Job Title: Regional Coordinator/Health Educator based in OPWDD Region 5
PVN ID: PH-2306-005684
Category: Research
Location: CUNY SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH & HEALTH POLICY

Job Description

General Description

CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy 

Details: Full-time, salaried $53,000-57,000  

We are hiring a Regional Coordinator/Health Educator to do fieldwork, in the OPWDD Region 5 (Long Island, NY). The individual must be able to conduct some work remotely from their home and to travel throughout the region to facilitate the research/ health education curriculum. There will be remote Research Team meetings which will also include collaboration with the Regional Coordinators from 3 other OPWDD regions.  

The CUNY Institute for Implementation Science in Population Health (ISPH) is recruiting a Regional Coordinator/Health Educator for Long Island area, for a 5-year NIH-funded randomized controlled trial (RCT) of a socialization and sex education program among individuals with mild to moderate developmental disabilities, under the direction of co-Principal Investigators Suzanne McDermott and Heidi Jones, faculty at the CUNY School of Public Health.   

The randomized controlled trial (RCT) will test a socialization and sex education curriculum among 856 adolescents and young adults (ages 16-27) with Down syndrome and other types of mild/moderate intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) who receive services from the New York State Office of People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD). Half of the participants will be randomized to receive a socialization and sex education curriculum, and the other half a physical exercise and nutrition intervention. The Regional Coordinator will facilitate interventions in 6-week cycles in OPWDD Region 5. 

This position involves (1) recruitment and informed consent of adolescents and young adults, ages 16-27 years, who agree to participate in the study and to be randomly assigned to a reproductive health intervention or a healthy living intervention, (2) providing the delivery of the health education interventions in their home or an agreed upon community location (for the Reproductive Health arm) and in small groups at a community location (for the Healthy Living arm). The Regional Coordinator/Health Educator will have a caseload of approximately 12 individuals for weekly one-on-one meetings and 2 groups of approximately 6 individuals for weekly one-on-one group sessions during each 6-week cycle. The intervention phase will last approximately two and a half years, and each Regional Coordinator/Health Education will work with 220 individuals. 

The start date is August 15, 2023 (or mutually agreed upon alternative). 

Other Duties

The Regional Coordinator/Health Educator will be responsible for the day-to-day operation of the study within their Region of OPWDD and will be supervised by the Project Manager and the Co-Principal Investigators, through weekly in-person and/or remote meetings. The job involves fieldwork providing both in-home and community-based setting individual instruction and group sessions. Mileage reimbursement will be provided within the region.  

Regional Coordination duties include: 

  • Making contact with disability service providers and attendance at Service Provider meetings, to encourage recruitment 
  • Recruitment of study participants through service providers  
  • Administration of informed consent/assent to participants 
  • Scheduling appointments, maintaining accurate visit completion records, and data entry  
  • After receiving training on the interventions, implementing the 6-week individual socialization and sex education curriculum (in people’s homes and/or community settings) for 12 individuals per cycle, and two 6-week group physical activity and nutrition intervention (in community meeting places), each cycle. Assignment to the individual or group intervention will be based on randomization scheme 
  • Working with self-advocates/lived experience consultants to identify solutions to challenges that arise 
  • Completing progress reports  

Qualifications

  • At least one year of fieldwork experience with adolescents or adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (I/DD)  
  • Knowledge of and comfortability with discussing sexuality and sexual health 
  • Comfortable with conducting small group exercise and nutrition classes 
  • At least a bachelor’s degree (BA or BS)  
  • Ability to travel within region to provide the intervention in people’s homes or in community settings 
  • Evidence of collaboration with colleagues  

About the CUNY SPH: The mission of The CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy is to provide a collaborative and accessible environment for excellence in education, research, and service in public health, to promote and sustain healthier populations in New York City and around the world, and to shape policy and practice in public health for all. 

About the Research Foundation

The Research Foundation of The City University of New York (RFCUNY) is a nonprofit educational corporation founded in 1963 to provide post-award fiscal and administrative support for CUNY’s research and sponsored programs. RFCUNY’s services allow CUNY researchers, faculty, and staff to focus on their intellectual curiosity and scientific discoveries, on projects and programs that serve our local and global communities, proposing concrete solutions to society’s most pressing challenges.

RFCUNY serves as a fiscal agent and works closely with all the CUNY campus Grants Offices to perform the core functions of post-award financial management for CUNY research projects and sponsored programs. These functions include legal assessment and signing of agreements where RFCUNY is named as a fiscal agent; setting up award accounts; preparing sub-awards and assisting PIs in monitoring the work of the recipients of sub-awards; supporting project directors with hiring and managing research project and sponsored program staff; supporting the purchasing and paying for goods and services with grant and program funds; managing financial aspects of projects including accounts receivable, financial reporting, invoicing, budget monitoring, and cost compliance with uniform guidance; ensuring that sponsor financial requirements are met; monitoring compliance with applicable project and financial management rules and laws; supporting the management of independent and external audits and financial reviews; and providing data, information, management expertise, and other supports to CUNY’s research and sponsored programs.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

The Research Foundation of the City University of New York is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action/Americans with Disabilities Act/E-Verify Employer. It is the policy of the Research Foundation of CUNY to provide equal employment opportunities free of discrimination based on race, color, age, religion, sex, pregnancy, childbirth, national origin, disability, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, domestic violence victim status, arrest record, criminal conviction history, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.

Key Features

Department
Institute for Implementation Science in
Status
Full Time
Annual Salary Range
$53,000.00 - $57,000.00
Closing Date
Aug 15, 2023 (Or Until Filled)
Bargaining Unit
No

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