Engagement Officer

The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) is an independent research center at the University of Washington. Its mission is to deliver to the world timely, relevant, and scientifically valid evidence to improve health policy and practice. IHME carries out its mission through a range of projects within different research areas including the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors; Future Health Scenarios; Cost Effectiveness and Efficiency; Resource Tracking; and Impact Evaluations. Our vision is to provide policymakers, donors, and researchers with the highest-quality quantitative evidence base so all people live long lives in full health. 

IHME is committed to providing the evidence base necessary to help solve the world’s most important health problems. This requires creativity and innovation, which are cultivated by an inclusive, diverse, and equitable environment that respects and appreciates differences, embraces collaboration, and invites the voices of all IHME team members.  

The Global Impact Group (GIG) leads IHME’s pursuit to improve health policy and practice through cutting-edge communication and collaboration. GIG runs initiatives to amplify awareness of the most critical health challenges and works with scientists and decision-makers to strengthen the evidence base of research and to take informed action. Within GIG, this position resides on the Global Engagement and Outreach (GEO) Team, which is responsible for strategically developing and maintaining relationships with key stakeholders to strengthen the evidence base for IHME’s research and to seed global uptake of our findings by decision-makers and policy influencers. Stakeholders that IHME works with include government agencies, ministries of health, academic and research institutions, multilaterals, civil society organizations, media, as well as a diverse range of individual collaborators. Currently, we engage with more than 7,000 scientific collaborators in 157 countries and nearly 30 institutional partners.

IHME has an outstanding opportunity for a full-time Engagement Officer position on the Global Engagement and Outreach team (GEO) to help manage a global Collaborator Network of 7,000+ members who contribute to and utilize its research, as well as to cultivate relationships with a growing array of policy stakeholders. This position furthers the expansion of IHME’s impact by engaging, collaborating, and communicating with diverse stakeholders – both internal and external – who contribute to the science, dissemination, and uptake of IHME’s findings. The individual in this role will work closely with the Engagement Manager and other internal stakeholders to support the development and execution of the Network Engagement Strategy, including an annual calendar of activities or engagement opportunities for Collaborators and the building and maintenance of impactful relationships. Additionally, the Engagement Officer will engage regularly with relevant faculty and other senior leaders to execute on the delivery and communication of novel findings and results via various communication tools and engagement platforms. The person in this role will also conduct outreach and manage relationships with a variety of external collaborators from governments, multilaterals, donor organizations, health care delivery agencies, nonprofit organizations, and academic institutions, finding new ways for them to partner with IHME.

The Engagement Officer will exhibit solid project planning and project management skills, with a strong command of the principles of collaboration to build and maintain constructive working relationships with internal and external stakeholders, with a special focus on the GBD Collaborator Network. They will be adept at facilitating communication among stakeholders and project staff from a variety of cultural settings and disciplines and will be comfortable in a multitude of institutional contexts and environments. Overall, the Engagement Officer will support a diverse and growing audience of scientific collaborators and policy stakeholders and will be a critical member of the team devising innovative solutions to scale IHME’s stakeholder engagement, amplify its global perspective, and increase the impact of its research on health policy and practice. The position is contingent upon project funding availability. 

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Project Planning & Project Management

• Working closely with the Engagement Manager, support the development and execution of project deliverables and timelines relating to the management of a global network of GBD Collaborators. Examples of immediate projects may include launching a new engagement strategy, hosting scientific review and consultation sessions, organizing a country/regional webinar series, and more. 
• Develop and manage projects aimed at delivering high-quality engagement and outreach activities with external stakeholders, including webinars, consultative meetings, policy and/or executive briefings, trainings, workshops, and more.  
• Support the implementation of a new partner management and customer portal (Magentrix) to more effectively respond to the distinct needs of multiple Collaborator segments.  
• Work closely with the Engagement Manager, other Engagement Officers, and relevant GBD research teams to execute on the standard operating procedure relating to the subnational burden of disease estimation process within the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) enterprise.  
• Document standard operating procedures and provide timely support and training for other team members as needed.
• Contribute to development and execution of strategies to scale engagement and outreach activities, increase efficiency, and maintain quality of interactions as stakeholder groups grow.

