Associate Director, Capacity Building Assistance

Health Resources in Action, Inc. (HRiA) is a non-profit organization working to improve and reimagine public health. We connect, consult, and collaborate to solve complex challenges of access and equity in our health and social systems. Together with our partners, clients, and collaborators, we create actionable solutions so that all people can thrive.

In 1957, The Medical Foundation (TMF) was created to primarily fund biomedical research in Massachusetts. Since then, we have been on a journey of evolution. We changed our name to Health Resources in Action (HRiA) to reflect our impact in the field of public health. Today, HRiA works with individuals, organizations, and communities to drive a policy and systems change approach to advance health and racial equity.

HRiA seeks sustainable solutions for complex problems using an anti-racist approach. We aim to be adaptable and flexible in meeting clients and partners where they are, offering our decades of knowledge and resources to collectively realize our dream of equitable, sustainable health for all. The foundation of this work is centered on our values:

• Health and racial equity by identifying and addressing the root causes of health inequities, intentionally working to shift narratives, power imbalances, and disrupt all systems of oppression.
• Leading with heart by demonstrating our passionate commitment to our work, continuously challenging ourselves with humility and vulnerability while pursuing and holding ourselves accountable to our mission.
• Collaboration by intentionally and respectfully leading, partnering, and following to strengthen relationships, uplift different voices and build trust.
• Innovation by driving toward new strategies, questioning norms, and continuously learning and evolving to support the needs of our clients and communities.

HRiA offers exciting, engaging, and challenging employment opportunities for facilitators, trainers, researchers, analysts, policy specialists, grant managers, and more. People come to HRiA because of our commitment to advancing health equity and inspiring work; they stay for our wonderful clients, partners, and dedicated and dynamic staff. With our growing portfolio of high-impact work, person-centered policies, and generous benefits, our team continually invests in making HRiA a wonderful place to work. Our diverse staff of over 270 people hail from 30+ states, with a home base in Boston’s Chinatown neighborhood.

HRiA’s core services comprise five clusters: capacity building assistance (CBA), grantmaking for biomedical research and community health initiatives, research and evaluation, public health services, and health and racial equity. Our CBA services help people, organizations, and communities build the competencies, infrastructure, and resources necessary to improve public health and achieve health and racial equity. Our CBA portfolio is broad, encompassing training, technical assistance (TA), and communication support, as well as strategic planning, facilitation, and leadership development services.

Opportunity

We are seeking a full-time Associate Director to join a growing team in our CBA Cluster focused on building problem gambling treatment capacity in Massachusetts. Specifically, we seek a dynamic, engaging, and outgoing individual to lead the Project Build Up (PBU) program – an initiative that provides grants to build workforce capacity among problem gambling outpatient treatment providers and others in the treatment field. The Associate Director will also oversee quality improvement (QI) activities for PBU and the Massachusetts Technical Assistance Center for Problem Gambling Treatment (M-TAC), a companion program also implemented by HRiA, that provides training and technical assistance for treatment and recovery programs across the Commonwealth. Both PBU and M-TAC are funded by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Office of Problem Gambling Services.

The ideal candidate will be a strong program and team leader, with capacity building, grantmaking, and/or quality improvement experience, who is comfortable and skilled in collaboration, developing relationships and engaging people with diverse backgrounds to generate successful outcomes. This is an exciting opportunity to oversee and guide capacity building assistance programs that center public health and advance health and racial equity in the problem gambling treatment space.

Position Description

The Associate Director will work collaboratively with a cross-disciplinary team to develop and deliver PBU, an innovative and customized grantmaking program, as well as oversee and collaborate on evaluation and quality improvement tasks for this and the M-TAC programs. The Associate Director will also contribute to programmatic growth through team and organizational collaboration to meet the goals defined in our scope of work, and in alignment with our funder’s needs. The Associate Director will collaborate with our internal team and cross-organizational partners, as well as grantees, subcontractors, and our funder.

This is a full-time, exempt position. PBU and M-TAC are both MA-focused, statewide initiatives that require some in-person attendance at meetings, trainings, and events, as well as regular team meetings in our Boston office. As a result, the Associate Director must live within daily commuting distance of Boston and will have the flexibility of working remotely from home and/or in our Boston office. HRiA’s standard work hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 am-5:00 pm with an opportunity to flex hours with supervisor approval. The salary range for this position is $80,000 to $85,000, depending on experience and skills. The Associate Director will be supervised by a Managing Director in the CBA Cluster.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Management

• Direct and manage PBU’s $500k annual grantmaking program designed to build workforce capacity for problem gambling treatment among outpatient treatment programs across the Commonwealth.
• Collaborate with our internal grantmaking staff and subject matter experts on approach, process, and resources available to support this initiative.
• Manage quality improvement activities, documentation, and reporting for our problem gambling treatment capacity building services across two projects, in collaboration with internal program and evaluation staff.
• Coordinate the efforts of team members and consultants for assigned projects.
• Develop, engage, and maintain strong relationships with key partners and leaders, including funders, grantees, government agencies, and community members.
• Assist with project planning, decision making, implementation, and evaluation.
• Collaborate to develop project budgets and work with HRiA’s Finance team to monitor project and department budgets.
• Supervise and mentor up to three junior staff, conduct annual staff performance reviews, and develop and support staff in setting and attaining professional development goals.
• Participate in team and leadership meetings.

Project Work

• Lead PBU’s grantmaking program, including conceptualization and design; establishing vision, goals, and objectives; facilitating meetings and planning activities; providing ongoing support and follow up; and preparing summary materials and deliverables.
• Contribute capacity building, grantmaking, and/or quality improvement experience and expertise to help guide individuals and teams toward achieving the goals and objectives of the program.
• Build and maintain strong, trusting, and effective relationships with clients and other key collaborators.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for PBU, providing guidance and technical assistance to ensure successful engagements and communicating regularly about project progress, challenges, and successes.
• Oversee quality improvement activities, including management and supervision of program and evaluation staff dedicated to these activities, as well as monitoring and adhering to documentation and reporting
• Develop, implement, and monitor project workplans to ensure timely completion of deliverables within budget and to funder’s satisfaction.
• Prepare deliverables including reports, presentations, summaries, evaluations, and correspondence.
• Provide insight and guidance to help address challenges and barriers, and support and ensure continuous quality improvement activities.
• Provide technical and content expertise on capacity building, grantmaking, and/or quality improvement to support and enhance other projects and services at HRiA.
• Maintain knowledge of significant trends and developments in services and use this expertise to advance project objectives.

New Business Development

• Work with team and other senior leadership to identify and pursue new opportunities to build portfolio and expand impact.
• Lead and/or contribute to proposals and scopes of work for new or continued business.
• Develop and implement marketing strategies based on experience, trends, and client needs.

Thought Leadership

• Work and train to become a trusted, informed source on problem gambling treatment capacity building and grantmaking.
• Create web content and outreach materials to promote work.
• Develop and deliver presentations; attend and present at state, regional or national conferences, as appropriate.
• Suggest ideas/improvements to project and organizational policies, procedures, and/or processes through participation in teams and committees.

This description is intended to indicate the kinds of work duties required in this position. It is not intended to limit, or modify, any supervisor’s rights to assign, direct, and contract work of staff under their supervision. The use of a particular illustration describing duties shall not be held to exclude other duties, not mentioned, that are of a similar level or difficulty.

Candidate Qualifications:

The successful candidate will have the following minimum qualifications:

• At least five years of relevant experience in program and team management, with demonstrated ability to develop and lead large projects, engagements, and associated teams.
• Experience in capacity building assistance, grantmaking, and/or evaluation, research, or quality improvement.
• Master’s degree in public health, business administration, management, human services administration, health policy, or a related field is preferred.

Personal Characteristics and Skills

The ideal candidate will be:

• Dedicated to public health and achieving health and racial equity.
• Committed to valuing diversity of thought, backgrounds, and perspectives.
• Able to think strategically and creatively, and to help others do the same.
• An excellent facilitator, with the ability to manage group dynamics, respond quickly to unexpected challenges, and create opportunities for full group engagement and participation.
• A relationship builder who can interact and build trust with many different people and work effectively across differences.
• A solid project manager, able to juggle multiple projects and competing demands and deliverables.
• An excellent communicator, including written, public speaking, and interpersonal skills, who communicates clearly and directly, with the ability to provide, hear, reflect, and act on feedback.
• An entrepreneur who thrives in a consulting environment.
• A resourceful, creative, and pragmatic problem-solver who can pivot processes and strategies in the moment.
• A self-starter who can work independently and collaboratively as part of a team.
• Able to travel (as needed and at HRiA’s expense) for client or project engagements across MA.
• Flexible with a sense of humor.
• Proficient with Microsoft Office (e.g., Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, OneNote, Teams).

How to Apply:

HRiA is actively seeking to build a diverse and experienced staff. The organization encourages multiple perspectives and experiences, supports a multicultural environment, and strives to hire and retain a diverse work force that reflects the populations we work with and the communities we serve. Diversity is a core value of HRiA resulting in culturally competent services, materials, resources, and programs. Our hiring and business practices appreciate the strengths offered through different backgrounds.

HRiA is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer and is committed to providing access, and reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities in employment, its services, programs, and activities. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, or genetic information.

HRiA offers an attractive benefits package including medical, dental and life insurance, short-term disability, retirement plan, tax-deferred annuity, generous vacation starting at four weeks, and office closure at the end of December.

To apply, submit your resume and cover letter.