Position Description Community Engagement Specialist The COMO Community Engagement Specialist , at the Program Manager level, serves as the primary connection between the Center for Optimizing Maternal Outcomes (COMO) and the communities it serves. The position works closely with Guidehouse and other COMO partners to support the maternal health needs and gap assessment, facilitate meaningful stakeholder participation, and ensure community perspectives inform assessment, data, planning, and implementation activities. The Specialist translates technical findings into accessible information for nontechnical audiences, supports community understanding and use of maternal health information, and ensures that findings and decisions are communicated back to participating communities. Following the initial assessment, the position will maintain ongoing relationships with community stakeholders and support broad and meaningful participation from communities across Mississippi. Job Duties Develop and implement a community and stakeholder engagement approach that supports COMO goals, project activities, and deliverables. Work closely with Guidehouse and other partners to plan and implement community-facing components of the maternal health needs and gap assessment, including recruitment, listening sessions, focus groups, surveys, interviews, and other engagement activities. Build and maintain relationships with pregnant and postpartum women, families, community-based organizations, doulas, peer support organizations, healthcare partners, and other stakeholders that support maternal and infant health. Coordinate community advisory activities, including participant recruitment, meeting facilitation, communication, documentation, follow-up, and referral of recommendations to appropriate COMO partners. Ensure community perspectives and identified needs are communicated to COMO leadership and partners and incorporated into planning and implementation activities, as appropriate. Work with COMO data, evaluation, and technical partners to identify maternal health questions and information needs that are important to communities and help translate those needs into potential reports, dashboards, analyses, or other data products. Translate assessment findings, data, and technical information into clear, accessible presentations, briefs, reports, and other materials for nontechnical audiences. Support community data literacy by helping stakeholders understand maternal health findings, measures, trends, and the appropriate use and interpretation of available information. Close the feedback loop with participating communities by communicating what was learned through engagement activities, how community input is being used, and relevant project decisions or next steps. Identify community-based maternal and family resources and gaps in connections between healthcare organizations and community services and share findings with appropriate COMO partners. Coordinate community-facing activities across COMO partners to reduce duplication and promote a consistent, respectful approach to stakeholder engagement. Track engagement activities, participation, geographic reach, themes, recommendations, follow-up actions, and other measures needed to document community engagement and its contribution to COMO. Collaborate with evaluators and project partners to assess the effectiveness of community engagement activities and identify opportunities for improvement. Prepare presentations, reports, meeting materials, and other communications for community, partner, and leadership audiences. Represent

MSPHI/COMO

at community meetings, partner meetings, conferences, and other events as assigned. Perform other duties related to COMO community engagement and implementation as assigned. Education and Experience Requirements Master's degree in public health, public administration, social work, health education, community development, healthcare administration, communications, or a related field. Minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible experience in community engagement, public health, healthcare, program management, stakeholder engagement, or a related field. Demonstrated experience building and maintaining relationships with community organizations, healthcare partners, public agencies, or other diverse stakeholder groups. Experience planning and facilitating meetings, listening sessions, focus groups, advisory groups, or other stakeholder engagement activities. Ability to communicate complex or technical information clearly to nontechnical audiences. Strong written, verbal, presentation, facilitation, and interpersonal communication skills. Strong organizational, project management, and problem-solving abilities. Ability to work collaboratively across organizations and with individuals representing different professional and community perspectives. Ability to manage multiple priorities, track activities and deliverables, and follow through on commitments. Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite and common virtual meeting and project coordination tools. Preferred qualifications Knowledge of maternal and child health, population health, healthcare access, community health, or initiatives to improve maternal and infant health outcomes. Experience engaging pregnant and postpartum women, families, or communities in health-related planning, assessment, or improvement activities. Experience supporting community needs assessments, qualitative data collection, or stakeholder-informed planning. Familiarity with healthcare or public health data and experience communicating data findings to community or nontechnical audiences. Experience working with federally funded public health or healthcare initiatives. Work Requirements This position is based in Madison, Mississippi and requires regular engagement with partners and communities throughout the state, including occasional evening meetings and statewide and national travel. The position requires the ability to attend meetings, community engagement activities, conferences, and public events.

Salary Range:

$62,500-$70,000 MSPHI is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions based on merit. MSPHI prohibits unlawful discrimination and is committed to compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local equal employment opportunity laws.

Pay:

$62,500.00 - $70,000.00 per year

Benefits:

401(k) 401(k) matching Dental insurance Flexible schedule Health insurance Life insurance Paid time off Vision insurance

Education:

Master's (Required)

Experience:

community engagement or public health: 5 years (Preferred)

Work Location:

In person