Engagement, Outreach and Communications

• Cultivate, strengthen, and expand engagement activities with a highly active global network of collaborators to strengthen research products and maximize their impact on health policy and practice. 
• Work closely with internal research teams to facilitate the involvement of collaborators in key research activities and products including data sharing, estimates/results vetting, planning and organizing high-level stakeholder meetings, e.g., webinars, review sessions, etc. 
• Develop, engage with, and manage key partnerships with high-level external stakeholders (e.g., decision-makers in government offices, multilaterals, donor organizations, health care delivery agencies, nonprofits, and academic institutions), including scoping such partnerships, developing formal agreements, writing reports, and producing agreed-upon deliverables.
• Design and implement external workshops, presentations, and meetings with high-level audiences from a variety of cultures and professional backgrounds.
• Conduct outreach activities for the GBD Collaborator Network, cultivate new leads, and explore opportunities for mutual benefit and potential collaboration.
• Craft articulate, professional, and concise correspondence and written materials for stakeholders.
• Gather information proactively from key research teams, the GIG team, and other staff in order to address questions or inquiries from key stakeholders. 
• Communicate to diverse technical and non-technical audiences in a language and manner that connects with their interests while explaining in clear terms IHME’s research work and mission.
• Respond to member inquiries with professionalism, tactical creativity, diplomacy, and a strong ethic of service.  
• Assess collaborator needs and advise on the development of relevant resources and tools to help better convey results, data, and core research principles and methods. 
• Adapt to different social and intellectual contexts and organizational norms in a variety of settings and carry out communications and relationship management in accord with those norms.  

Knowledge command

• Develop a strong and comprehensive understanding of the key concepts, methods, inputs, results, messages, and future implications of IHME’s research portfolio, including emergent projects and key issues in population health. 
• Understand and communicate in a compelling manner about key issues in population health. 
• Make connections between stakeholder needs and research outcomes and opportunities and translate concepts across different technical and non-technical audiences.
• Understand how decision-makers use evidence to develop policies and programs and to set priorities.
• Translate stakeholder requests into practical steps, and determine with team leadership, faculty, and other senior leaders whether and how they are achievable.
• Provide support to activities that reinforce and expand IHME’s global network of collaborators and increase the impact of its work as needed.
• Perform additional duties as assigned that fall within the reasonable scope of this position.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree in social sciences, humanities, communications, political science and international relations, public policy, public health, or related field plus three years of work experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience.

ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

• A commitment to working alongside others at IHME to illuminate the health impacts of systemic racism and other inequities, and to work within IHME to make our organization more diverse and inclusive. Read IHME’s DEI statement here: http://www.healthdata.org/get-involved/careers/dei.
• At least two years of experience and success at project management, including a demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities, creatively solve problems, and reliably meet deadlines with minimal supervision.
• At least one year of demonstrated high-level relationship management and experience cultivating positive and productive professional relationships with individuals from a variety of social, cultural, and political contexts, with the ability to build rapport quickly. 
• Professional maturity, with an ability to work both independently and collaboratively to achieve objectives, and to respond constructively to setbacks.
• Demonstrated skill managing politically sensitive relationships and creatively devising diplomatic and tactical solutions to problems.
• Strong attention to detail and accuracy.
• Highly developed communication and listening skills with the ability to adjust message for a variety of audiences. 
• Demonstrated experience using communication tools, a CRM tool, and/or content management system.
• Ability to make sound, well-informed decisions in response to ambiguous information and/or shifting priorities. 
• Highly developed interpersonal skills: observant, perceptive, and emotionally intelligent. 
• Proven ability to quickly learn new intellectual content across different disciplines.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Master’s degree in a related field.
• Previous experience in public health, public policy and advocacy, or communications.
• Proficiency in more than one language is a plus. 
• Experience working on multicultural, multinational, and diverse teams.
• Keen interest in the field of global health.

Working Conditions:

• This position works on a global team and with a global network of stakeholders; as such, evening and weekend work may occasionally be required to fulfill job duties. 
• Occasional international and domestic travel may be required up to 20% of the time. Valid passport or the ability to obtain one is required.
• This position is open to anyone authorized to work in the US. The UW is not able to sponsor visas for staff positions. 
• The IHME office is located in Seattle, Washington. This position is eligible to work fully remote in the US. Work schedule is required to overlap 50% with IHME office hours, between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Pacific Time. 
• The University of Washington requires students and personnel to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Under state regulations, individuals who are not fully vaccinated are required to wear masks while in all UW buildings and facilities. To learn more about the requirements, please review the following:  https://www.washington.edu/coronavirus/vaccination-requirement/

Application Process:

The application process for UW positions may include completion of a variety of online assessments to obtain additional information that will be used in the evaluation process. These assessments may include Workforce Authorization, Cover Letter and/or others. Any assessments that you need to complete will appear on your screen as soon as you select “Apply to this position”. Once you begin an assessment, it must be completed at that time; if you do not complete the assessment you will be prompted to do so the next time you access your “My Jobs” page. If you select to take it later, it will appear on your "My Jobs" page to take when you are ready. Please note that your application will not be reviewed, and you will not be considered for this position until all required assessments have been completed.