Law & Policy Consultant - RI-focused

MLPB's (mlpb.health) mission is at the forefront of social care innovation and access to justice democratization. The organization helps teams and organizations more effectively connect people to the health-promoting resources and legal protections they seek. MLPB provides law and policy-based training, consultation, and technical assistance to care teams in ways that build their capacity to offer problem-solving support to the people they serve. This work is anchored in MLPB's team-facing legal partnering framework and Unlocking Access capacity-building suite.

MLPB has over 30 partners and collaborators based primarily in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. MLPB partners include health insurers, accountable care organizations/entities (ACOs/AEs), hospitals, public health departments, community health centers and other community organizations. MLPB is also a collaborator on several national research and demonstration projects.

MLPB operates under the fiscal sponsorship of TSNE (tsne.org).

The Law & Policy Consultant we recruit will join a passionate, talented team to advance MLPB’s mission. We are looking for a person who can tap general law and policy knowledge and who can train, educate and provide technical assistance to our partners. MLPB’s Law & Policy Consultant will provide capacity-building information to care teams across many domains of health-related social need (HRSN) and social determinants of health (SDOH). Candidates will not provide direct legal representation to individuals, families, communities or organizations; MLPB and its staff do not practice law.

Essential Job Functions

Consultation

• Join interdisciplinary team meetings to provide general legal information and problem-solving insight across a range of law and policy domains – a kind of legal generalism.
• Respond thoughtfully, efficiently, and creatively to a high volume of care team member questions inspired by patient care – both during and outside of interdisciplinary team meetings.

Training & Education

• Develop and deliver in-person and web-based trainings that teach workforces about:
  • how law, public policy, and history impact people’s health, well-being and dignity.
  • common obstacles people and populations confront when attempting to access resources and legal protections; and
  • ways care team members can deploy to support people’s problem-solving goals within the boundaries of their professional role.
• Develop and update reference content, including MLPB’s Digital Digest and companion tools.

Technical Assistance

• Research pathways to connect household-level data to potential system- and policy-level change strategies, and orient partners and collaborators on how they can engage with those pathways; and
• Serve as an ambassador for MLPB in a range of external settings, such as local, regional and national coalitions/networks/conferences.

Quality Assurance & Continuous Quality Improvement

• Maintain timely documentation of all training and consultation activity on a central project management database.
• Support preparation of regular reports on services and related learning, including trends in barriers to resources and legal protections experienced by people and populations.
• Supervise interns.
• Miscellaneous / general non-profit “pitching in.”

Additional Information

• Deadline to Apply: August 29, 2022
• Please include the following documents with your application:
  • Resume/CV – Use document upload section in the beginning of the application.
  • Cover letter – You will be prompted to enter a cover letter towards the end of the application and will need to copy paste it into the space available not as an attachment.

We will consider exceptional candidates who demonstrate a strong combination of the specific qualifications and skills described below.

• Juris Doctorate required.
• Licensed and in good standing in Rhode Island (licensed and in good standing in Massachusetts or other states preferred but not required).
• Minimum of 2 years of professionally relevant experience.
• Previous work experience in an interdisciplinary context.
• Comfort in a fast-paced and sometimes unpredictable environment.
• Ability to nimbly translate complex “legalese” into simple and clear communications, both written and verbal.
• Comfort with continuously developing knowledge about unfamiliar topics.
• Demonstrated dedication to anti-racism and diversity-, inclusion-, equity- and trauma-informed practices.
• Demonstrated commitment to contributing to a positive, collegial, and inclusive team environment.
• Successful background check required.

Physical Demands/Work Environment

The physical demands described here are representative of those for this position. Reasonable accommodations will be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions. Work is performed in an office environment and in close proximity to other workers.

While performing the duties of this position, the employee is required to:

• Handle, or feel objects, tools or controls.
• Reach; traverse; sit (usually for longer periods of time); occasionally ascend/descend; and position self (to) move.

The work environment includes the following:

• The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.
• Job is not subject to significant occupational or environmental hazards.
• Likelihood of personal injury would be relatively slight.
• Environmental and work hazards are not present to a measurable degree.

Regarding COVID-19: TSNE/MLPB considers the health and safety of our employees of the utmost importance, and due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and subject to your state and local laws, our policy requires that all employees performing in-person work at a TSNE designated office are fully vaccinated. For the purpose of this policy, fully vaccinated indicates that you have received a single dose of the Janssen vaccine, or both doses of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine. Certain exemptions may be requested and will be considered by Human Resources.

Compensation and Benefits

Location: Work will be primarily performed within the state of Rhode Island. Location of work is hybrid; staff currently come together one day per week in-person in a downtown Boston office setting and the balance of work time is based in one’s home office. Candidate should be willing and able to travel outside Rhode Island periodically.

Compensation: The salary range for this position is $70,000-$80,000/yr and is commensurate with experience.

Benefits: This position is eligible for a full benefits package including:

• Generous Paid-Time-Off (PTO): 12 paid holidays, 3 weeks vacation, 1 week personal holiday, and sick time for full-time staff.
• 80% Employer-paid, $0 deductible Health Insurance through Harvard Pilgrim.
• Low-cost MetLife Dental and Vision.
• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) for Health and Dependent Care.
• Employer-paid Life, Long- and Short-Term Disability Insurance.
• Employer-paid Pension through TIAA.
• ...and more!

TSNE/Medical Legal Partnership/Boston strives to achieve excellence through a diverse, equitable, and inclusive work environment that embraces all of our individual and collective differences. Black, Indigenous, People of Color, Middle Eastern and North African, Bilingual and/or Bicultural candidates, and LGBTQ2SIA+ candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. We value and honor the unique talents, learning styles, and lived experiences of each individual that enrich and strengthen our workplace culture, and we are proud to be an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer.

All employment conditions are based on an individual’s performance and job qualifications. TSNE/Medical Legal Partnership/Boston prohibits discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, creed, color, religion, native language, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, physical or mental disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, parental status, pregnancy, race-based hairstyles, or any other protected characteristic stated by federal and state law. Regardless of any class’ protection under the law or lack thereof, TSNE/Medical Legal Partnership/Boston celebrates diversity and values the strengths that come with having a diverse team of employees. It is represented in our workplace culture, and it is who we are.

TSNE/Medical Legal Partnership/Boston's EEO statement extends to volunteers, interns, contractors, vendors, and clients.