The AHA is deeply committed to turning the tide of health inequity and addressing the underlying root causes of ill health. We are guided by our 2020 Impact Goal to improve the cardiovascular health of all Americans by 20% and to reduce deaths from cardiovascular disease and stroke by 20% by 2020. We are behind in our goal and have achieved only 4% improvement in overall health and we are only trending towards 15% of the mortality goal. And significant disparities exist. Communities of color, of various ethnic backgrounds, religions, sexual orientation, or with limited English proficiency have less access to care, receive different care and often have worse health than those who are white. Where you live, work, learn, play and pray – and all the many complex social factors within those locations – greatly impact our health.
Our 2030 strategic value proposition further cements the AHA’s commitment to equity when we state that we will be a catalyst to achieving maximum impact in equitable health. We will strive for every member of our community to achieve well-being, supported by the places they live, learn, work, play, pray, and heal.
The American Heart Association (AHA) has an excellent opportunity for a Community Impact Director based in our Knoxville, TN office.
- Serve as the Health Lead to the Community: Under the direction of the Executive Director and the VP of Community Impact, the Director Community Health will serve as the “health lead” for the market primarily by building strong volunteer relationships, building a collective impact plan, and supporting heart healthy resources in the community (more detail listed below). In addition, the Director will drive collaboration with development staff in the market around mission related goals and work with internal staff partners to ensure population health strategies are integrated into development, communications and marketing, advocacy, and healthcare quality improvement activities. S/he will collaborate with development staff partners and volunteers to identify, cultivate and secure program funding, including sponsorship, for relevant campaigns.
- Engage & Empower Volunteers: The Director will be accountable for the recruitment and management of volunteer networks in the market. S/he will build a network of meaningful volunteer partnerships to advance the mission. S/he will provide timely direction, meaningful opportunities, resources and recognition to volunteers while at the same time relying on their expertise, abilities and willingness to leverage their networks to drive the goals of the organization. S/he will hold each other accountable, both volunteers and staff, while being accessible and build collaborative staff-volunteer partnerships that are based on a foundation of mutual trust.
- Build a Collective Impact Plan: In conjunction with community partners and focusing on eliminating health disparities, the Director Community Health will assess the community health needs in the local market and will develop, coordinate and/or implement community wide strategies. S/he will lead an assessment, stakeholder interview, analysis, prioritization, and action plan process that focuses on eliminating health disparities through proven-effective policies, systems, and environmental change approaches.
- Support Blood Pressure, Cholesterol Improvement, Know Diabetes By Heart: The Director will work with healthcare providers to ensure best practices for treatment of patients through initiatives and programs including but not limited to: Target: BP™, Check. Change. Control. CHOLESTEROL™ and Know Diabetes By Heart. S/he will consult with clinical staff for data entry, data reporting, compliance issues, and strategies for improved patient outcomes.
- 5+ years’ experience working with community/public health issues and/or managing community/public health promotion or related educational programs, ability to interact across multiple acculturation levels and socio-economic groups.
- Demonstrated strategic thinking skills in assessing the local market environment and available resources to successfully implement new and existing programs.
- Proven ability to recruit, mobilize and manage volunteers, including C-suite level executives.
- Demonstrated ability to manage large projects and events ensuring deadline compliance.
- Demonstrated ability to productively participate in a multi-disciplinary team environment working towards common goals with internal and external clients. Ability to influence team members without supervisory authority.
- Self-motivated, highly effective organization and analytical skills, multi-tasking, communication, negotiation, and interpersonal skills.
- Understanding of the benefits associated with use of treatment algorithms and their impact on clinical inertia.
- Experience working with multicultural communities preferred.
- Related experience may be substituted as follows: 1 ½ years’ experience equates to 1 full-time year of higher education.
- Must have at least intermediate knowledge and skill with Microsoft Office 2010 or higher used for word processing, email, presentations, and spreadsheets. Advanced knowledge and skill with these programs is preferred. These skills are subject to testing.
- Ability and willingness to occasionally travel outside the market and to work evenings and weekends as needed.