New Job Community Health Advocate In South Dakota

Job Summary:

The Community Health Worker is responsible for overall implementation and accountability of the Great Plains Healthy Start (GPHS) program site.

Essential Functions:

Programmatic Duties

• Create, promote and disseminate information to community members to recruit program participants and raise public awareness and education regarding MCH issues.
• Aid in the development of appropriate service plans for enrolled families.
• Conduct home visitations.
• Track client information and provide proper follow-up in regards to referrals and appointments.
• Update and coordinate the tracking of infant immunization records.
• Serve as an advocate for clients. Consistently demonstrate the ability to link client/families with community resources. Stay informed of relevant community resources in order to make appropriate referrals.
• Assist the Public Health Nurse in conducting home visits and transporting clients when possible.
• Advocate for, and participate in, local inter-disciplinary Infant Mortality Review activities.
• Recruit local community action network (CAN) members, conduct CAN meetings, provide attendance records and minutes of said meetings. Participate in CAN activities.

Professional Behavior

• Effectively plan, organize workload and schedule time to meet the demands of the position.
• Work in a cooperative and professional manner with OHC and GPTLHB staff.
• Treat Great Plains tribes and collaborators with dignity and respect.
• Utilize effective verbal and written communication skills.
• Advance personal educational development by attending training sessions and seminars as appropriate.
• Exemplify excellent customer service with tribal stakeholders, health board colleagues, program partners, service recipients, visitors and guests.
• Foster a work environment of wellness, courtesy, friendliness, helpfulness and respect.
• Relate well and work collaboratively with coworkers and all levels of staff in a professional manner.
• Consistently demonstrate respect for and acceptance of differing capabilities, cultures, gender, age, sexual orientation and/or personalities.
• Maintain and ensure organizational privacy and confidentiality.
• Handle crisis and tolerate stress professionally.
• Be self-directed and take proactive initiative to assist others.
• Resolve issues with other departments and coworkers without direct supervision if needed.
• Exercise flexibility to alter plans/routines when situations require and continue to perform without projecting stress/frustration that would adversely affect the work environment.
• Promote an alcohol, tobacco and drug-free lifestyle.
• Embrace modes of appearance and attire that reflect a professional presence.
• Adhere to GPTLHB policies and procedures.

• Other duties as assigned by the Supervisor

Requirements

• Exemplify excellent customer service with tribal stakeholders, health board colleagues, program partners, service recipients, visitors and guests.
• Foster a work environment of wellness, courtesy, friendliness, helpfulness and respect.
• Relate well and work collaboratively with coworkers and all levels of staff in a professional manner.
• Familiarity and/or experience working with American Indian populations and respect for and knowledge of traditional, cultural and spiritual practices of diverse American Indian communities, as well as an ability to work with other culturally and ethnically diverse populations.
• Consistently demonstrate respect for and acceptance of differing capabilities, cultures, gender, age, sexual orientation and/or personalities.
• Maintain and ensure organizational privacy and confidentiality.
• Must be able to handle crisis and tolerate stress professionally.
• Must be self-directed and take proactive initiative to assist others.
• Possess the ability to resolve issues with other departments and coworkers without direct supervision.
• Able to exercise flexibility to alter plans/routines when situations require and continue to perform without projecting stress/frustration that would adversely affect the work environment.
• Ability to maintain a flexible work schedule, including evenings, weekends and overnight or extended travel as necessary.
• Ability to effectively present information in one-on-one and small group situations to community members, consumers and other employees of the organization.
• Proficiency with computer programs (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and other Internet technologies.
• Valid driver’s license must be kept current, and certificates, credentials or licenses must be kept current and consistent with regulations required by applicable federal, state and/or grant regulations.
• Ability to promote an alcohol-, tobacco- and drug-free lifestyle.
• Embrace modes of appearance and attire that reflect a professional presence.
• Adhere to GPTLHB policies and procedures.

Supervisory Controls

The supervisor provides continuing or individual assignments by indicating generally what is to be done, limitations, quality and quantity expected, deadlines, and priority of assignments. When there are new, difficult, or unusual assignments, the supervisor provides additional, specific instructions for including suggested work methods or advice on source material available. The employee uses initiative in carrying out recurring assignments independently without specific instructions, but refers deviations, problems, and unfamiliar situations not covered by instructions to the supervisor for decision or help.

Guidelines

There are established procedures for doing the work and a number of specific guidelines are available as a resource. The employee may be required to use judgment in locating and selecting the most appropriate guidelines, references, and procedures for application and in making minor deviations to adapt the guidelines to specific cases. The employee may also determine which of several established alternatives to use.

Guidelines include GPTLHB, OHC, and department policies and procedures. These guidelines are generally clear and specific, and deviations must be authorized by the supervisor.

Complexity/Scope of Work

The work consists of related steps, processes, or methods. The decision regarding what needs to be done involves various choices that require the employee to recognize the existence of and differences among a few easily recognizable situations. Actions to be taken or responses to be made differ in such things as the source of information, the kind of transactions or entries, or other differences of a factual nature.

The work involves treating a variety of conventional problems, questions, or situations in conformance with established criteria. The work product or service affects the design or operation of systems, programs, or equipment; the adequacy of such; the social, physical, and economic well-being of people; or the social or economic well-being of the organization. This level of scope and effect is typically representative of work performed by para-professionals, clinical professionals, administrative specialists or technicians, and skilled trades positions within the organization.

Contacts

The purpose is to plan, coordinate, or advise on work efforts, or to resolve operating problems by influencing or motivating individuals or groups who are working toward mutual goals and who have basically cooperative attitudes.

The personal contacts are with individuals or groups from outside the organization in a moderately unstructured setting. For example, the contacts are not established on a routine basis and the purpose and extent of each contact is different. Typical of contacts at this level are those with people in their capacities as attorneys; contractors; or representatives of professional organizations, the news media, or regulatory agencies.

Work Environment/Physical Demands

The characteristic demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of the job.

The employee must regularly lift and/or move up to 25 pounds and frequently lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. The employee is occasionally exposed to outside weather conditions. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Local and moderate out-of-town travel is required.

Supervisory and Management Responsibility

This position has no formally assigned supervisory responsibility or authority. The employee is responsible only for the performance of their own assigned work. They may be asked to train new employees in the fundamentals of the jobs or to participate in cross-training of other employees in the department, but such assignments do not include the on-going authority to assign and review work of other employees or to recommend or take corrective action with regard to other employees' performance.

Education/Experience/Certificates/Credentials

• Bachelor’s degree and one (1) year of experience, or associate’s degree and three (3) years’ experience, or high school diploma or GED and five (5) years of progressively responsible experience.
• Knowledgeable of maternal and child health issues.
• Strong written and verbal communications skills. Must be able to present to, and interact with both public and private health officials at tribal and community levels.
• Experience that indicates the ability to interact effectively with leaders among Indian communities, government agencies, scientific and academic communities, medical and health-related organizations, non-governmental groups and the public at large is required
• Must successfully pass a criminal and background check, and a pre-employment drug screen.

The GPTLHB is a tribal organization which follows tribal preference laws. It is our policy to give preference to qualified Indian/Tribal candidates over qualified non-native candidates in hiring decisions, if all other qualifications are equal.

Employment is contingent upon the outcome of all required criminal background checks.