Senior Program Manager – Center for Healthy Aging – NCOA

This is an exciting time in healthcare – changes made under the Affordable Care Act have made visible the fact that evidence-based self-management programs enable people to live longer, healthier lives and lower healthcare costs. Now recognized and valued by healthcare institutions, these programs are reimbursable. The National Council on Aging (NCOA) Center for Healthy Aging is working to improve access to and use of evidence-based interventions for older adults and adults with disabilities.

We provide technical support and resources to help state and community-based organizations implement, scale, and sustain evidence-based self-management education programs to improve the quality of life for older adults and adults with disabilities.

Working here, you will identify gaps between health care organizations and community-based delivery systems, highlight best practices, develop new resources, and provide technical assistance to state and community-based partners to strengthen the infrastructure for delivering evidence-based self-management prevention programs. Integral to your work will be identifying program and partner models that can be shared, replicated, and integrated with the evolving health care system. You will collaborate with national, state, and community partners to support the development of a far-reaching and sustainable infrastructure for the suite of Stanford community-based and online Chronic Disease Self-Management Education (CDSME) Programs.

Senior Program Manager Overview

In this role, you will report to the Senior Director of the National CDSME Resource Center and work collaboratively with the Center for Healthy Aging team, the Public Policy staff, other NCOA staff, and external partners, including grantees. You will work across diverse audiences of service providers, researchers, community leaders, funders, and the public. Activities will center on technical assistance, resource development, community-integrated health care, and public policy. It is critical to your success that you communicate openly, listen well, learn from others, and lead through persuasion and collaboration.

Responsibilities of the Senior Program Manager

In collaboration with the Administration for Community Living/Administration on Aging and the Center team, provide technical assistance, support, and nurturance to state leads and community partners to help them increase their capacity and develop an expansive and sustainable infrastructure for CDSME programs. Technical assistance includes monitoring partner activities; providing prompt and thoughtful responses to requests for information or guidance; new resource development; ongoing communication with partners via various channels to support their activities and goals; and sharing and documenting lessons learned tips, and “best practices” from the field.

Participate in national meetings and other events to increase knowledge about healthy aging, CDSME, and the work of NCOA. In collaboration with the Center team, contribute to planning, facilitating, and coordinating the annual National Resource Center meeting to support state and community partners. Present at national meetings and conferences related to Center activities.
Build and nurture effective alliances on priority issues to scale and sustain CDSME programs and to support community-integrated health care; facilitate effective working relationships with key public officials, health care system decision makers, and other stakeholders.
Serve as the Center lead for community health care integration activities toward the goal of making CDSME integral to health care. Develop and strengthen partnerships at the national, state, and local level to enhance community-clinical linkages and increase access to community-based and online programs. Facilitate workgroups or communities of practice; collaborate with the business acumen learning collaborative; document effective, sustainable strategies and models of practice; and develop new resources to guide and support linkages with health care systems.
Serve as the program liaison to the Public Policy department. Provide recommendations and input for health legislation to promote healthy aging, self-management education, community/clinical linkages, and health care coverage of CDSME interventions.
Foster a spirit of collaboration, coordination, and communication with the Center team and other NCOA staff to accomplish goals. Participate in team meetings and contribute to agendas. Participate in work plan discussions, performance monitoring reviews, and continuous quality improvement activities to meet or exceed grant objectives.
Enter state progress report data into Salesforce and produce timely and accurate reports, including highlights of state activities, issue briefs, and semi-annual progress reports to document program activities and meet funding requirements.
Research requests for information and articles and prepare program communication materials and responses to external requests for information.
In collaboration with the Resource Center Senior Director, identify funding opportunities and participate in the development of proposals.
Conduct other duties as required in an environment that is flexible, fast-paced, and changing.

Qualifications of the Senior Program Manager

Master’s degree is required, preferably in aging, social work, public health, or a related field.
A minimum of three to five years of experience with evidence-based program implementation and partnership building, especially related to enhancing community/clinical linkages, and some technical assistance.
Understanding of the health issues affecting older adults, the burden and impact of chronic diseases, and the benefits of self-management education are essential.
Knowledge and understanding of community-based services and health care delivery is required, particularly the Affordable Care Act, the changing health care environment, and opportunities and strategies for community-based organizations to integrate their work with health care systems.
Working knowledge of public policy and advocacy strategies for older adults is required, and some policy or advocacy work experience is preferred.
Demonstrated skill in building relationships with diverse audiences, including health care leaders, decision makers, and the public.
Possess a respect for differences of race, ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, ability, and socio-economic circumstance; able to work with diverse individuals within the organization and the broader community.
Understanding of grant-funded initiatives, especially those with a variety of funding partners and reporting requirements, would be helpful, particularly experience tracking and measuring program impact.
Some knowledge of and experience with the Stanford array of self-management programs, particularly the Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP), is preferred.
It is critical to your success that you communicate openly, listen well, learn from others, and lead through persuasion. Exceptional verbal, written, and online communication skills are required. (Much of your work is done via email or over the phone).
Exceptional project management skills – you will be gathering and reporting on data weekly.
Proficient with MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Experience using statistical software, databases, and online tools strongly preferred. Familiarity with webinar technology is also a plus.
In-state and out-of-state travel is anticipated, with some overnight travel.

Attributes of the Senior Program Manager

Mission driven. You understand the big picture and can easily translate our objectives into social impact.
Customer oriented. Internal and external stakeholders respect you for your knowledge and abilities, and find you both approachable and responsive.
Autonomous and collaborative. While we work closely together, we trust you to exercise independent judgment, do your job well, and know when to seek guidance from senior staff.
Highly organized. You have excellent organizational skills. You efficiently track the necessary details and effectively disseminate information.
Organization agility. You understand how organizations work, where to build relationships, and how to get results through other people.
Adaptable. You are able to anticipate and respond to change in a fast-paced environment on a daily basis and demonstrate a willingness to learn new ways of approaching your work to achieve better results.
Inquisitive. You like learning new things and like to collect and share information. You don’t wait for things to happen – you initiate action and make things happen.

What’s Attractive to the Right Senior Program Manager Candidate?

Your work will be highly visible and critical to ensuring program fidelity and sustainability.
You will be at the forefront of healthcare – the work you do today will have an impact for decades to come.
Your work provides a direct and immediate service – strengthening community partners to strengthen programs and services that increase the quality and years of life for millions of older Americans.
This is an intellectually stimulating environment and an organization that works passionately and enthusiastically to fulfill the goals of our programs and our over-arching mission.
Your experience, opinions, and expertise are valued – what you bring to the table is vital to our success.
We offer a generous employee benefit program that includes: annual, sick, personal, and holiday leave; health insurance; contributions to a 403(b) plan; short- and long- term disability; and life insurance.
NCOA is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is dedicated to these principles. We value and welcome diversity in the workplace and encourage all minorities, women, veterans, and persons with disabilities to apply.

How to apply

To Apply for the Senior Program Manager position at NCOA:

Please note that this grant is scheduled to end August 31, 2016; while we have no assurances, we are hopeful that this work will continue beyond this date. Healthy aging is a major strategic priority for NCOA.

You can apply online, or simply email your resume to Aileen Hedden at resumes@staffingadvisors.com with “NCOA – Senior Program Manager/2015-1966” in the subject line of the email.

Staffing Advisors is committed to helping our clients create a diverse work environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status. Some positions may require pre-employment screening potentially including: a criminal background check, verification of academic credentials, licenses, certifications, and/or verification of work history.