Career Center

A resume and cover letter is required when applying for this position.

Introduction:

The mission of the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) is to advance and transform public health practice by championing performance improvement, strong infrastructure, and innovation. PHAB is the accrediting body for Tribal, state, local, and territorial governmental public health departments in the U.S. Accreditation provides a means for a public health department to identify performance improvement opportunities, to improve management, develop leadership, and improve relationships with members of the community.

Position Summary:

The VP of Research and Product Development is responsible for operations of the Research and Product Development (RPD) Unit, including providing leadership and oversight for development of PHAB products and services, research studies and evaluation.  The position supervises leads for the Product Development and Data System Team and Research and Evaluation Team, as well as the Unit’s Program Assistant.  Work of the Unit includes the development of new, or improvement of existing, accreditation standards & measures and processes, technology products that support PHAB programs and/or are for use by the field and work to support PHAB evaluation and research studies (internal at PHAB and those by external researchers). Two PHIG-funded initiatives are included in the RPD portfolio: developing PH-LIFT, a data platform that will present harmonized data about public health infrastructure; and co-leading with a national partner organization the national evaluation of the $3-billion CDC investment.

The VP of RPD serves on the Executive Leadership Team of PHAB. This position has a high degree of independent decision making, strategic thinking, program planning, and program development, with general direction from leadership. This position reports to the Chief Operating Officer and coordinates and collaborates with leadership and staff across PHAB assuring the strategic and operational objectives are met.

Position Responsibilities:

Provides oversight and support for the development of new PHAB products and services and ensures data inform improvement of existing ones

• Conceptualizes, in coordination with internal and external stakeholders, new products;
• Leads and uses research and evaluation efforts to support the development and continued improvement of products and services;
• Promotes the consistency and credibility of the Accreditation Committee and the decision-making process through analysis and presentation of data;
• Ensures processes are in place to deliver usable data and information to support the efficient delivery and improvement of PHAB products and services.

Oversees the collaborative and data-driven process for revising and improving the accreditation Standards & Measures and process

• Facilitates and contributes to the development of new and revised versions of accreditation and recognition related requirements and processes, and ensures access to relevant research and data and contributing content;
• Leads the process of reviewing drafts and revisions of requirements and processes for final adoption by the Board of Directors, including, as appropriate, vetting of drafts with the public health community.

Develops and oversees research and evaluation activities

• Oversees research using data generated by PHAB programs to build public health systems evidence base, support advocacy, and inform the development of new tools and resources;
• Promotes external research and builds relationship with researchers to advance the study of accreditation and the use of PHAB data to build the evidence base for public health practice, including overseeing prioritized research agenda and logic model;
• Establishes, maintains and enhances systems for measuring the impact of accreditation and other PHAB programs and oversees internal and external evaluation activities and dissemination of the results;
• Seeks funding to conduct and oversees the implementation of additional research and evaluation studies.

Participates in and supports leadership, administrative and programmatic activities of the organization

• Supervises and provides guidance and direction to the Directors of each Team within the Unit;
• Active participant and leader in the Executive Leadership and Management teams of PHAB
• Participates in the organization’s strategic planning and takes lead responsibility on key strategic priorities as appropriate;
• Provides program, research and evaluation reports, presentations, and webinars to the Board of Directors;
• Provides webinars and presentations concerning PHAB’s product development, research and evaluation activities and accomplishments;
• Provides direction, leadership and/or support of various think tanks, expert panels, work groups, and committees;
• Publishes scientific papers;
• Contributes to PHAB’s brand and communications strategies via social media, authoring opinion and peer-reviewed research articles, blog posts, and articles for the PHAB e-newsletter.

Knowledge and Skills required:

• Advanced degree (Master’s or Doctorate) in public health or related field is required;
• 7 to 10 years of progressively responsible experience in program management in non-profit or governmental sectors. Strong preference for this experience to be in public health, public health accreditation, and/or public health systems research and/or evaluation;
• Additionally, 3 to 5 years’ management level experience with product lifecycle development and implementation
• Additionally, 3 to 5 years’ staff-level experience in public health research, evaluation and program services at the local, state, Tribal or national level
• Demonstrated competence in innovation, product life cycle and business development
• Excellent written and verbal communications skills as demonstrated by clear record of accomplishment in providing training and informational presentations and developing written guidance, rules and regulations, requirements, or other quasi-regulatory documents, as well as history of publication in professional journals;
• Proficient with quantitative and qualitative research methods and data management and analytical tools;
• Demonstrated track record of adaptive leadership, innovation, creativity, flexibility, collaboration, strategic thinking, implementation of strategy through collaboration in teams and across teams, valuing inclusion & diversity, and depth of relevant subject matter expertise.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office 365.

Role Impact:

The VP of Research and Product Development contributes to the success of PHAB and its continuous quality improvement with particular responsibility for its development, implementation, and revisions of its initial accreditation and reaccreditation requirements and processes, as well as its research and evaluation activities.

DISCLAIMER: The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this classification. They are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified. All personnel may be required to perform duties outside of their normal responsibilities from time to time, as needed.

PHAB is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and antiracism (IDEA) and is engaged in intentional efforts to advance IDEA as an organization. We are committed to creating inclusive and equitable spaces that reflect our values and culture as an organization and to ensure our employees have the most positive experience as a part of PHAB.

HYBRID EMPLOYER ENVIRONMENT: The Public Health Accreditation Board’s staff currently work in a hybrid office environment. At the time of hiring, staff members are asked to elect if they will primarily work from an office in their home or in the headquarters office (currently in Alexandria, VA.) If they elect to work from a home office, they must agree to maintain a professional working environment with a dedicated workspace, including high-speed internet access. All staff are required to participate in in-person staff meetings that occur currently on a semi-annual basis for up to 5 consecutive days. These in-person staff meetings may be increased to a quarterly basis, as determined by management. Travel and related expenses for these meetings will be paid for by the employer.

VACCINATION: PHAB recommends but does not require its staff, volunteers, interns, fellows, assignees, and meeting attendees be up to date with an FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccination series, including boosters. Other risk-mitigation measures, such as wearing masks in our offices or in meeting settings are also optional.

EEO STATEMENT: PHAB is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, gender, age, veteran status, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, or disability (in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act) with respect to employment opportunities.