Program Coordinator, Viral Hepatitis Program, Kentucky Department of Public Health

Vital Strategies, headquartered in New York City, is an international public health organization. Our programs strengthen public health systems and address the world’s leading causes of illness, injury, and death. We currently work in 73 countries, supporting data-driven decision-making in government, advancing evidence-based public health policies and mounting strategic communication campaigns. Vital Strategies’ priorities are driven by the greatest potential to improve and save lives. They include non-communicable disease prevention, cardiovascular health promotion, tobacco control, road safety, obesity prevention, epidemic prevention, environmental health, vital statistics systems building and multi-drug resistant tuberculosis treatment research. Our programs are concentrated in low- and middle-income countries and cities in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and the Pacific. Please visit our website at www.vitalstrategies.org to find out more about our work.

Vital Strategies is committed to building a diverse, equitable and inclusive (DEI) organization. We believe our programs are strengthened when they are developed and supported by individuals with diverse life experiences, whose understanding of social and cultural issues can help make our work and workforce more inclusive. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion or creed, gender, national origin, ancestry, actual or perceived age, physical or mental disability, veteran or military status, marital status, sexual orientation, predisposing genetic characteristics, alienage or citizenship status, gender (including gender identity or expression), partnership status, arrest or conviction record, or any other basis protected by local, state, or federal laws.

Read about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Vital Strategies: https://www.vitalstrategies.org/diversity-equity-and-inclusion-at-vital-strategies/

Job Brief:

Vital Strategies is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Program Coordinator, Viral Hepatitis Program, Kentucky Department of Public Health, located in Frankfort, Kentucky. The Viral Hepatitis Program (VHP) plays a critical leadership role in the state’s effort to address the drug overdose epidemic and associated rates of infectious disease.

Vital Strategies will provide seconded staff to the Viral Hepatitis Program to assist with various functions related to coordinating and establishing linkage to care for individuals who use drugs from a range of settings across the state. The Harm Reduction & Health Equity Coordinator will collaborate with government- and community-led programs to build a system of care linkages to facilitate and bolster access to comprehensive services for individuals who use drugs. This work will emphasize the establishment of linkage strategies focusing on vulnerable and socially marginalized populations including:

• Incarcerated individuals;
• Formally incarcerated individuals who have been recently released;
• Maternal health populations;
• Racial/ethnic populations that have been historically excluded.

Period of Assignment:

The incumbent will be an at-will employee as determined by KDPH, Vital Strategies, and the employee. The position is grant-funded; the initial position will last through December 2024 with the possibility of extending. This is a full-time position. The role will be based in or within 100 miles of Frankfort, Kentucky. Vital Strategies offers highly competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits. The salary range for this position is $75,000 USD to $85,000 USD. The candidate must have authorization to work legally in the US at the time of hire.

Duties and Responsibilities:

The Secondee shall conduct work as if the Secondee were a full-time employee of KDPH and shall have the following duties:

• Be a subject matter expert on the health needs of people who use drugs, including overdose prevention and response, drug checking, other safer use strategies, and related physical and social health outcomes;
• Be a subject matter on best practices for linkage to care for people who use drugs, such as the ‘clearance cascade’ for HCV care, including through regular participation in relevant trainings and meetings, and literature review;
• Perform analysis of existing care linkage programs and related activities in the state; evaluate and assess effectiveness, identifying trends in outcomes, opportunities for replication, gaps in services, and areas for improvement, and identify health disparities;
• Coordinate with government- and community-led programs that provide services to individuals who use drugs for care services engagement, including the state Department of Corrections for prison-based education, disease testing, and treatment, and reentry education and navigation;
• Develop relationships and community partnerships with programs throughout the state that offer or could potentially offer linkage to care services for people who use drugs; advise on best practices and methods for implementing linkage to care within programs, with particular emphasis on high-need, high-impact areas;
• Develop or identify trainings and educational materials that address the care needs of people who use drugs and can be taken up by agencies, programs, and/or individuals at risk;
• Evaluate and report on program development and implementation activities, and establish a sustainable reporting structure for outputs, including screening, diagnosis, and linkage to care activities completed;
• Provide trainings and presentations as needed to key actors and government and community partners;
• Assist in Hepatitis C outbreak management in the event of cluster detection by focusing on the affected area and promoting local linkage to care;
• Identify funding and other supportive resources to expand the Linkage Navigation Program and establish sustainability;
• Regularly participate in learning activities such as webinars and reading new literature in the field to help inform strategy;
• Participate in cross-pollination discussions with other Vital Strategies seconded staff in Kentucky to share relevant project updates, seed collaboration opportunities, and strengthen the network of staff statewide;
• Other duties as assigned.

Note: for the purposes of this job description “care” can refer to testing, treatment, harm reduction programming, OEND, primary medical or dental care, drug use and sexual health education, system navigation, case management and advocacy (e.g., legal, housing, insurance)

Qualifications:

Education and Degree - 

• Bachelors degree required. Graduate or equivalent degree in public health, public policy, social work, or related field preferred;
• A minimum of 8 years of relevant technical work experience instead of degree is acceptable.

Skills and Abilities - 

• Demonstrated project management experience;
• Excellent oral and written communication skills;
• Excellent organizational skills;
• Strong interpersonal skills, with demonstrated ability to maintain partnerships with internal and external stakeholders;
• Demonstrated ability to analyze data and basic understanding of evaluation and its role;
• Ability to build strong, ongoing, impactful relationships at all organizational levels and across a diverse range of cultural, generational, ethnic, racial, educational, and social backgrounds;
• Demonstrated commitment to valuing diversity and contributing to an inclusive working and learning environment;
• Ability to build strong, ongoing, impactful relationships at all organizational levels and across a diverse range of cultural, generational, ethnic, racial, educational, and social backgrounds;
• Demonstrated commitment to valuing diversity and contributing to an inclusive working and learning environment.

Experience:

Required - 

• 8 years of professional and/or work experience in public health and/or health and human services;
• Familiarity with drug use, infectious disease, harm reduction, and intersections with racial justice and health equity;
• Understanding of principles of health equity and disparities.

Preferred - 

• Professional and/or work experience in public health and/or health and human services specifically within the state of Kentucky;
• Familiarity of regional, cultural, rural, frontier, urban, and intersections with harm reduction.

Working Conditions and Physical Requirements:

• Be located in or willing to relocate within 100 miles of Frankfort, Kentucky, and reporting to meetings at different locations across the state as well as through virtual formats;
• Ability to travel within the state if COVID-19 transmission rates allow.