Director of Health Equity

The Network for Public Health Law (Network)(networkforphl.org), with the support of its fiscal sponsor, TSNE, is a national organization providing leadership, legal technical assistance, trainings, and educational resources to help public health practitioners, attorneys, policy makers, researchers, advocates, community-based organizations, and communities develop and implement evidence-based and innovative laws and policies to advance health equity and promote the public’s health.

The Network and TSNE envision a society grounded in principles of social and economic justice. As such, we strive to achieve excellence through a diverse and inclusive workplace that honors each individual as a whole person. Our vision and values are reflected in all our employment-related decisions, including hiring practices. Accordingly, we actively seek people who can add to our diverse backgrounds and perspectives to join us in our work. We value the unique talents and contributions of each of our employees. We recognize the value that lived experience can bring to one’s professional expertise and encourage individuals with lived experience to apply for this position.

The Network for Public Health Law is a fiscally sponsored organization of TSNE. (tsne.org)

The Network’s Health Equity Director will work within a collaborative environment to provide strategic guidance and leadership for the Network’s law and policy priorities related to health and racial health equity. The Director will oversee the Network’s Health Equity Team which is committed to advancing health and social justice in communities by using law and policy to improve health outcomes for traditionally under-resourced communities and populations.  Law and policy have the power to create and shape the systems that improve health, enrich communities, and create fair processes and outcomes by ensuring that the conditions where we live, work, learn and play support the health of everyone.  The Health Equity Team provides legal and policy expertise in the areas of health justice, including anti-racism theories and practices, using a holistic and practical approach that takes into account the overlapping contributors to many health inequities and the urgent need to put policy into action to address those inequities.  The Health Equity Director will oversee and manage the team’s day to day operations, strategic planning, outreach efforts, capacity building, legal technical assistance, trainings and presentations, and resource development activities.

The Health Equity Director will advance the Network’s goals of improving public health and securing health and racial health equity. This work involves overseeing research and assessment of equitable laws and policies; identifying legal and policy barriers and facilitators that advance health and racial health equity; facilitating connections between governmental organizations and communities; and identifying and developing best practices for using law and policy to promote health equity within the critical contexts of structural racism and other social determinants of health. The Health Equity Director will also build new partnerships and sustain existing collaborations with key interested parties, including public health law and policy partners, public health and other governmental agencies, community-led organizations, advocates, and funders.

The Director will have a JD and will supervise attorneys, policy analysts, law fellows and clerks, and other staff and consultants. This position reports to the Managing Director of Legal Programs and Strategy and assists in providing leadership and management for the organization’s operations, strategic planning, fundraising, growth, and sustainability efforts.

Supervisory Responsibilities

This position supervises staff attorneys, analysts, fellows and research assistants, as assigned by the Executive Leadership Team and the Managing Director of Legal Programs and Strategy.

Essential Functions

Strategic Planning and Sustainability

• As a member of the Network’s Leadership Team, contribute to and support organizational strategies, and contribute to transparent decision-making.
• Support and collaborate with public health officials and practitioners, advocates, community groups, and others to reach their own health equity and social justice goals through the provision of trainings, legal technical assistance, and more.
• Oversee the Health Equity Team’s efforts including contributing to and expanding the reach of the team’s existing subject matter expertise in health and racial health equity and any new and emerging areas.
• Identify health equity and anti-racism needs in the field to establish specific goals, processes, and procedures for the Network and its teams to address in its strategic and sustainability planning.
• Identify funding opportunities and develop grant proposals and Statement of Work for contracts for health and racial health equity related public health law initiatives and coordinate the team’s efforts to fulfill related deliverables.
• Work with the Network’s National Office to identify funding opportunities that may involve cross-collaboration and support the development of project concepts and grant proposals.
• Participate in and lead organizational committees and workgroups, as appropriate.

Team Operations

• Inspire and oversee the Health Equity Team and provide leadership to support collaboration and coordination within the team, across the Network, and with external partners.
• Draw on principles of equity and social justice in facilitating and leading the team, including being open to innovative ideas, fostering trust, and encouraging dialogue that furthers these principles.
• Oversee team building and hiring strategy in consultation with the Managing Directors.
• Oversee the team’s budget, staff, and deliverables, in collaboration with Network leadership.
• Cultivate and manage contract development and negotiations for funding, including contracts for specific projects and speaking engagements.
• Implement diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) within the Health Equity Team and support the Network’s DEIB commitments across the Network and with external engagements.

Legal Technical Assistance and Resource Development

• Oversee and support completion of legal technical assistance requests for the team by providing input and guidance to staff to ensure high quality and practical utility of legal technical assistance.
• Oversee tracking and reporting of technical assistance to identify trends.
• Oversee and support the development of high-quality Network resources, such as issue briefs and facts sheets, that will be of practical use to public health practitioners, public health attorneys, policy advocates, community-based organizations, and other interested parties.
• Lead and support team efforts to develop practical and scholarly publications to demonstrate thought leadership.
• Promote and support team planning and activities to develop and deliver new trainings, presentations, and resources to public health practitioners, community groups, and others whose work intersects with health equity and anti-racism goals.
• Oversee and support the development of new areas of expertise based on existing and emerging public health law needs related to health and racial health equity, as well as other organizational priorities.

Outreach and Relationship-Building

• Oversee ongoing, affirmative outreach and relationship-building to key interested parties and identify opportunities for partnerships, collaborations, or peer assistance.
• Lead and support the team’s participation in conferences, webinars, collaboratives, and workgroups to raise awareness of the Network’s leadership and expertise including the Network’s ability to provide high-quality legal technical assistance support, trainings, resources, and more.
• Participate in and advance external, national, advisory, and/or work groups of importance to the Network.

Special requirements

• Ability to travel nationally between 4 and 12 times/year.
• Ability to work atypical hours on occasion

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

• J.D. from an accredited law school (required); M.P.H. or other related graduate degree is a plus.
• The successful candidate will have a demonstrated record of experience and proven leadership in health equity, racial health equity, and racial justice; additional knowledge and experience in state and local law, health care law, poverty law, civil rights, tribal law or other areas of legal practice that involve working with disenfranchised or under-resourced communities is a plus. We may consider graduate level education regarding social and racial justice and related fields in place of some legal practice experience.
• Demonstrated ability to conduct public health or health care research and analysis and communicating findings in a variety of formats to a variety of audiences
• Passionate about and able to thoughtfully contribute to conversations and work regarding health equity, racial equity, and social justice.
• Have strong emotional intelligence and a demonstrated ability to implement diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging within the Health Equity Team, the Network, and other settings.
• Proven commitment to public health law and policy, and its uses to promote health equity and address structural racism and other social determinants of health.
• Demonstrated skills and experience in equitable team building and supervision, and the ability to lead and operate in a collaborative team.
• Enthusiasm for, and skills and experience in public speaking, collaboration, and development.
• Knowledge and proven experience in raising funds, strategic planning, and budget management.
• Excellent organizational and time management skills including the ability to provide thoughtful feedback and commentary in a timely manner.
• Ability to support a team and work within a national organization with staff in different time zones that prioritizes work-life balance and respect for staff’s working hours.
• A strong candidate will have a portfolio demonstrating a commitment to health equity and at least 10 years’ experience practicing law (in the above subject matters), with a preference for positions of progressively increasing responsibility at a non-profit organization, public interest law firm, government legal office or health department, or academic appointment engaged in providing practical legal assistance. Those with fewer years of highly relevant experience will also be considered.

For best consideration, we will begin reviewing applications in January 2025.

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;
• Occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds;
• 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.

Compensation and Benefits

Location: Work will be primarily performed remote.

Schedule: The Network operates as a remote organization.  We work to accommodate all time zones.  On occasion staff will be required to attend meetings from 9:00-5:00CT.

Compensation: The salary range for this position is $130,000 - $145,000/yr. and is commensurate with experience.

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

• Generous Paid-Time-Off (PTO): twelve paid holidays, three weeks of vacation, one week of personal holiday, and ability to accrue up to 487.5 hours of health leave time for benefited staff.
• 80% Employer-paid, offering some $0 deductible Health Insurance through Harvard Pilgrim along with several low-deductible plans;
• Low-cost Guardian Dental and Vision.
• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) for Health and Dependent Care.
• Employer-paid Life, Long- and Short-Term Disability Insurance.
• Employer-paid Pension and Employee-paid 403b plan through TIAA.
• ...and more!

TSNE/NPHL 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/NPHL 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/NPHL 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/NPHL's EEO statement extends to volunteers, interns, contractors, vendors, and clients.