MountainWise
MountainWise is a public health partnership of the eight NC Region 1 health departments (Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon, Swain and Transylvania) based in the Macon County Public Health Department.  MountainWise staff work to provide opportunities for physical activity, access to healthy food, support for tobacco-free places and services for chronic-disease prevention and management. When environments encourage and are supportive of healthy choices, it becomes easier to make those choices. By honoring traditions and embracing the natural resources of the mountains, we can make the healthy choice the easy choice and strengthen the health of all communities in Western North Carolina.

Project Description
MountainWise Healthy People Healthy Carolinas is a project funded by the Duke Endowment to use collective impact in the form of health coalitions to improve policy, systems and environmental changes to prevent chronic disease, specifically in the areas of physical activity and nutrition. 

Position Description
The Project Coordinator is responsible for coordinating the planning, implementation, and evaluation activities associated with MountainWise’s Healthy People, Healthy Carolinas Project to include working with the HPHC Leadership Team and coalition members to provide general oversight and obtain resources for coalition activities and associated projects. The Coordinator will work to develop and implement strategies that will lead to long-term involvement of community institutions, organizations and individuals in health promotion, prevention, assessment, and evaluation activities, specifically in the areas of physical activity and nutrition and chronic disease.

Responsibilities:

1. Report to Technical Assistance (TA) team and HPHC leadership;
2. Work as team member with HPHC Leadership Team, Coalition Members, and TA to meet HPHC goals;
3. Continually broaden expertise in obesity and chronic disease prevention and serve as resource;
4. Conduct literature/resource reviews to identify best practices for coalition;
5. Recruit and maintain a diverse coalition membership;
6. Serve as Coordinator/Planner for coalition by coordinating activities such as:

• Needs assessment activities,
• Implementing instruments and protocols for testing effectiveness of coalition strategies,
• Community health planning activities,
• Collecting, managing, and analyzing community health indicators data,
• Developing health policies related to obesity/chronic disease prevention,
• Implementing evidence-based interventions related to obesity/chronic disease prevention

1. Assist coalition members in conducting annual strategic planning and facilitate coalition to develop a comprehensive action plan based on needs-assessment and strategic planning;
2. Coordinate and facilitate coalition meetings and communicate effectively with members to promote collaboration, negotiation, and problem solving;
3. Plan, coordinate, conduct and participate in educational and training activities;
4. Collaborate and work closely with HPHC Leadership Team and Coalition Partners to promote coalition’s mission and goals;
5. Advocate/Expand Continuous Quality Improvement processes in activities;
6. Continuously evaluate coalition effectiveness and coalition strategic plan;
7. Document findings and progress of programs and activities in regular reports to lead and partnering agencies, other funding agencies, and coalition members;
8. Manage and oversee expenditures of coalition budget.
9. Seek and write grant proposals to obtain additional funding, as deemed necessary by HPHC Leadership Team;
10. Report and present coalition progress and program findings through publications and presentations at meetings/conferences.

Reporting Relationships
The Project Coordinator will be directly supervised by the MountainWise Project Director.  In addition, the Project Coordinator will report to the HPHC Leadership Team.

Qualifications
This is an outstanding opportunity to play a critical role in improving the health and well-being of the people of Public Health Region 1 in North Carolina.  The Coordinator must be committed to the mission and overarching goals of MountainWise and Region 1 North Carolina Public Health Department leadership.  Additionally, the successful candidate will be able to demonstrate:

• At least 3 years of relevant work experience, including at least 1 year of proven community outreach and coordination experience
• The executive presence to inspire confidence and passion in both internal and external audiences

• Advanced strategy and planning skills, including an ability to think strategically on both organizational and systemic levels over multi-year horizons
• Strong data acumen and ability to oversee complex shared-measurement systems
• Strong facilitation and presentation skills before multiple types of audiences
• Experience with complex project management and stakeholder management
• Existing relationships with, or ability to build relationships with, a cross-sectoral range of stakeholders in the local or regional area, including senior executives
• A track record of leading, inspiring, and developing high-performance teams
• Outstanding communication (written and oral) and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build authentic relationships with a diverse set of high-profile stakeholders
• Comfort with ambiguity and ability to thrive in a fluid, entrepreneurial environment; willingness to “roll up one’s sleeves” and extend beyond formal responsibilities based on the needs of the work
• Fundraising or grant writing experience.

Desired Qualifications:

• Degree in business, health, policy, nonprofit management, public health or related field
• Experience in a start-up environment

About NCAPHA

The North Carolina Alliance of Public Health Agencies, Inc. is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization founded in 1995 by a group of local health directors who needed a way to pool resources to negotiate more advantageous terms in vendor contracts. Over time NCAPHA, or The Alliance, became the go-to resource for its members providing solutions to the challenges facing them. We are committed to offering service solutions to help local health departments reduce costs and increase efficiencies. Our members include all 86 local and district health departments in North Carolina. The North Carolina Public Health Collaboration refers to the North Carolina Alliance of Public Health Agencies (the Alliance) and its two sister organizations: the North Carolina Association of Local Health Directors (NCALHD) and the North Carolina Public Health Association (NCPHA). We work closely together, collaborating to advance public health in North Carolina.

Connections working at NCAPHA