Director, Center for Community Health Research & Evaluation
Hispanic Health Council
Hartford, Connecticut

OVERVIEW

The Hispanic Health Council (“Council”), a pioneering, community-based organization dedicated to improving the health and social well-being of Latinos and other diverse communities through culturally relevant research, direct service programs and policy advocacy efforts, seeks nominations and applications for the Director, Center for Community Health Research & Evaluation (“Director”).

Driven by a commitment to expand its research to support new and innovative models of service and advocacy, the Council seeks an experienced and accomplished research professional to lead and manage all aspects of its research operations. Working collaboratively with the President & CEO and staff across all functions, the Director will provide the strategic direction to create and implement broad and comprehensive research and evaluation strategies and agendas; enhance research and evaluation operating infrastructure; build and maintain a dynamic system of multi-disciplinary, integrated research and evaluation projects; and align staff and stakeholders to achieve organizational goals. The Director will also work to build partnerships necessary to support on-going, critical research and promote funding by developing sustained internal and external relationships to advance the Council’s reach and impact.

The ideal candidate will be a respected researcher and a holistic and interdisciplinary thinker who believes deeply in the power of applied and community-based, participatory research as a foundation for the development and testing of solutions to health inequities. S/he will have successful experience leading and managing diverse staffs and working with ethnically and culturally diverse populations. S/he will have intellectual drive, a progressive outlook, and the entrepreneurial spirit to effectively lead, manage and implement innovative, interdisciplinary research and evaluation strategies and systems that will support the Council’s mission.

MISSION & HISTORY

In 1978, after the tragic death of a Puerto Rican baby in Hartford revealed dangerous gaps in health care access for a growing population of Latino migrants and immigrants, the Hispanic Health Council was formed to drive equity in economic and social barriers for Latinos and other diverse groups. Originally founded as a research and advocacy center, the Council has grown into a nationally recognized organization renowned for its community-based, participatory research, direct service programs and policy advocacy work targeted at addressing the key issues impacting the health and well-being of Latinos and other minority and low-income populations. While its work is rooted in particular communities, the Council is a highly respected resource and active catalyst in the use and application of research to create innovative service programs and to inform advocacy for the express purpose of driving health and social policy reform on local, regional and national levels.

The Hispanic Health Council is engaged in groundbreaking initiatives that develop, test and disseminate effective models to impact individual behavior change while simultaneously affecting change in social systems for long-term improvement in communities. To achieve its goals, the Council employs the dynamic interplay of three primary strategies: community based research, direct service programs, and policy advocacy. Central to its mission, the Council conducts research and evaluation shaped by the active engagement and inclusion of its constituent communities. The Council engages in the use of community-based, participatory research to build and enhance its service models and programs and to assess its efficacy in responding to and advocating on behalf of community needs. In addition, the Council has a 30-year history of successfully translating research findings into culturally relevant prevention and intervention community based service programs using long term, community involvement to identify and pursue opportunities for innovative health research programs.

The Council has also become well known nationally and internationally for its evaluations of community-based programs using rigorous qualitative and quantitative approaches. The Council’s research and evaluation efforts have particularly focused in the areas of maternal/child nutrition, food assistance, type 2 diabetes, health care community-based systems, services cultural competency, HIV and substance abuse. In addition, the Council has developed and evaluated numerous evidence-informed culturally appropriate education materials and social marketing campaigns targeting low-literacy audiences.

Through the use of state-of-the art research methodology, the Council works to identify and respond to emergent and enduring public health problems and to share critical information through professional publication and community dissemination of its research and evaluation findings in diverse ways to broad audiences. The Council also works to actively build coalitions and enter into strategic partnerships with supporting organizations and leaders in order to further expand and amplify its potential and impact. The Council’s Latino Policy Institute utilizes interdisciplinary research to advance systems change, eliminate health disparities and promote high-quality health for all. These combined efforts have enabled the Council to develop, share and acts upon its broad research knowledge in order to develop and evaluate culturally and socially competent prevention/intervention models that improve outcomes for underrepresented communities.

