and foundations.
- Responsible for health literacy-related support and engagement to strengthen literacy service providers and the programs they operate.
- Ensures compliance on all relevant grants and contracts by planning for and managing project timelines, reporting on program progress, and supervising the efficient use of resources.
- Manage the recruitment, hiring, and effective supervision of any new employees or contractors for the Health Literacy Initiative.
- Responsible for supervision and performance evaluation of relevant programmatic staff, including maintaining proper risk management procedures.
- Responsible for development, management, sales and evaluation of fee-for-service Health Literacy Forward services.
- Lead representative of American Medical Association vendor-consultant status, including provision of Communication Climate Assessment Toolkit for hospitals and clinics.
- Lead developer and facilitator for health literacy trainings for healthcare and literacy providers.
- Lead presenter on health literacy-related topics at local, state and national conferences.
- Promote the Literacy Coalition’s Health Literacy Initiative as a national thought-leader through research, publications, social media, and other creative outlets.
- In partnership with Executive Director, continually develop, sustain and comply with all program policies and procedures, operations and reporting mechanisms.
- Develop, manage and evaluate strategic, operational and communication plans for the Health Literacy Initiative.
- Assists ED and development staff to prepare and submit proposals for grants and contracts, and cultivate new and continuing private and public donors.
Required Skills:
- At least five years experience in human services, healthcare, and/or adult education.
- Demonstrated success managing multiple projects simultaneously, with the ability to prioritize and complete tasks in an efficient manner.
- Excellent interpersonal skills in diverse settings with a collaborative approach to working with a wide range of people both inside and outside the organization as an energetic team player.
- Excellent public speaking, workshop and meeting facilitation abilities.
- Demonstrated ability to identify diverse opportunities to leverage resources and creative outlets to improve health literacy among diverse populations and healthcare settings.
- Demonstrated confidence and success in selling products and services.
- Experience coordinating projects, leading contracted interventions in various healthcare settings, and producing written reports and proposals.
- Experience planning small events, community service projects or coordinating volunteers.
- Successful track record of staff/intern supervision, including 5 years of supervisory experience.
- Ability to maintain confidentiality and to understand and explain complex information.
- Clear, concise, and effective written/oral communication skills, including proofreading, writing, editing. Ability to craft communications effectively for diverse audiences.
- Self-starter who initiates and pursues objectives in an organized and efficient manner, and has the ability to work independently.
- Proven skills with attention to detail, resourcefulness, and ability to work independently.
- Willingness to work some evening and weekend hours during certain times of the program year.
- Proficient with technology including Microsoft Office and Social Media.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with health literacy, healthcare quality, patient safety, and/or effective health communication.
- Experience and/or interest in adult education/literacy.
- Ability to creatively tackle difficult situations and make strategic decisions.
- Experience working collaboratively with community groups or nonprofits to implement collaborative change processes.
- Demonstrated knowledge of the Central Texas literacy and healthcare community, organizations, and leaders.
- Demonstrated knowledge of changing healthcare field, including national policies, healthcare reform, and changing and regulations and accreditation standards.
- Proficient with technology, specifically online learning software (webinar development and facilitation) and online databases such as SalesForce.
Worksite:
Newly constructed office space in east-central Austin at 835 Pleasant Valley Rd, Austin, Texas, 78702.
Compensation:
Competitive benefits, great vacation time. Salary $43,000 - $55,000, commensurate with experience. Professional, innovative and fast-paced work environment, yet truly family-friendly and flexible.
Please send a resume and cover letter to mpoag@willread.org by Monday, April 29th, 5pm.
For more information about the Literacy Coalition of Central Texas or Health Literacy Forward, visit our web site at www.willread.org.