Thurston County Public Health and Social Services is recruiting for a Population Health Program Manager for our Community Wellness Division.

As Thurston County’s local health jurisdiction and human services department, Public Health and Social Services (PHSS) is responsible for protecting the health and promoting the well-being of all people who live, work, and play in Thurston County. We value diversity and strive to foster a sense of belonging, honoring the unique experiences, cultures, skills, backgrounds, identities, and perspectives of our employees and community. As an agency actively working to address health equity, we aspire for everyone to have the opportunity to attain their highest level of health, regardless of their individual circumstances.

In the role of Population Health Program Manager, utilizing change management leadership, you will lead comprehensive community-wide collaborations and programs to identify population health and equity needs, facilitating best practices in improving the social determinants of health for improved outcomes in Thurston County communities. One of your main responsibilities will be to build strong community partnerships and involvement, with a major emphasis on the prevention of chronic health conditions. By using proven strategies to address community health needs and utilizing the best available evidence, you will lead change and make sure the department is future focused. You and your team will serve as the major collaborators for the community health improvement plan and Thurston Thrives.

Essential functions may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Identify and interpret emerging trends in public health to provide information, analysis, and interpretation to stakeholders and community partners.
• Seek evidence-based research, review and recommend funding opportunities at the federal, state, local, and private foundation levels to promote existing and new public health programs.
• Write grant proposals in close collaboration with supervisors of teams/units and external partners.
• Monitor grant progress, outcomes, and metrics against targets and grant objectives.
• Monitor program budgets, understanding appropriate use of funds and budget cycles.
• Embed equity principles and innovative practice into the culture of the division.
• Develop policies and processes that translate mission and vision into action.
• Coordinate and implement population-based assessment along with healthcare and community partners, ensuring partnerships are in place to improve programmatic and operational effectiveness.
• Work within the organization and community to identify policies and programs that can improve outcomes and address inequities.
• Work with population health team to provide technical assistance to programs relative to data collection and analysis and management practices.
• Assist the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) process ensuring proper submission.
• Ensure mechanisms for obtaining feedback and input from persons with diverse backgrounds, considering the role of cultural, social, and behavioral factors in the accessibility, availability, acceptability, and delivery of public health services.
• Evaluate the success and participation rates of current programs to determine their effectiveness.
• Perform other work as required or assigned including but not limited to a 24/7 response during public health emergency situations and disease outbreak investigations.

The ideal candidate has knowledge of the following:

• Prevention-focused practices based in the 10 Essential Public Health Services and Core Functions of Public Health Practice.
• Root cause analysis, the socioecological model, and other quality improvement methods and tools.
• Community health assessment data, results, and community health improvement plan, including county health rankings model.
• Other core plans for public health, including Strategic Plans, Workforce Development Plans, and Quality Improvement Plans.
• Health Equity, Racial Equity, and the Social Determinants of Health.
• Health education behavior change theories and use.
• Cultural competency: supporting diverse perspectives in developing, implementing, and evaluating policies, programs, and services that affect the health of the community.
• Breadth of local governmental public health programs, practices, and responsibilities.

What we offer our employees:

• Work-Life Balance : We are committed to ensuring that our staff experience the reward of public service, while also sustaining a routine that suits each individual’s lifestyle.
• Plan for Your Future: As a member of our team, you enjoy great employee benefits, including a retirement plan, pre-tax savings accounts, as well as comprehensive health care and dental/vision care for you and your family. Please visit our 2023 Thurston County Employee Benefit Plans website for more information.
• Paid Leave: Full-time regular employees earn a minimum of 12 paid vacation days per year in addition to 11 paid holidays and 2 floating holidays.
• Robust Training Program: Employees are encouraged to attend County-paid training to help them further their career, learn new skill sets, and stay on top of emerging trends in our industry. We also encourage staff to participate in professional organizations and attend conferences.
• Flexible Work Schedules: Options some employees may take advantage of include alternative or compressed schedules and/or remote working.
• See under Benefits later in this job description for detailed information about the many other benefits the County offers.

Why you’ll love it here:
Thurston County is located between Seattle and Portland in Western Washington’s South Puget Sound Region. Perched between the mountains and the ocean, the area boasts the perfect blend of year-round outdoor activities including boating, hiking, skiing, and more. The region is also home to the state capital city of Olympia, known for its many restaurants, microbreweries, coffee shops, farmers markets, kids’ activities, history, and art events. Discover more about life in Thurston County at Experienceolympia.com .

• Bachelor’s degree in a field closely related to the specific position. Additional experience may be substituted for education on a year for year basis.
• Four years of progressively responsible experience related to public program and policy development. Demonstrated competence in the principles and practices of public policy development and administration. Also must be able to demonstrate competency in supervising personnel involved in program implementation and in establishing and controlling budgets.
• Current Washington State Driver's License or have requested and obtained an appropriate accommodation.
• Ability to efficiently use a personal computer and applicable software to successfully perform the essential job functions of the position.
• Depending upon the area of assignment, a specialized certification or accreditation may be required of the position.

Respect and Organizational Culture:

• Create an environment where employees and partners can safely express needs or concerns and where employees can make and correct mistakes
• Effectively interact with sensitivity while working with persons from diverse cultural, socioeconomic, educational, racial, ethnic, and professional backgrounds, and persons of all ages, gender identities, sexual orientations, and lifestyles
• Thrive in a fast-paced, robust organization maintaining a positive work environment

Communication:

• Serve the public in a timely, complete, accurate, and professional manner while ensuring that written and verbal communication is clearly understood by others
• Maintain cultural competency to support diverse perspectives in developing, implementing, and evaluating policies, programs, and services that affect the health of the community
• Strong oral communication for networking and interpersonal relationships
• Excellent written communication including the ability to craft correspondence, reports, and articles or web postings with minimal grammatical and syntax errors

Leadership:

• Supervise, motivate, and develop employees and team to become more productive and effective in achieving desired goals and career growth while encouraging employee critical reflection; able to give direction without conflict
• Show fairness and impartiality in interactions; is interested in employee welfare, elicits staff input where feasible; respond to staff suggestions and complaints in a sincere, sensitive, and timely manner

Goal Setting and Accomplishment:

• Use strategic thinking and planning for goal setting and evaluation
• Effectively plan, organize, and manage competing priorities and challenges under pressure
• Create a sense of mission by articulating and modeling confidentiality, professional values, and ethics with honesty and integrity
• Operate with a high degree of flexibility, initiative, attention to detail, and commitment
• Delegate and use persuasion and negotiating skills for shared responsibility and acceptance of change

Questions about this recruitment?
The contact person for this recruitment is: Vickie Larkin: vickie.larkin@co.thurston.wa.us or (360) 867-2505

This position is:

• NOT represented by a union
• NOT eligible for overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
• Eligible for benefits
• Contingent on the ability to pass a criminal background check
• Grant funded

Items required for consideration:

• Application
• Resume
• Cover letter
• Possess a current Washington State driver's license or have an appropriate accommodation

PLEASE NOTE: The candidate selected for this position is required to show proof of the following immunizations by their agreed upon start date:

• Proof of immunizations of measles/mumps/rubella (MMR)
• Proof of tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (Tdap/TD)