Houston, Texas

Community Partnerships Officer, Episcopal Health Foundation

The Organization

The Episcopal Health Foundation (EHF) believes all Texans deserve to be healthy. EHF is committed to transform the health of our communities by going beyond just the doctor’s office. By providing millions of dollars in grants, working with congregations and community partners, and providing important research, we’re supporting solutions that address the underlying causes of poor health. EHF was established in 2013 and is based in Houston. With more than $1.2 billion in estimated assets, the Foundation operates as a supporting organization of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas and works to help 11 million people across 57 Texas counties.  #HealthNotJustHealthcare

Position Overview

Reports to: Vice President for Community Engagement

Position Summary: The Episcopal Health Foundation believes that healthy communities are created when diverse people work together to develop community-driven, people-centered, health-oriented systems. Individuals, organizations, and collaboratives can be powerful forces in changing the systems that impact community health when they are effectively engaged.

The Community Partnerships Officer supports the Foundation’s Community Engagement efforts and works with the Vice President for Community Engagement to develop and implement EHF’s capacity building strategies for strengthening community health. This position leads EHF’s work to build the capacity of community health collaboratives and supports efforts to strengthen policy and advocacy capacity among community partners. This person is responsible for leading both the strategic planning as well as the project management and program implementation for expanding EHF’s work to strengthen community health collaboratives and expand advocacy for health equity in our region. This includes leading EHF’s recently launched Collaborating for Healthy Communities Initiative. EHF’s Community Engagement work is still developing and continues to evolve. The Community Partnerships Officer will play a central role in the continued development of this work.

Episcopal Health Foundation jobs are based in Houston, Texas and offer a hybrid work environment in which all staff work in the office Monday through Thursday and have the option to work from home on Fridays, when schedules permit.

Primary Responsibilities:

  • Work with the Vice President for Community Engagement to develop and implement the Foundation’s overall community engagement strategy for delivering on the vision, consistent with the direction set by the Foundation’s board
  • Responsible for planning, project management, implementation and measuring outcomes of community coalition building and engagement efforts including the Collaborating for Healthy Communities Initiative (CHCI)
  • Develop capacity building opportunities for community leaders to support and strengthen collaboratives and advocate for health equity in their communities
  • Develop and implement strategies for strengthening public advocacy work on health equity among EHF partner organizations
  • Manage relationships with consultants and partner organizations for community engagement work
  • Build knowledge of best practices for strengthening community collaborative efforts for health equity (including racial equity) and ensure that those practices are part of the Foundation’s work
  • Help disseminate information on EHF’s goals, desired outcomes and strategies among community stakeholders, and communicate community perceptions back to the Foundation
  • Provide a high level of accountability and responsiveness to the diverse communities served by EHF
  • Collaborate with other EHF divisions to support the integration of EHF’s engagement capacity across the organization; May lead cross-divisional projects as needed

Qualifications and Skills:

  • Must have a Bachelor’s degree and a minimum of 7 years of experience in program development, community organizing, community collaborative development or related work; Master’s degree in an associated field is preferred
  • Experience working with community collaboratives or partnerships
  • Experience working in health equity and/or social determinants of health preferred
  • Understanding of racial equity issues and experience with inclusive practices in program design and development
  • Strong and creative strategic thinker comfortable working in an adaptive and dynamic environment with a track record of success in developing and implementing new ideas
  • Strong project management, collaboration, and program implementation skills
  • Experience with public advocacy work and campaign strategies preferred
  • Track record of working successfully across a diverse range of communities, institutions and population groups and building commitment among stakeholders
  • Experience interfacing with a variety of stakeholders such as elected officials, community leaders and grassroots constituencies
  • Exceptional relationship management skills and the ability to be adaptive and diffuse difficult situations and an ability to be flexible in a team-oriented approach with diverse groups of people
  • Strong writing and presentation skills
  • Experience in convening and facilitation of individuals and groups to work on collaborative projects
  • Comfortable working in an entrepreneurial environment with a culture of experimenting and taking evidence informed risks
  • Computer literate and experience working with databases strongly preferred

All employees are expected to meet EHF’s expectations regarding foundation citizenship. These include taking responsibility for actions and outcomes, being a good stewardship of resources, being transparent, being a team player, producing high quality work and maintaining a high level of productivity. All employees are expected to have sound knowledge of Microsoft Office suite and are expected to comply with EHF policies, procedures, and values.

Compensation:  Salary will be set in accordance with the successful candidate’s experience. In addition to salary, the candidate will receive Episcopal Health Foundation’s employee benefits which include comprehensive health insurance coverage and a retirement plan to which the Foundation will contribute an amount equal to 9% of base salary.

How To Apply

Interested candidates should apply at https://www.episcopalhealth.org/about/work-with-us/  The position will remain open until filled.

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