General Description The CUNY School of Medicine (CUNY Med) located in the heart of Harlem, New York, is the only medical school in the City University of New York system and the only public medical school in Manhattan. Building upon 50 years of success as the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education, the institution transitioned to the CUNY School of Medicine in 2016. The CUNY SoM offers an accelerated BS/MD degree (7-year program) and a Physician Assistant Master's Degree (27 months program). True to its legacy of access, opportunity, and community transformation, the medical school's mission remains to recruit highly talented students as diverse as New York City itself. CUNY Med places a special emphasis on the recruitment of those who are underrepresented in the field of medicine and on training high quality, culturally competent health professionals and scientists equipped to address the healthcare needs of New York's medically under-served communities. As a major priority, CUNY Med also seeks to enhance the recruitment and retention of senior leadership, faculty, and staff to more closely reflect the diversity of our student body.
As the recipient of a National Institute of Health (NIH) Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) U54 Cooperative Agreement, CUNY Med has established the New York Center for Minority Health, Equity, and Social Justice (NYC-MESJ), whose mission is to address and advance the science of health disparities affecting racial/ethnic minorities and underserved communities in New York City, especially in Harlem and the South Bronx. The NYC MHESJ is aligned with the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) vision to advance the science of minority health and health disparities research by developing and strengthening the research infrastructure to conduct state-of-the-art research and foster the next generation of underrepresented scientists and enable them to engage in rigorous, mentored research experiences focused on diseases that disproportionately affect minority populations experiencing health disparities.
Reporting to the Senior Associate Dean of Research/Chief Research Officer in the Research Office, the RCMI Director of Community Outreach, Engagement, and Operations will be responsible for engaging community partners in Harlem and the South Bronx to support the NYC-MHESJ. This position will play a pivotal role in establishing the NYC-MHESJ's presence and expanding academic and community engagement integration in the Harlem community, the South Bronx, and New Yok City. The incumbent will understand the relevance of academic community partnerships pertaining to the NYC-MHESJ objectives and be sensitive to the vital intricacies of community-based work, such as trust-building. The RCMI Director of Community Outreach, Engagement, and Operations will be a visible representative of CUNY Med and the NYC-MHESJ and promote partnerships to reduce health disparities across NYC, with a particular focus on the most underserved communities.
Other Duties- Function as the liaison between NYC-MHESJ Community Engagement and the Community Advisory Board (CAB), planning academic-community education sessions and supervising the CEC Program staff to organize the annual Healthier NYC Town Hall meeting to address community-specific topics of interest.
- Regularly meet with all the NYC-MHESJ Core Directors and the PIs of the research projects to infuse community engagement principles and activities into the work of all the NYC-MHESJ core activities, as well as serve as a liaison between all program managers within each core of the Center.
- Create and implement strategies for building new academic-community partnerships in alignment with NYC-MHESJ and CEC goals; Create and implement strategies for infusing community engagement principles and activities into the work of all the NYC-MHESJ core activities.
- Directly engage with community organizations in Harlem and the South Bronx to align them with NYC-MHSEJ; Develop and implement strategies for translating community science and community-engaged research for NYC-MHSEJ communities.
- Assist the MPIs and CEC Core Directors to successfully facilitate community participatory research seminars for RCMI Project PI and Pilot Project PIs to incorporate the tenets of community participatory research into all aspects of NYC-MHESJ.
- Complement CEC community engagement goals and lead the dissemination of knowledge to NYC-MHSEJ community partners; Host community listening sessions, town halls, and forums fostering synergy and building interest in NYC-MHSEJ academic-community health and research partnerships; Provide reports to the MPIs to provide community engagement status updates.
- Plans and organizes events aligned with the NYC-MHESJ community engagement overall mission; Consult with the CEC team to coordinate the annual Healthier NYC Town Hall meeting as well as other engagement events to address community-specific topics of interest; Serve as the primary person leading the Community Advisory Board in planning academic-community education sessions.
- Participates in writing grant proposals led by community organizations and other entities with the Center in collaboration with CUNY Med faculty and community partners; Participates in preparing reports for the administrative core and CEC.
- Oversees compliance with all regulatory requirements but research projects involving human subjects, including IRB approvals and amendments and the secured storage of subject data; Serve as the lead person in CEC formative and summative evaluations.
- Directly supervises the work of the CEC program manager and the CEC recruitment manager; Participates in supervising the work of Program Managers for each core.
- Perform other duties as assigned by the Senior Associate Dean or designee.
Qualifications- A Master's Degree in a relevant field of study from an accredited institution and at least three to six (3 -6) years of additional research administration experience pertinent to the scope and complexity of community-based participatory research; experience with community-based research, focusing on health disparities among racial/ethnic minorities preferred; OR
- A Ph.D. in a relevant field of study from an accredited institution, a record of research, publishing, and scholarship, and at least (2) years of additional research administration experience pertinent to the scope and complexity of community-based participatory research; experience with community-based research, focusing on health disparities among racial/ethnic minorities preferred; OR
- A background in research administration and an equivalent record of successful experience with community-based participatory research; experience focused on health disparities among racial/ethnic minorities preferred; AND
- Possession of the core competencies required at the time of hire; AND
Timely availability to begin and direct the project core, AND - Willingness to comply with all RF policies and procedures regarding staffing, budgeting, safety, reporting, and grants administration.
Core Tasks and Competencies:- Experience building and implementing academic-community partnerships for community-based research, as evidenced by previous work experience and demonstrated expertise in facilitating town hall academic-community engagement sessions.
- Expert knowledge of community-based skills needed to incorporate CEC community research into all aspects of the NYC-MHESJ and the ability to engage with CAB to plan academic-community education sessions consistent with the scope and nature of the RCMI CEC aims.
- Ability to exercise intellectual leadership in resolving issues, re-conceiving, and bringing to the attention of the CEC core directors for redirecting project activities if needed; Demonstrated experience with integrating community engagement core functions with other RCMI Core Program Managers to resolve conceptual or practical issues and ensure a strategy for overall project success.
- Background in research administration and an equivalent record of successful experience pertinent to the scope and complexity of community-based participatory research for large grants.
- Demonstrated understanding and willingness to comply with all Research Foundation policies and procedures regarding staffing, budgeting, safety, reporting, and grants administration.
RFCUNY Benefits RFCUNY Employee Benefits and AccrualsAbout the Research Foundation The Research Foundation of The City University of New York (RFCUNY) was established as a not-for-profit educational corporation chartered by the State of New York in 1963. RFCUNY supports CUNY faculty and staff in identifying and obtaining external support (pre-award) from government and private sponsors and is responsible for the administration of all such funded programs (post-award).
RFCUNY stands between CUNY's principal investigators (PIs) and the sponsors who support them and strives to fulfill its essential responsibilities to both groups. Working closely with individual PIs and Grants Officers on the campuses, RFCUNY oversees employment, accounting, audit, reporting, purchasing, and special responsibilities that include management of a planned giving program; liaison with governmental agencies and foundations; negotiation of agreements; facility construction and renovation; protection and commercialization of intellectual property; and compliance with applicable standards in research involving human subjects, animal care, environmental and radiological safety, and conflicts of interest.
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.
