Project Manager - Benefits Access Partnership

Company Overview:

Founded in 1957, Public Health Solutions (PHS) is the largest public health nonprofit organization focusing on New York City.  PHS is improving health and creating opportunities to help NYC’s vulnerable families and neighborhoods thrive. With two million New Yorkers living at or below poverty, PHS is at the forefront of tackling crucial public health issues including food and nutrition, health insurance access, maternal and child health, reproductive health, tobacco control, and HIV/AIDS prevention. Our approach is multi-pronged, innovative, and sustainable. We work directly in the community to provide health services to underserved families, and through our long-standing government partnerships, we are a critical link in providing financial support and management assistance to over 200 community-based organizations across the city’s five boroughs.

Program Description:

PHS’s Healthcare Community Partnerships (HCP) work aims to improve New Yorkers’ social determinants of health — or the conditions in the places where people live and work that affect health risks and outcomes. We develop reliable connections between healthcare and community partners so that a person receives the right resources, in the right place, at the right time.  We achieve this goal in two ways. First, our team members are culturally and linguistically competent and identify with the communities we serve. We help clients navigate through what can be a complicated health, services, and benefits landscape, step by step. Secondly, we support Community Based Organizations (CBOs) to participate in a closed-loop accountable “Community Resource Network” (CRN). PHS serves as the backbone for this CRN, providing network coordination, capacity building and technical assistance to various partners. 

One of our more recent projects is a partnership with the City of New York (Deputy Mayor for Strategic Initiatives and Human Resources Administration) and the Research Foundation of the City University of New York (RFCUNY) to provide technical assistance to a portfolio of CBO partners facilitating public benefits outreach, engagement, application assistance and case management. 

Summary of Position:

Under the general supervision of the Director of Healthcare Community Partnerships, the Project Manager will manage the programmatic and day-to-day relationship with CBO partners working directly to expand access to public benefits in the communities they serve. The Manager will work in close collaboration with the Senior Director of Healthcare Innovation, Director of Healthcare-Community Partnerships, other PHS team members, CBO and City partners.

Specifically, the Project Manager – Benefits Access Partnership will:

• Manage an assigned cohort of 12 CBO partners who are working with vulnerable and underserved New Yorkers to enhance their access to public benefits. Manager will drive all aspects of project management and serve as the main program liaison for PHS in discussions with internal and external partners to include City agency staff, participating CBOs and other technical assistance providers. 
• Provide benefits access and navigation subject matter advisement to CBO and city partners to troubleshoot access-related issues and identify design solutions that improve current community / city integration points and the ease and speed at which New Yorker’s access public benefits. 
• Working in collaboration with CBO partners, define and implement user research and evaluation campaigns to identify unmet population needs and existing barriers to benefits access. Manager will collaborate with CBO partners to develop targeted strategies to engage community members and other key stakeholders. 
• Plan and facilitate convenings, workshops and collaborative design sessions with internal teams, CBO and city partners, as appropriate to: foster cross-organizational collaboration, share lessons learned, coordinate service delivery quality and process improvement activities and identify enhanced methods to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of benefits programs and access procedures. 
• Working in collaboration with City agency staff, participating CBOs and other technical assistance providers to plan and support the coordination of periodic in-person community resource fairs and benefit registration events. 
• Develop and implement a robust training program to train CBOs in benefit programs and technologies that expands their benefits access capacity. Manager will be directly responsible for identifying training areas via assessment tool, developing PHS’ training strategy, plan and schedule in addition to facilitating training and delivery evaluation methods. Manager will also oversee the development of educational materials, benefit infosheets and FAQ one pagers. 
• Manage and analyze quantitative and qualitative project data for programmatic, contractual, reporting and fiscal purposes, regularly working in collaboration with PHS’ Quality and Evaluation team. 
• Provide direct supervision and performance management to PHS team members supporting the program, as appropriate. 
• Develop program deliverables, monitor progress and manage the workplan ensuring timely adherence to deadlines and contractual requirements. 
• Support the continued development of Healthcare Community Partnerships by:
  • Developing workflows, guidance documents and other processes to enhance HCP program effectiveness
  • Supporting HCP development during team discussions around proposal development, identification of new partnerships, etc.
  • Providing programmatic input into HCP status reporting, quality and evaluation 
  • Representing the HCP team in meetings and forums, as needed
  • Performing other duties as assigned

The ideal candidate will leverage strong project management skills with ownership over day-to-day program initiatives and be able to thrive in a fast-moving environment. The Project Manager must be flexible and adaptable to support additional HCP projects in the future and good at problem solving.  The Project Manager must be self-motivated, highly organized, collaborative and very articulate in both verbal and written communications with diverse teams and stakeholders. 

Qualifications and Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree from four-year college or equivalent. MSW preferred.
• Minimum 3 years of project management and client case management experience
• Direct experience and advanced knowledge in providing public benefits enrollment assistance and navigation. This includes, but is not limited to SNAP, Public Assistance, ‘One-Shot-Deals,' HEAP, Fair Fares, Medicaid, Medicare, Medicare Savings Program, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Social Security Disability Insurance, FHEPS/CityFHEPS, etc.
• Familiarity with public benefits policies, processes and technologies with a capacity and willingness to learn about additional / new benefit offerings.
• Familiarity with the overall landscape of noncitizen eligibility for public benefits.
• Interest and prior experience working in/with public health, government and social services agencies.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office 365 Suite applications (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Sharepoint and Outlook).
• Highly organized, detail-oriented, able to work independently and flexible to last minute requests requiring a shift in task priorities.
• Strong ability to learn tasks and new topics quickly; apply critical thinking skills.
• Excellent team player with the ability to be flexible, work collaboratively and respectfully both internally and externally and engage in consensus-based decision making.
• Possess strong communication, organizational (listening, written, oral, and public speaking).
• Ability to lift and carry 20 pounds.
• Ability to travel around New York City’s five boroughs.
• Ability to thrive in a work environment that is respectful, goal-oriented, and focused and yet is dedicated to achieving work-life balance.
• Ability to embrace diversity; possess good people and cultural competency skills.  
• Dedicated to helping improve the lives of disenfranchised and marginalized communities.
• Prior experience in project launch, partnership building and network coordination preferred.
• Prior understanding of Social Determinants of Health is a plus. 
• Prior experience with user research, data collection, reporting and analysis preferred.
• Salary: $70,000.00-$70,000.00

 Requirements:

• Resume. 
• Cover Letter.

**This is a managerial position, so cover letter is mandatory. Please include a cover letter in your application detailing what you would bring to this position and why you are interested in applying. 

Benefits:

• Hybrid Work Schedule.
• Generous Paid Time Off and Holidays.
• An attractive and comprehensive benefits package including Medical, Dental and Vision.
• Flexible Spending Accounts and Commuter Benefits.
• Company Paid Life Insurance and Disability Coverage.
• 403 (b) + employer matching and discretionary company contributions.
• College Savings Plan.
• Ongoing trainings and continuous opportunities for professional growth and development.

At PHS, we place immense value on diversity within our teams, understanding that varied backgrounds and experiences significantly enhance our community and propel us toward our goals. If you find you don’t have experience in all the areas listed above, we still encourage you to apply and share your background and experiences in your application. We are eager to discover how your unique perspective can bring positive transformations to our team and help advance our mission of creating healthier, more equitable communities. We look forward to learning more about you!

PHS is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and encourages applications from women, people of color, persons with disabilities, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals, and veterans.