Today, the Council is the largest Hispanic social service organization in Connecticut. The Council seeks to expand and strengthen its success as a pioneer and catalyst in the development of solutions to health inequities and continue its long tradition of social justice within public health, partly through the continued strategic expansion of its research agenda. The incoming Director will be integral to the successful leadership, management and enhancement of the Council’s research and evaluation operations, model service programs, and policy reform efforts.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR COMMUNITY HEALTH RESEARCH & EVALUATION

Reporting to the President and CEO, The Director will be expected to advance the mission and impact of the Council by developing and implementing fully integrated, multi-disciplinary research strategies and by providing day-to-day leadership and management in the research function that advances research, direct services and policy advocacy work to advance the Council’s strategic goals and objectives. S/he will nurture and maintain positive internal relationships and work to cultivate successful external partnerships needed to advance solutions to inequities in health. This important and exciting role will present challenges and opportunities each key to the success of the Council’s work including:

Leading the development and implementation of a comprehensive, multi-faceted, mixed-methods research and evaluation strategy to further the Council’s strategic objectives.

Working in close partnership with the President & CEO, the new Director will lead the Council’s Center for Community Health Research, designing and launching a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary research and evaluation agenda to ensure the Council achieves its strategic goals. S/he will conduct applied and community-based participatory research in public health focused on Latino communities and other diverse groups. S/he will provide research needed to inform the Council’s public policy agenda and evidence based service interventions, working to position the Council as an innovator in research methodologies and emerging analytic techniques. Specifically, s/he will supervise and manage multiple, complex research and evaluation projects and expand and strengthen the scope of research including exploring new topic areas, performing community assessments and conducting rigorous evaluations. S/he will also develop and disseminate comprehensive research and evaluation reports to support programs and policy advocacy efforts; produce varied research publications including peer reviewed journal articles and policy documents; and use research to conduct trials and evaluations of demonstration projects to aid in the development of new strategies and models for direct service expansion.

Providing seasoned leadership to enhance research and evaluation operations and capacity for improving services, programs and policy/advocacy work.

The Director will provide strategic direction and oversight of all aspects of research and evaluation operations for the Center for Community Health Research and Evaluation (“Center”) including assessing the Center’s current research function; enhancing infrastructure by developing and implementing systems, policy and processes for enhanced operating performance and efficacy; and restructuring operations as needed to capitalize on and support new and expanded community health research and evaluation funding and project opportunities across a broad range of interdisciplinary research areas in nutrition and health. In addition, s/he will provide seasoned day-to-day oversight and management of complex, interdisciplinary research and evaluation projects, lead the development of publications and dissemination of findings and outcomes. S/he will also explore new topic areas to enhance programs within and outside the agency, particularly through demonstration projects and trials, and will work to identify and cultivate new evaluation contracts and research studies for increased funding including crafting proposals for research and evaluation studies, leading grant proposal writing and overseeing grants management and administration. The Director will recruit, mentor and effectively leverage the skills and expertise of research staff, will successfully direct internal and external research teams, and will work collaboratively with staff across the organization and with external partners to amplify the Council’s impact.

Partnering to ensure the effective integration, reach and impact of the Council’s mission and strategies.

The Director will ensure that the Council’s research and evaluation initiatives are tightly aligned with the Council’s mission and goals. S/he will work to identify and assess community needs and issues in order to craft a vision for research and evaluation that supports future growth in research, direct service and policy advocacy including identifying strategic opportunities to build key research and evaluation partnerships with external groups. S/he will be an effective relationship builder, cultivating lasting and productive relationships and partnerships within the public health sector. S/he will be responsible for effectively fostering, managing and strengthening relationships with academic institutions, research centers, think tanks, funders and community agencies at both local and national levels and will successfully build coalitions between the Council, research leaders, the public health community, and the public at large. S/he will work to skillfully utilize relationships to secure contracts and research studies through multi-agency partnerships and will work collaboratively and collegially with external researchers on joint programs and studies.

