CHW Wellness Coordinator

Community Health Worker Association of RI
Providence, RI
Part time, 19 hours/week, $25/hr
CHW Certification Required + 2 years experience

Job Description

Primary Purpose:

The CHW Wellness Coordinator plays a critical role in establishing Rhode Island College (RIC) and the Community Health Worker Association of Rhode Island (CHWARI) as the higher education and training partners respectively. The purpose of this position is to strengthen community health work delivery through the recruitment, training, and apprenticeships of Community Health Workers.

Essential Duties:

The CHW Wellness Coordinator will serve as the liaison between RIC, CHWARI, and community-based organizations by providing support, supervision, data collection, and communication among practice sites, and newly trained CHWs. This position will require special attention to end consumer, impact on the employing organizations, CHW student, and grant deliverables. CHW Wellness Coordinators will also provide coaching, mentoring, and training for CHW student apprentices through monthly learning collaboratives. One on one support for CHWs as needed in their day-to-day activities, in attending to their student and apprenticeship duties, assistance in overcoming barriers to accomplishing them, with guidance through in person, telephone, and video conferencing. Monitoring and tracking student progress and completion of the trainings, and apprentices’ progression through the apprenticeship milestones and demonstration of competencies. Provide oversite and support for meetings with grant partners and evaluation guidance.

Staff will report to Project Director and will be responsible for the following:

  • Observe, communicate with, and support CHW trainees and apprentices.
  • Responsible for monitoring team activities, required trainings, data collection, and data entry related to outcomes.
  • Participate in weekly team meetings held in person and virtual.
  • Monitor and inform Project Director and partners of system issues related care coordination for end consumers, organizational needs, care continuum obstacles due to burnout, discrimination, absence of services/resources, communication obstacles.

Responsibilities:

  • The CHW Wellness Coordinator will establish CHWARI as the CHW support center through creation of a pipeline of recruitment, training, and apprenticeships of Community Health Workers.
  • Represents and instills the values embodied by CHWARI, empowering people of the community to focus on advocacy and access to healthcare, and SDOH within the underserved populations of their communities.
  • Connection between CHWARI, RIC and community sites, onsite supervision and supporting of CHW apprentices, grant meetings and evaluation of CHW progress.
  • Supervision, data collection, and communication among practice sites, mentors, CHWs and RIC with attention to end consumer, organizational, student and grant needs.
  • Providing culturally competent coaching, mentoring, and training through one and one and monthly learning collaboratives, communicating with onsite mentors on progress of apprenticeship, providing solution-based guidance to apprentices and mentors as needed.
  • Monitor and track apprentice progress and completion of mandatory trainings
  • Monitor and track apprentices’ progression through the apprenticeship milestones, demonstration of on the job learning competencies, and stipend disbursement
  • Provide support for new CHWs as they submit for CCHW certification through the RICB
  • Participate in meetings with employer partners, CHWARI, and RIC.
  • Communicate regularly with Program Director and partners on system issues related to care coordination for consumers, student-organizational conflicts, CHW obstacles due to funding, discrimination, absence of services/resources, communication obstacles

Required Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities:

Experienced CHW in maintaining partnerships between community-based organizations and healthcare organizations. Ability to plan, organize, and implement solutions for increasing access to care in community settings. Ability to work in situations requiring empathy, tact and collegiality. Knowledgeable about community health, organizations within the community, resources available and how to access them. Ability to adapt to change with a positive attitude. Ability to listen and communicate effectively in verbal and written form. Good technology and digital literacy skills including MS Office, Google Suite, Zoom, and general computer knowledge.

Qualifications

  • Previous experience in community health work, and navigation of resources most useful to CHWs as they work within communities of vulnerable populations.
  • Understand the mentor/mentee relationship and what it means to support these roles in the workplace through education, training, and experience.
  • Excellent active and mindful listening skills, showing respect for others from an unbiased perspective. Appreciation of value for the other person’s needs, concerns, and ideas when sharing and working in a team-based environment.
  • Skills required to mentor and provide support to CHW trainees through certification and apprenticeship timeline.
  • Understanding and empathizing with the challenges CHWs face entering the workforce. Having the ability to provide guidance to new CHWs faced with assisting and overcoming barriers to health of individuals served.
  • Promote participant learning and achievement through coursework, on the job training, mentorship, and support leading to retention of CHW workforce.
  • Ability to multitask, follow direction, and responsiveness in timely manner
  • Familiarity with rules, regulations, and ethical practices most commonly affecting CHWs.
  • Create and instill change with a positive outlook and attitude.
  • Experience with community health work settings and supervision; building repoire between community-based organizations, higher education; and supporting program development through these partnerships

Requirements:

  • Must be a citizen of or have proof of the ability to work in the United States
  • At least 18 years of age
  • English fluency
  • CHW certification
  • At least 2 years working as a CHW, preferably in a supervisory role

How to Apply:

Please submit resume and cover letter to Tara LaMarre — TLaMarre@ric.edu

Please have references available upon request

About the Organization and Funding:

The Community Health Worker Association of RI is housed at the Institute for Education in Healthcare (IEH) which is situated within the School of Business at Rhode Island College (RIC). The IEH was formed in 2016 as a unifying body tasked with building partnerships across higher education, health and behavioral healthcare industry partners, community partners, and consumer groups for the purpose of identifying and responding to workforce needs across the care continuum. The IEH received a $2,300,000 dollar (over four years) award from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) for strengthening communities hardest hit during the COVID-19 pandemic by fortifying the Community Health Worker (CHW) workforce. Through the grant IEH aims to train and deploy 225 CHWs through apprenticeships/mentorship.