Team Leader for Policy Development

Little Rock, Arkansas

SUMMARY

The Arkansas Center for Health Improvement (ACHI) is a nonpartisan, independent health policy center whose vision is to be a trusted health policy leader committed to innovations that improve the health of Arkansans. ACHI at UAMS in partnership with PolicyLink (Oakland, CA) has established the new Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Center to Prevent Childhood Obesity. The RWJF Center will provide expertise and support to organizations, policy-makers and communities. It aims to help shape and coordinate these groups’ efforts and build a nationwide movement to solve this critical health issue.

The new center will serve at the lynchpin of the Foundation’s strategy to reverse the childhood obesity epidemic by 2015. The vision of the RWJF Center is to provide a healthy future for children by reversing the childhood obesity epidemic. The overarching goals of the center are to:
•reduce the prevalence of overweight and obesity among children within the U.S.;
•decrease disparities in childhood obesity among communities of color, impoverished areas, and regions disproportionately affected by obesity; and
•create systematic changes using an empiric base that will have long-lasting impact and change the environment beyond 2015.

Reversing the epidemic will require strategic coordination and leveraging of RWJF programs and affiliated resources, as well as additional programs, institutions, and resources. Under the leadership of ACHI and PolicyLink, the RWJF Center will focus its efforts in five distinct areas. One area is to design and implement national, state, regional, and local policy agendas for reducing childhood obesity with an emphasis on the needs of low-income communities and communities disproportionately burdened by the obesity epidemic. Other areas include engaging and coordinating efforts with existing RWJF national program offices working in the childhood obesity area; providing technical assistance to build capacity and leadership; synthesizing the science and best available evidence; and advancing effective communications and media strategies. Each of these five areas will have a Team Leader within the center.
The Team Leader for Policy Development will develop and direct the RWJF Center goals and objectives related to this area of focus. Initial goals are to develop a coordinated approach and systematic assessment of the policy arena related to childhood obesity to optimize opportunities and manage risk. This will enable the center to create a shared strategy with others in the field and a unified voice to effect optimal change in both the nutritional and physical environments that contribute to the childhood obesity epidemic. He/she will liaise with other Team Leaders to coordinate efforts across the Center and accomplish the overall goals of the center.

TYPICAL FUNCTIONS

The Team Leader will:
•Develop and implement RWJF Center activities related to policy development, including the development, review and deployment of a visual and written policy strategy plan that includes a timeline for policy opportunities, assessment of assets among leadership, threats to the movement, and analysis of the places and audiences who can carry forward the movement to reverse the epidemic.
•Liaise with selected advisors and consultants to develop and deploy the strategy noted above.
•Liaising with the NPO teams and communication teams to ensure coordinated messages and strategies.
•Assess various strategies to enhance legislative, judicial, regulatory and industry policies.
•Monitor and stay abreast of developments related to center development/implementation; make recommendations for and carry out improvements in center activities and operations; and liaise closely with all other team members to ensure integration among all RWJF Center activities.

3. KNOWLEDGE, ABILITIES, and SKILLS

The successful candidate will have skill and experience in:
•Interaction with multiple, diverse programs and settings, and especially with key players in policy development at local, state, and federal levels
•Effective team and consensus building
•Project management and planning
•Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
•Assessing policy targets and strategies
•Ability to synthesize and communicate evidence and develop messages for various audiences
He/she will have knowledge of:
•Action, advocacy, and evidence programs related to the childhood obesity field
•Factors that influence the childhood obesity epidemic
•Development of health policy and other policies that influence nutrition and physical activity environment

MINIMUM EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE

Master’s degree in Public Health, Business, Accounting, or related field, plus 3 years of project management, coordination, writing, editing and public health and policy development preferred. Equivalent combination of relevant education and/or experience may be substituted for required degree.

To apply go to University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences – Office of Human Resources – UAMS Jobs Welcome

Deadline: