Workforce Development Specialist

Company: Community Care Network of Kansas
Job Title: Workforce Development Specialist
Job Classification: Exempt, Full-Time
Pay Range: $65,000, and as depending on experience
Reporting Relationship : Director of Workforce and Health Center Requirements
Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm (or similar schedule)
Location: onsite/in-office, Topeka, KS

Who We Are: Community Care Network of Kansas

Community Care Network of Kansas (Community Care) strives to make sure all Kansans have access to high-quality, community-based, whole-person health care close to home.

We are a statewide primary care association for a network of community care clinics. Our members serve as the community resource at the local level, dedicated to ensuring the best medical, dental, and behavioral care is available to all.

Together, we are leaders in health care training, technical assistance, and public policy discussions at the local, state, and federal levels. We collaborate with other health care providers, foundations and individuals who partner to educate and advocate for equitable access to high-quality care for all. We believe healthy Kansans build strong and vibrant communities, which strengthens the overall quality of life in our great state.

Primary Accountabilities (Responsibilities):

Reporting to the Director Workforce and Health Center Requirements, the Workforce Development Specialist serves as a workforce development consultant to member clinics by assessing workforce needs, analyzing recruitment and retention challenges, recommending strategic workforce solutions, and guiding implementation of evidence-based workforce initiatives.

This position will work with community health centers and other member clinics to create workforce retention plans for key positions and support recruitment services, including but not limited to health care providers, advanced practice providers, front line staff, and administrative personnel. This position will build capacity in the Community Care Network clinics to research, develop and implement best practices for procuring and retaining providers and staff. Working with the Director Workforce and Health Center Requirements, the position will also be responsible for building relationships and creating partner opportunities to facilitate placement of students, interns, residents, providers, and staff within Community Care member clinics.

The Workforce Development Specialist must possess strong relationship building skills and be able to exercise outstanding judgement in working with various institutions of higher learning and health care clinics. This position requires exceptionally strong written and verbal communication skills, critical thinking and problem-solving capacity. A background in healthcare workforce development of core competency training, strong partnership development skills, and excellent project management skills are necessary to be successful in this position.

Major Duties:

• With the Director Workforce and Health Center Requirements, cultivate relationships with academic institutions to facilitate placement of students, interns, residents, and fellows in Community Care member clinics.
• Represent Community Care at and build relationships with external constituency groups, including (but not exclusively) Medical Schools, Colleges, Universities and member community health centers and other Community Care member clinics.
• Provide training to member clinics regarding workforce training best practices, clinical rotation programs, and capacity building to become a Residency Program or train residents.
• Provide tailored technical assistance with member clinics to develop and implement comprehensive workforce plans; increase their capacity to integrate students, interns, residents, and fellows in their workforce; and support placement of health care providers and other members of the healthcare workforce.
• Analyzes workforce trends, recruitment outcomes, retention metrics, labor market conditions, and program effectiveness data; develops recommendations and advises member clinics and organizational leadership regarding workforce planning strategies and resource allocation.
• Support workforce placement within member clinics by engaging soon-to-graduate and recently graduated health professionals; providing them with written information; and matching them with employment opportunities at member clinics.
• Represent Community Care and member clinics at health care workforce recruitment fairs.
• Promote application of National Health Services Corp and Kansas Student Loan Repayment Program.
• Conduct member workforce-related environmental scans and surveys as required.
• Develop or facilitate and implement core competency-based training for member clinics.
• Develop capacity of member clinics to operationalize a clinical rotation program. Identify and implement opportunities to complete high-quality program deliverables on time; actively look to identify and eliminate barriers to the success of the healthcare workforce within member clinics.
• Provide collaborative leadership to work effectively across teams, members, higher learning institutions, and individual stakeholders and groups to identify shared goals, discover collaborative solutions, improve outcomes, and collectively achieve mutual goals.
• Facilitate placement of member clinic openings on the Community Care Career Page and other relevant websites.
• Support, develop, and implement pathway and pipeline programs within the member network, including apprenticeship programs and activities that support apprenticeships.
• Identify potential funding and development opportunities to support workforce initiatives, retention, and recruitment.
• Work collaboratively with staff to build and maintain a strong team environment to accomplish the tasks necessary to serve and support the goals of Community Care.
• Participate in special events.
• Perform all other duties as assigned by the CEO, Chief Strategy Officer, and the Director Workforce and Health Center Requirements.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in a health care field, communications, human resources, training, adult education, or a related field; master’s degree in similar fields preferred.
• Minimum of three years’ work experience in workforce development or similar qualifications highly preferred.
• Passion and commitment to improving health; experience working in/with a community health center or other non-profit clinic environment preferred.
• Understanding and familiarity with graduate schools and health care training programs in Kansas and/or surrounding states, and at universities that offer competency-based alternative training methods that support “grow your own” workforce development models.
• Understanding of general principals of healthcare workforce in Kansas including supply and demand.
• Proficiency with Windows operating systems and Microsoft Office suite; ability to learn additional software applications.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to build relationships with staff, board members, external partners, legislators, and state officials, and funders.
• Forward thinker and innovator who actively seeks opportunities, proposes solutions, and is motivated to continually improve.
• Excellent communication skills (telephone, listening, writing, editing and public speaking) to transfer complex and technical information in a clear and concise manner.
• Detail oriented, strong work ethic, and ability to simultaneously manage multiple priorities in a dynamic, multi-faceted, fast-paced work environment.
• Ability to utilize independent judgment and discretion to create, modify, and/or monitor projects to best meet the needs of Community Care and its members, including creation and implementation of work plans, achievement of program goals/objectives/performance measures and production of high-quality deliverables.

Physical Demands:

• Regularly maintain stationary position with regular need to relocate to attend meetings internally and externally.
• Regularly stand and move about exhibit area, speaking and listening in a public space where multiple conversations are taking place simultaneously.
• Ability to load, unload, and carry display and promotional materials and items and wagon, weighing up to 50 pounds.
• Ability to read computer screens and operate computer peripherals for an extended period, or the ability to discern electronic information through reasonably available
• accommodations.
• Regularly communicate with staff, members, and stakeholders verbally and in writing through in-person, virtual, or other communication vehicles.
• Regular in-state and out-of-state overnight travel required.
• Professional, fast-paced, and deadline-oriented environment in an office setting and in the field, with regulated temperatures and moderate noise level. Requires the ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously and to maintain excellent communication with Director Workforce and Health Center Requirements.

Additional Duties:

Additional duties and responsibilities may be added to this position description at any time. The position description does not state or imply that these are the only activities to be performed by the employee(s) holding this position. Employees are required to follow Community Care policies and procedures and maintain a professional personal appearance and workspace. Employees are required to follow any other position-related instructions and to perform any other job-related responsibilities as requested by the employee’s supervisor.

Community Care Network of Kansas does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations. These activities include, but are not limited to, the appointment to and termination from its Board of Directors, hiring and firing of staff or contractors, selection of volunteers, selection of vendors, and providing of services.