THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO, SCHOOL OF MEDICINE, DEPARTMENT OF FAMILY & COMMUNITY MEDICINE SEEKS A QUALIFIED AND DYNAMIC EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WITHIN THE OFFICE OF COMMUNITY HEALTH.

OCH is seeking a strategic leader with a strong health equity perspective, deep roots in community engagement, and long-standing experience collaborating with a wide range of community partners. This leader will oversee and act as a catalyst for the co-development of effective community-university partnerships that can work together to concretely improve the health of communities across New Mexico. In addition, this position will provide guiding leadership to key strategies of the OCH, including Health Extension Regional Offices (HEROs) and Community Health Workers or Representatives (CHW/Rs) and the development and diffusion of innovation, as well as to provide leadership to all community-facing initiatives within OCH. This position will serve as a key member of the Executive Leadership Team serving the Vice President for Community Health, including advisors/consultants and the leads of Operations, Research & Evaluation, and Human Resources & Administration.
The successful candidate must have a deep experience in strategies for institutional change, bolstering adaptive resolve, bridging administrative, college and programmatic silos and overcoming territorial and ego-driven barriers to needed change. This candidate must promote a bottom-up approach, fostering servant leadership with a constant reference to all OCH components addressing Social Drivers of Health. This leader will work directly with the Associate Vice President for Community Health on developing a plan for Health Extension Hub development across the state, and in County and Tribal communities and will oversee director-level health extension officers including periodic visits to outposted sites to build better, mutually-supportive alliance and to address needs first hand. This strategic leader will also act as a bridge between community needs and resources of the Health Sciences Center to relevant main campus colleges and schools (Law, Architecture, Engineering, Arts & Sciences, Education, etc), as well as lead communication and promotion about these initiatives, meeting with funders and policy-makers, and creating a clear communication plan for continued expansion of health extension.

WHAT WE ARE KNOWN FOR

• Our commitment to caring for underserved and vulnerable populations.
• Ranked #2 US News and World Report for Most Graduates Practicing in Medically Underserved Areas (2023-2024)
• Our clinical care and curriculum innovations advance the health of all New Mexicans across the lifespan.
• Our dedication to advancing scholarly inquiry and research in primary care to meet the needs of New Mexicans and beyond with over $33 million in extramural research funding.
• Our ability to inspire and train the next generation of family physician clinicians, educators, scholars, and leaders
• Ranked #7 US News and World Report national ranking of top Family Medicine Programs (2022)
• Approximately half of the UNM Health Sciences Center leadership are family Physicians (most of whom are graduates of the UNM Family Medicine Residency Program)

INNOVATIVE EDUCATION

We are nationally and internationally known for educational innovation. Our department’s areas of academic expertise include the social determinants of health, community health and engagement, culturally effective care, addiction medicine, and point-of-care ultrasound. Our faculty are major contributors to the education of medical and PA students at UNM, and our residency program provides opportunities for rotations in rural and underserved settings as well as UNM rotations.

• We have several Fellowships, including Maternal Child Health, Sports Medicine, and Addiction Medicine.
• We boast a large number of residents practicing in New Mexico
• We host a 3rd year Family Medicine clerkship for all medical students
• We are the departmental home of the UNM Physician Assistant Program

QUALIFICATIONS

Minimum Requirements:

• Medical Doctor or Doctor of Osteopathy
• Board eligible/certified in Family Medicine by the ABFM or AOA
• Eligible for medical licensure in NM
• Eligible for State of New Mexico Board of Pharmacy certification and federal DEA registration
• Must be eligible to work in the U.S.

Preferred Qualifications:

• At least 5 years of leadership experience directly related to community health, health extension, or a related field.
• Experience working in or serving rural and/or underserved communities; experience in community organizing, experience in innovative program development
• Experience teaching residents, medical and/or other health science students
• Bilingual in either Spanish or a Native language
• Willing to travel frequently across the state and to national and international convenings
• Demonstrated ability to determine priority community health needs, collect and analyze information, and devise and develop statistical analysis and reports
• Demonstrated experience working with local health organizations (health councils, Tribal communities, community hospitals, community colleges, NM DOH, CDC, I.H.S., etc.)
• Demonstrated experience working in close collaboration with leadership to provide strategic insight and planning for the department.
• Contract and grant writing and implementation experience
• Demonstrated experience in developing and presenting material to a variety of individuals and/or groups
• A demonstrated commitment to cultivate an understanding of the rich and varied cultures of New Mexico and to the success of the university’s mission to serve local and global communities.

• Foster health extension hub development through building strategic networks and partnerships to address local priorities, aiming for a Hub in every County and every interested Tribal Community that includes community-based “partner HEROs”, community health workers, and learners/trainees.
• Identification and facilitation of collaboration between partners in the region including local health and educational systems, health councils, behavioral health collaboratives, county public health offices, Community Extension Service agents, community colleges, and school-based clinics.
• Build capacity for community organization and strategic partnerships through trainings and support of community partnerships to build community capacity.
• Share knowledge and information with local legislators and constituents including the HSC. Bi-directional linking to shared resources, technical assistance for diffusion of innovations from the university to the community, supporting health pipeline and health workforce development, facilitation and coaching for collaboration and capacity building, and advocacy and informing policy.
• Develops and/or advises on strategies designed to raise the general level of consciousness within the community and among potential funding sources of the University’s capacities and offerings as they relate to community health improvement.
• Ensures internal and external messages are consistent, engaging and aligned with the mission, goals and objectives of OCH. Serves as conduit of information for the HSC about community issues; articulates the position of the HSC and the various communities, as well as serves as a source of information about community concerns; as appropriate, suggests and advocates for changes to the University’s policies and positions to address priority community concerns and needs.
• Works with HSC Public Affairs to develop and coordinate efforts to improve communications with the community. Managerial oversight and guidance to staff responsible for conveying OCH’s internal and external messages and facilitate outreach and marketing activities (drafting written materials for internal distribution; marketing, media reports and press releases; training HEROs across the State in public health messaging, in working with local media to disseminate their stories.
• Provides integrated identification, research, planning, evaluation and leadership in the development of strategic initiatives, programs, and services for OCH; strives to ensure integration of mission areas of the HSC (education, clinical service, research and policy) within each initiative and to identify and maintain partnerships to ensure sustainability of these initiatives. Spearheads monitoring and eval of progress in health equity and social determinants of health across NM.
• Engages in meaningful and collaborative relationships with senior leadership, administrators, funding entities, government/agency officials within the community with the aim of creating long-lasting partnerships for community health improvement. Represents and promotes development of strategic initiatives with these partners when appropriate.
• Serves as a key member of the OCH leadership team, facilitating interdisciplinary collaborative efforts between OCH programs, other university community-engaged programs, and community partners; provides consultation and advisement on advancement of OCH strategic plan.
• Works closely with financial analyst in the development and management of all operating budgets for community-facing initiatives; oversees, monitors, and coordinates all unrestricted funding streams and funds aimed at disbursement within the greater community