Director of Health Equity

The Director of Health Equity reports directly to the Chief Health Officer (CHO) and works collaboratively to advance health equity and reduce health disparities among our member population. In addition, this leader will advance internal efforts to support a diverse workforce and foster an equitable and inclusive workplace. The director of Health Equity will develop, implement, analyze, and refine HPSM goals and objectives related to health equity (HE), diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB).

Position overview

• Conduct planning on a multi-year basis to define and achieve goals for the Health Equity unit; proactively collaborate with other departments and stakeholders to identify, prioritize, and implement solutions that advance these goals.  
• Identify trends and best practices in health equity and DEIB efforts that are relevant to advancing HPSM member and employee needs; implement improvements to HPSM operations and policies on an ongoing basis.
• Accomplish staff results by communicating job expectations; planning, monitoring, and appraising job results; coaching, counseling, and implementing corrective action steps when necessary; developing, coordinating, and enforcing systems, policies, procedures, and productivity standards. Complete performance evaluations in a timely manner.
• Plan, prioritize, and implement initiatives aimed at advancing HPSM’s health equity and DEIB goals, in alignment with other departmental workplans related to population health, member outcomes, and organizational culture.
• Leads and facilitates HPSM’s Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA) Group, including facilitating meetings, planning agendas, soliciting group feedback on relevant organizational decisions, and championing the integration of this group’s efforts across HPSM.
• Work collaboratively with internal and external stakeholders, including community organizations and agencies, to address prioritized disparities and improve health outcomes.
• Work with the CHO, Director of Human Resources, and appropriate internal and external stakeholders to develop, monitor, and analyze Key Performance Indicators for health equity and employee DEIB
• Communicate the findings of analyses with various stakeholders, solicit input to generate well-informed recommendations, and leverage findings to develop and implement interventions or revisions to existing policies and programs that support organizational culture and health equity.
• Act as a champion to drive cohesive member health equity and employee DEIB efforts at multiple levels and with key stakeholder engagement, serving as an expert and influential contributor to broad organizational strategy, an accountable leader to ensure alignment with regulatory requirements (such as DHCS, DMHC, CMS, NCQA, and employment law), and a direct implementer of ongoing process improvements.

Requirements

These are the qualifications typically needed to succeed in this position. However, you don’t need to meet every requirement to apply. 

Education and experience

• Bachelor’s degree in social work, psychology, public policy, or education; Master’s degree (MSW, MPH, MPP) or above preferred.
• Formal health equity continuing education or course work, or health equity concentration/certification preferred.
• Three (3) or more years in a managerial position.
• Experience working on the topics of health equity, public health, DEIB, and/or quality, preferably in a managed care or governmental setting.
• Experience working with Medi-Cal eligible individuals or in a safety net health care setting preferred.

Knowledge of:

• Health Equity concepts, analytical approaches, and practices, including methodology for developing and implementing initiatives that reduce health disparities and promote an inclusive environment.
• DEIB concepts, approaches and best practices.
• Change management concepts, tools, and practices.
• Workgroup facilitation, evaluation, and outcomes.
• Statistics and a variety of qualitative and quantitative analysis methodologies
• Managed care and health plan operations.
• Leadership practices that promote an inclusive and productive workplace, including practices for advancing psychological safety within teams.

Ability to:

• Scope, define, analyze, and interpret qualitative and quantitative information to address complex problems; this includes the ability to identify trends and patterns, prioritize significant information, and communicate findings with diverse audiences.
• Establish long term and short term goals, proactively monitor performance against key metrics, and develop  a clear set of action steps to achieve objectives.
• Design, facilitate, implement and monitor progress of interventions.
• Diplomatically and creatively resolve escalated or complex issues using strong professional judgment and discretion.
• Encourage open communication and diverse perspectives by actively seeking input and alternatives from others, and encouraging employees to ask questions and share ideas without fear of negative repercussions.
• Develop and maintain strong professional relationships with a diverse range of people.
• Utilize appropriate interpersonal and conflict resolution approaches to negotiate agreement between differing individuals and groups of people.
• Influence positive outcomes without direct reporting authority over others.  
• Manage ambiguity through contingency planning, communication, composure, problem-solving, and making good decisions with incomplete information.
• Pivot and change course when appropriate.
• Develop, support, and manage staff with clear expectations, ongoing feedback, and regular performance discussions including formal evaluation. Learn and unlearn quickly, applying new information, skills, and concepts to work.
• Analyze successes and failures for improvement opportunities, and act as a champion for learning from mistakes.
• Utilize a personal computer, including the range of Microsoft Office products (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, and Outlook.

Skills:

• Project planning, implementation and evaluation.
• Written and verbal communication with various audiences and individuals of diverse backgrounds, including public speaking.
• Project management.
• Qualitative and quantitative analytical skills.
• Conflict management.

Salary and benefits

The starting salary range is $141,188-$186,774 per year, depending on the candidate’s work experience.

Excellent benefits package includes:

• HPSM-paid premiums for employee’s medical, dental and vision coverage (employee pays 10% of each dependent’s premiums)
• Fully paid life, AD&D and LTD insurance
• Retirement plan (HPSM contributes equivalent of 10% of annual compensation)
• 12 paid holidays a year, 12 paid sick days a year and paid vacation starting at 16 days a year
• Tuition reimbursement plan
• Employee wellness program

It is HPSM's policy to provide equal employment opportunity for all applicants and employees.  HPSM does not unlawfully discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, marital status, sex, age, sexual orientation, veteran status, registered domestic partner status, genetic information, gender, gender identity, gender expression, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.  HPSM also prohibits discrimination based on the perception that an applicant or employee has any of those characteristics or is associated with a person who has or is perceived to have any of those characteristics.