NNACoE THS - Tribal Health Scholars Program Coordinator 1

Department Overview

The Northwest Native American Center of Excellence (NNACoE) works to sustainably address the health care needs of all people by increasing AIAN representation in the health professions workforce via culturally informed, evidence-based health education programming designed for Indigenous healthcare learners, students, and professionals. NNACoE sits within the Department of Family Medicine and is an institution-wide resource for AI/AN students and faculty. With an annual operating budget of $3 million from federal grants, foundations, and institutional commitments, NNACoE’s twelve (12) study initiatives span five (5) critical points along the education continuum, beginning as early as middle school and continuing through early faculty development.

NNACoE includes 24 research team members comprised of clinicians, faculty, and staff housed across OHSU. Since NNACoE’s founding in 2017, the number of AIAN medical students at OHSU has more than tripled, making OHSU home to one of the highest concentrations of AIAN medical students in the country. NNACoE has developed robust partnerships with Tribes, Native-serving organizations, regional universities, and with tribes in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, California, and Alaska. Once focused only on OHSU Medicine, NNACoE now builds pathway programs in Schools of Dentistry and Nursing, and provides consultation on recruitment, training, and retention of AIANs in Pharmacy and Public Health. In addition to being an OHSU-wide resource for AIANs, NNACoE serves AIAN students and academic clinical faculty nationally.

Tribal Health Scholars (THS) is a clinical shadowing externship for AIAN high school youth to gain exposure to health careers at their own Tribal Health Clinics and build educational pathways through one-on-one coaching. Youth participate in a 14-week virtual curriculum and 4-week clinical shadowing externship at their local tribal health clinic. Scholars also meet as a group with THS team members each week to discuss a multitude of healthcare careers and the pathways to pursue them.

The THS Coordinator will 1) Support all activities related to Tribal Health Scholars; 2) Help expand Tribal Health Scholars to other tribal communities in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and beyond; and 3) Assist in developing and maintaining a Tribal Health Scholars alumni network; and 4) Assist with other research and programmatic efforts for NNACoE. Experience working with AIAN communities is required.

This position is remote; however, applicants must live in Oregon.

We value candidates with relevant life experiences and experience working with AIAN communities. Research shows that women and people of color are less likely to apply for positions, unless they believe they meet all of the qualifications in a job description. Please think broadly about your relevant experience for this role. If you are passionate about uplifting the communities we serve, we encourage you to apply.

Function/Duties of Position

Program Coordination

• Support all activities related to Tribal Health Scholars
• Cultivate relationships with regional tribes, higher education departments, high schools, tribal high school students, and tribal health clinics to ensure successful recruitment of and support for THS participants.
• Deliver the THS curriculum through virtual learning sessions, adapting based on annual feedback.
• Work with tribal health clinics to create and schedule clinical externship experiences for each THS participant.
• Coordinate THS events including outreach presentations, IRB information sessions, end-of-the-year focus groups, and/or THS summits.
• Provide one-on-one and group mentoring sessions with scholars; communicate with scholars outside of weekly sessions to provide support as needed via email, phone, and text messaging platform.
• Help expand Tribal Health Scholars to other tribal communities in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and beyond.
• Conduct regional outreach with tribes, higher education departments, high schools, and tribal health clinics.
• Assess readiness of tribes to implement THS in their communities in partnership with NNACoE and THS leadership; work in tandem with Tribal partners and Tribal health clinics to determine THS scholar capacity and available healthcare specialties for shadowing.
•  Assist in developing and maintaining a Tribal Health Scholars alumni network
• Connect scholars with NNACoE’s health pathway coach(es) for continued mentorship after completing their participation in THS; continue to connect with and engage alumni as opportunities arise.

Program Evaluation Support

• Administer evaluation instruments for Tribal Health Scholars in partnership with evaluation team; ensure compliance with IRB for data collection, data management, and analysis for THS.
• Assist in tracking THS alumni to understand how THS has impacted them longitudinally.
• Present at meetings; contribute to poster and presentation development; incorporate research findings and obtain relevant permissions prior to use.
• Assist with evaluation of outreach, recruitment, and dissemination efforts for THS and identify areas of improvement.
• May contribute to manuscripts and support manuscript submission.
• May contribute to grant proposal documents.

Logistics Support

• Plan and execute meetings, workshops and events as needed across the NNACoE portfolio. Create agendas, prepare meeting materials, reserve rooms/venues, provide A/V and remote connection support, and take meeting minutes.Arrange travel, make purchases, and complete reconciliation reports and reimbursements for the team

Other Duties as Assigned

Required Qualifications

• Relevant Bachelor’s Degree and 3 years of related experience
• Equivalent combination of training and experience
• This team member must have knowledge and at least 6 months of experience working with American Indian/Alaska Native organizations and communities.
• Strong communication skills (written and verbal) with team members, partners, Tribal organizations and stakeholders; uses proactive communication processes; is flexible; has demonstrated ability to take feedback.
• Demonstrated ability to take initiative and work with minimal supervision as part of teams or independently.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, particularly Word, Teams, Outlook, PowerPoint, SharePoint and OneDrive. Proficiency with project management tools such as Smartsheet. Proficiency with meeting platforms such as WebEx or Zoom. Demonstrated commitment to learning new tools and methods to meet team goals.
• Strong organizational skills and ability to meet deadlines. Proven ability to manage time effectively, especially with competing priorities. Demonstrated excellence in attention to detail; able to perform complex tasks with a high degree of accuracy in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.
• Proven ability to function autonomously and exercise judgement with occasional supervision, especially related to identifying and implementing solutions
• High level of emotional intelligence, with ability to adapt, shift priorities, and accept perceived failure(s).
• Demonstrated ability to give feedback to and receive feedback from team members during critical junctures impacting team performance and team experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience mentoring AIAN or other under-represented students
• 1+ years of experience with AI/AN populations or tribes.
• 1+ years of demonstrated administrative or project coordination experience

Additional Details

• Standard M-F hours with some required evening and weekend events; Travel across Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Alaska is required, not to exceed 25%. This is a hybrid remote position with occasional in-office presence required (Robertson Life Sciences Building, South Waterfront campus, Portland OR). Candidates must reside in Oregon.Standard M-F hours with some required evening and weekend events; Travel across Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Alaska is required, not to exceed 25%. This is a hybrid remote position with occasional in-office presence required (Robertson Life Sciences Building, South Waterfront campus, Portland OR). Candidates must reside in Oregon.
• Ability to sit or stand at a computer for up to 5 continuous hour a day. Ability to attend meetings throughout the service area (OR, WA, ID, AK), and occasionally travel by air is required. 

Why apply to OHSU?

We are Oregon's only public academic health center. In addition to caring for patients, we lead groundbreaking research. We also train the next generation of health care professionals. As Portland's largest employer, we give you opportunities to learn and advance in a system of hospitals and clinics across Oregon and Southwest Washington.

All are welcome. OHSU welcomes people of all ages, ethnicities, genders, national origins, religions and sexual orientations. We are striving to build an anti-racist, multicultural institution and encourage people with diverse backgrounds to apply.

To request reasonable accommodation, contact [email protected]