Rural Health Transformation Program Evaluator & Quality Assurance Manager

Job Summary

The Rural Health Transformation (RHT) Program is a federal initiative led by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and advances innovation, strategic partnerships, infrastructure development, and workforce investment to strengthen healthcare access, quality, and outcomes in rural communities.

This position will support the design and implementation of a comprehensive, multi-year evaluation of RHTF initiatives. Key responsibilities include developing logic models, establishing baseline metrics, collecting and analyzing outcome data, providing technical assistance, conducting midpoint and final evaluations, and producing quarterly dashboards, annual reports, and final evaluation summaries.

The Program Evaluation and Quality Assurance Manager must be analytical, detail-oriented, and strategic, with the ability to oversee measurement of program impact and ensure data accuracy. This role is critical to demonstrating the effectiveness of RHT initiatives, contribute to strategic decision-making, and maintaining accountability to our stakeholders and funding partners.

Job Responsibilities

Reporting to the RHT Director of Evaluation within the Tennessee Department of Health, the Program Evaluator will perform the following essential job functions: 

Key Responsibilities:

• Contribute to the development and implement the evaluation plan for all RHT projects.

• Establishes criteria, indices, measures, and evaluation systems for each program.

• Support the coordination of project evaluation efforts with other grant components.

• Support the planning and development of measurable objectives, logic model, theory of change, etc.

• Establishes the evaluation methodology pertinent to each aspect, standard or performance indicators.

• Establishes performance measurement principles and methods to evaluate program or organizational performance using metrics and outcomes.

• Prepares, maintains, and updates system data and produces a variety of reports.

• Develop instruments for data collection.

• Collect data, analyze information, and prepare reports.

• Offer feedback on evaluation findings.

• Assist in the preparation and dissemination of public health reports and materials.

• Work effectively with staff from various program units of the Tennessee Department of Health as well as with external Stakeholders.

• Will support the analysis and evaluation of operational performance for the establishment of priorities, identification of strategies, analysis of needs, drafting of plans, and development of goals and measurable objectives.

• Will develop required and/or requested reports such as graphs, forms, reports, tables, proposals, presentations, among others as requested.

Qualifications

Preferred Experience, Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Experience with federally funded programs or multi-site initiatives

• Strong knowledge of evaluation frameworks, including systems change, developmental, or principles-focused evaluation

• Superior analytical and problem-solving skills; ability to work independently and collaboratively.

• Strong knowledge of epidemiology, biostatistics, survey design, and statistical software (e.g., R, SAS, STATA, SPSS);

• Proficiency in data systems and tools (e.g., RedCap, Tableau, and ArcGIS, R, SAS, or similar).

• Ability to analyze, interpret, and visualize complex quantitative and qualitative data; translate findings into actionable public health strategies.

• Demonstrated success in managing projects, teams, and multi-partner collaborations.

• Excellent communication skills for technical and non-technical audiences; ability to present data effectively (data storytelling).

• Proven ability to evaluate programs, recommend improvements, and support data-driven decision-making.

• Strong organizational and time management skills; ability to coordinate multiple activities and meet deadlines.

• Experience providing technical assistance and capacity-building to partners or subrecipients

• Familiarity with health promotion and disease prevention efforts, maternal and child health programs, hospital systems, or rural health challenges, and health equity principles a plus

Minimum Qualifications:

Doctorate degree in epidemiology, public health, biostatistics, statistics, health informatics, social work, public administration, or a social or environmental science plus 1 year of experience in conducting epidemiological studies, federal grant performance management and program evaluation, or community assessment and planning; OR, a Master’s degree in epidemiology, public health, biostatistics, statistics, health informatics, plus 3 or more years of experience in conducting epidemiological studies, f federal grant performance management and program evaluation, or community assessment and planning.

Additional Information

Benefits

Position Details:

• This is a contract position with the State that is funded through FY2031.

• This position is an Epidemiologist 2 designation with an anticipated salary range between $78,000 – $124,000 annually. All compensation negotiations will be conducted through our staffing contractor, Covendis.

• This position is located in Nashville, TN.

How to Apply

Email your cover letter and resume directly to View email address on cnemt.org.

Details

• Date Posted: May 1, 2026
• Type: Full-Time
• Job Function: Analytics / Evaluation
• Service Area: Community Development
• Start Date: 06/01/2026
• Salary Range: $78,000 - $124,000
• Working Hours: 37.5 hrs/wk; M-F, 8:00am - 4:30pm