Rural Health Advocacy Program Coordinator & Consumer Advocacy Specialist

Job Category: Academic Staff Employment Type: Regular Job Profile: Outreach Program Manager Job Summary: The Center for Patient Partnerships (CPP) seeks a manager advocate for the new rural health insurance program. The position will coordinate this new endeavor, lead helpline intake, one‑on‑one consumer education efforts, and brief intervention advocacy services to qualifying clients to support access to health care. The efforts will assist rural Wisconsin consumers with understanding systems and processes that consumers must navigate to get coverage for their care. This position will oversee the day‑to‑day operations of the program, oversee program development and implementation of policies and procedures for intake and triage components of the program, assist with program quality assurance and reporting, track trends, and collaborate on system‑level advocacy. The position will supervise implementation of intake and triage services, including supervision of a graduate student project assistant and graduate and undergraduate students. The mission of this new program is to support patients in using health insurance and coverage to gain timely, effective, and accessible health care in rural Wisconsin communities. CPP is an interdisciplinary, cross‑campus center located within the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. CPP operates as a medical‑legal partnership and offers experiential learning opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students through coursework and community engagement. Services include health advocacy and community resource navigation. Our staff is mission‑focused, creative, collaborative, and dedicated to making health care work for each and all. In addition to our service and teaching, we research patients' diverse lived experiences, needs, and challenges, and test and evaluate interventions. Our model prioritizes systems change that advances access to timely, effective health care, and promotes patients’ personal agency in navigating their own health experiences. The services will provide a combination of brief intervention and intensive advocacy support to clients, aiming toward problem resolution or appropriate referral for every case. This position will have service volume expectations. Responsibilities for this position include: Oversee the day‑to‑day operations of the program Oversee telephone and web‑based helpline intake and provide prompt, high‑quality, confidential brief intervention and intensive advocacy services until problem resolution, referral, or case discharge Develop and implement operating policies and procedures for helpline intake and brief interventions, including consumer education and advocacy services Develop training materials, train, and supervise staff and students to provide high‑quality one‑on‑one education and advocacy services regarding health insurance and self‑funded plans Contribute to system change activities and compilation of recommendations regarding changes to policy, processes, contracts, administrative codes, and statutes based upon trend identification Promote continuous improvement through problem identification, reporting, and participation in internal and external meetings and convenings; and implement and incorporate best practices and new learnings Keep abreast of changing laws, regulations, and practices related to health coverage Contribute to CPP broadly through participation in staff meetings, sharing of learnings, and office coverage Reviews recommendations for and provides input on the design and development of new outreach programs or services Supervises the implementation of outreach‑program‑focused strategic planning initiatives and objectives May exercise supervisory authority, including hiring, transferring, suspending, promoting, managing conduct and performance, discharging, assigning, rewarding, disciplining, and/or approving hours worked of at least 2.0 FTE or equivalent employees Monitors the unit or program budget and approves program expenditures Determines outreach program needs and the personnel resource allocation plan Develops and implements operating policies and procedures to promote the outreach program in alignment with the strategic plan Other duties as assigned Department: Center for Patient Partnerships (CPP) Compensation: The minimum starting salary for the position is $75,000. However, final salary will depend on experience and qualifications. Employees in this position can expect to receive benefits such as generous vacation, holidays, and paid time off; competitive insurances and savings accounts; retirement benefits. Additional benefits information: Required Qualifications: Program management experience managing enterprise‑level, customer‑facing programs (e.g., call centers, help lines or enrollment service, etc.) Experience working with and explaining regulatory, administrative, and/or enforcement proceedings related to health insurance claim disputes or consumer protection Experience drafting training materials and/or workflow procedures for customer service functions, clearly outlining resources and step‑by‑step processes for effectively assisting customers Preferred Qualifications: Experience navigating health, insurance or social service systems with clients who face substantial life challenges such as financial crises, chronic or acute illness, legal concerns, or difficulties accessing or using public benefits, etc. Experience with exporting and analyzing data from client databases and/or reporting data to stakeholders to demonstrate service targets and quality assurance Demonstrated experience providing client‑facing services within rural communities, including an understanding of the distinct needs and challenges associated with rural populations Demonstrated experience in consumer advocacy and education in areas relevant to the position such as insurance, regulatory matters, or administrative law, particularly as it relates to health care Education: Master's Degree Preferred Additional Information: Criminal Background Check may be required. Evaluation Period may be required. Work Schedule: Normal hours are between 8 am–5 pm, Monday through Friday, or as negotiated with supervisor. Occasional nights and weekends are required for this position. Contact Information: Sonia Parker, HR Generalist View phone number on click.appcast.io View email address on click.appcast.io Institutional Statement on Diversity: Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW‑Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals. The University of Wisconsin‑Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background—people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world. The University of Wisconsin‑Madison is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, including but not limited to, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, pregnancy, disability, or status as a protected veteran and other bases as defined by federal regulations and UW System policies. We promote excellence by acknowledging skills and expertise from all backgrounds and encourage all qualified individuals to apply. For more information regarding applicant and employee rights and to view federal and state required postings, visit the Human Resources Workplace Poster website. To request a disability or pregnancy‑related accommodation for any step in the hiring process (e.g., application, interview, pre‑employment testing, etc.), please contact the Divisional Disability Representative (DDR) in the division you are applying to. Please make your request as soon as possible to help the university respond most effectively to you. Employment may require a criminal background check. It may also require your references to answer questions regarding misconduct, including sexual violence and sexual harassment. The University of Wisconsin System will not reveal the identities of applicants who request confidentiality in writing, except that the identity of the successful candidate will be released. The Annual Security and Fire Safety Report contains current campus safety and disciplinary policies, crime statistics for the previous 3 calendar years, and on‑campus student housing fire safety policies and fire statistics for the previous 3 calendar years. UW‑Madison will provide a paper copy upon request; please contact the University of Wisconsin Police Department. #J-18808-Ljbffr