QUALIFICATIONS OF THE IDEAL CANDIDATE

The successful candidate will be a highly motivated and articulate professional with the expertise to seamlessly and effectively advance the Council’s research and evaluation work. S/he will have sophistication, intelligence, drive and a proven track record in developing and implementing high quality strategies in the field of community-based participatory health research and will bring an appreciation to the principals of public health. S/he will be innovative, thoughtful and able to lead the implementation of research and evaluation strategies and agendas in a highly collaborative and mission-driven environment. The ideal candidate will possess many of the following professional and personal abilities, attributes and experiences:

• Successful track record leading the writing of major research proposals, obtaining research funding and administering the implementation of funded studies.

• Strong record of first authorship in peer-reviewed journals.

• At least five to eight years of relevant applied research and/or evaluation experience in community-based contexts; understands the importance of translational research and knows how to work within a community based setting to develop, evaluate and disseminate research findings for practical outcomes on the "ground".

• Significant knowledge and skill in community-based participatory research and mixed-methods applied community intervention research. Proven success implementing and administering complex research and/or evaluation projects and effectively managing diverse, multi-disciplinary research teams.

• Exceptional research skills including in-depth knowledge of study design and methodology; evaluation of community health programs; and the ability to lead the collections, analysis, interpretation, synthesis and translation of complex findings to broad and diverse audiences.

• A proven track record in developing and implementing successful demonstration projects and research trials of interventions aimed at eliminating inequities in health care access, health status and chronic disease management.

• Established research and/or evaluation base spanning nutrition and health relevant to ethnic/racial minorities including, but not limited to, a focus on women and children’s health, substance abuse, youth development, chronic disease prevention and management, food security. Expertise researching or evaluating community health worker models is desirable.

• Passion for the mission of HHC to improve the health and social well-being of Latinos and other diverse communities including experience working with underserved populations.

• Excellent oral and written communication skills both internal to HHC and with external audiences; proven grantsmanship record, and scholarly record as evidenced by peer reviewed publications and other pertinent activities.

• Ability to engage in strategic, creative, intellectual, conceptual and theoretical thinking and discourse and lead research and evaluation strategy aligned with strategic goals.

• Entrepreneurial leader with strong organizational and project management skills, the ability to multitask and meet deadlines within tight timeframes, and demonstrated adaptability, flexibility and resourcefulness in setting priorities and managing resources in a fast-paced environment; the ability to work both independently without close oversight and as a team player who will productively engage with others.

• Ability to cultivate, steward and maintain internal and external collaborative relationships including expanding the Council’s research and evaluation funding base and infrastructure, and strengthening its positions as an effective partner and leader in collaborative projects with universities, research centers, think tanks and community agencies.

• The integrity, wisdom, persistence and flexibility needed to address the practicalities of a well established, dynamic and expanding nonprofit entering a new expansion phase; the team orientation to diplomatically support high-performing, diverse staff through inclusive leadership practices.

• A Ph.D. with a concentration in any of the following areas preferred: public health, epidemiology, community health, psychology, education medical sociology, medical anthropology or community/public health nutrition or related field.

TO APPLY:

More information about the Hispanic Health Council may be found at: www.HispanicHealth.com.

Nominations and applications are due by August 13, 2010, though screening and interviewing of qualified applicants will begin immediately. Due to the pace of the search, candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. Applications including a cover letter describing your interest and qualifications, your resume (in Word format), salary history, and where you learned of the position should be sent to: hihc-dre@nonprofitprofessionals.com. In order to expedite the internal sorting and reviewing process, please type your name (Last, First) as the only contents in the subject line of your e-mail.

The Hispanic Health Council is an equal opportunity employer.
Women and candidates of color are encouraged to apply.