Area Lead, Strategic Partnerships for Health Care Transformation, Duke-Margolis Hybrid (DC or NC)

Duke University:

Duke University was created in 1924 through an indenture of trust by James Buchanan Duke. Today, Duke is regarded as one of America’s leading research universities. Located in Durham, North Carolina, Duke is positioned in the heart of the Research Triangle, which is ranked annually as one of the best places in the country to work and live. Duke has more than 15,000 students who study and conduct research in its 10 undergraduate, graduate and professional schools. With about 40,000 employees, Duke is the third largest private employer in North Carolina, and it now has international programs in more than 150 countries.

Area Lead, Strategic Partnerships for Health Care Transformation

Robert J. Margolis, MD, Institute for Health Policy

The Robert J. Margolis, MD, Institute for Health Policy at Duke University (Duke-Margolis) seeks to address critical health policy challenges and improve health, health equity, and the value of health care through practical, innovative, and evidence-based policy solutions. The interdisciplinary nature of Duke-Margolis brings together policy experts, researchers, health care professionals, and students from across Duke’s schools of medicine, nursing, law, public policy, business, and engineering, and fosters extensive relationships with stakeholders both internal and external. These relationships span foundations, private sector organizations, and global entities, with extensive involvement of federal and state government policymakers. The Institute fosters excellence, leadership, and scholarship at every level.

Occupational Summary

This position serves as a senior-level resource for enhancing policy analysis and research to advance strategic partnerships for health care transformation, with an emphasis on effective and sustainable models for public-private collaboration. The overarching goal of this cross-cutting role is to enhance the impact of public-private and multistakeholder collaborations to generate evidence, trust, and infrastructure to accelerate effective health care reform.  This position will also increase Duke-Margolis’s development of evidence-based, impactful policy recommendations for health care reform at the national and local level, with potential extensions to the global level.

The Area Lead will collaborate with research teams and faculty in conducting policy research and policy analysis in the position’s strategic focus areas, including staff management for key cross-cutting projects. These focus areas include a major emphasis on Medicare and Medicaid payment reform, with linkages to innovative primary care and specialty care models, supporting complex elderly populations, and creating more sustainable support for prevention-oriented health care that addresses social needs. 

The Area Lead will facilitate and develop relationships with key external public and private partners, funders, and Duke collaborators to assure sustainability with opportunities for future growth. The Area Lead will provide strategic guidance and practical assistance for faculty and research teams to engage with relevant collaborators, partners, funders, and policy makers to increase the impact of their content areas. The Area Lead will oversee rapid synthesis of new developments, including activities to engage partners, thematic policy briefs, and other relevant work projects on new and current projects in existing content areas. Based on these initiatives, the Area Lead will identify and advise on strategic funding opportunities for stronger partnerships in the areas for the Institute’s portfolios.

Duke-Margolis has offices in both Washington, DC and on Duke's main campus in Durham, NC. The base worksite for this position may be either location, with the likely need for spending significant time on our nationally-focused collaborations in our DC office. Employees are currently working in a hybrid capacity with a combination of teleworking locally to the base office area (DC/MD/VA or NC, respectively) and in-person team collaboration days. This position is offered at .70 FTE.

Work Performed

Policy Research and Analysis

Cultivate and engage high-level health policy research, policy analysis, and subject matter expertise in supporting health policy research teams in their development of high-impact knowledge products, including policy briefs, blogs, white papers, and peer-reviewed publications, and high-impact collaborations, such as learning networks and collaboratives focused on health care reform issues, with a particular emphasis on Medicare and Medicaid payment reforms.

Serve as an articulate and effective spokesperson for Duke-Margolis. Represent Duke-Margolis and Duke University at conferences and other key meetings to present findings, foster relationships, and advance Institute goals.

Interact closely with external collaborators including government agencies, research and/or policy organizations, industry and health system representatives, and other stakeholders.

Research Team Engagement

Identify significant policy and research developments relevant to advancing innovative and effective collaborations, assess the impact of these developments on the Institute’s work, and advise research teams in consideration of factors to enhance the impact of such collaborations on research team strategic priorities.

Provide support and guidance, and lead cross-cutting initiatives, for adapting existing projects to leverage partnership opportunities relevant to multiple strategic areas. Collaborate on and help lead efforts to synthesize policy and research insights relevant to public-private partnerships. Leverage subject matter expertise across strategic areas to support and enhance progress in each strategic area.

Faculty Engagement

Build relationships with Duke University faculty, Departments, Institutes, Centers, and other units to develop strategic collaboration opportunities.

Establish connections by linking Duke University faculty, Departments, Institutes, Centers, or other units to policy research, education, and policy leads within Duke-Margolis to advance specific activities that enhance connections and synergies across multiple Duke-Margolis strategic areas.

Academic Engagement

Participate in select educational initiatives related to strategic partnerships, public-private collaborations, and health care transformation.

Support other key activities of the Institute on an as-needed basis, which may include student mentorship, teaching, or other work related to the educational mission of Duke-Margolis.

Business Development

Support Institute policy research in identifying funding opportunities and securing funding for key partnerships to advance health care transformation.

Liaise with and serve as a point of contact for external funders and collaborators to identify and develop significant or strategic funding opportunities for sustainability. Facilitate ongoing communication with sponsors, program staff, and key stakeholders to advance opportunities and maintain positive external and internal relationships.

Collaborate with research and policy leads in the elaboration of concept notes and proposals as identified and prioritized by Institute leadership, research teams, and collaborating faculty.

Personnel Management and Engagement

Recruit, manage, and directly supervise staff, including formulating performance standards, conducting evaluations, and recommending personnel actions. Assess hiring needs in consideration of projected workload and funding.

Support team members and direct reports to ensure their success; foster a productive environment that encourages professional growth. Mentor junior staff (direct reports and others) in content area knowledge and career interests.

Communicate effectively with others, regardless of reporting relationship, to accomplish shared work objectives.

Minimum Required Qualifications at this Level

Education/Training: Work requires analytical, communications, and organizational skills generally acquired through completion of a Master’s degree in a field relevant to the specific position (e.g., health policy, public policy, public health, public administration, health economics, science, engineering, law, or field directly related to the position). Advanced degree beyond Master’s preferred (e.g., PhD, PharmD, MD, JD).

Experience: 10 years of progressive experience in policy/research/data analysis or other relevant position is required. Education beyond the Master's degree may substitute for years of experience on a 1:1 basis.

OR AN EQUIVALENT COMBINATION OF RELEVANT EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE.

Desired Skills:

• Strong organizational and interpersonal skills, high initiative, discretion, poise, and mature judgment.
• Extensive experience in Medicare and Medicaid payment reform issues, particularly from the standpoint of understanding and addressing challenges that arise with engaging patients, providers, health plans, and other stakeholders.
• Specialized experience in other areas of health policy relevant to the position, including familiarity with current live policy issues and applicable regulations.
• Ability to coordinate a variety of activities simultaneously and provide cross-cutting, senior-level advisement across multiple portfolios effectively.
• Demonstrated proficiency in US health policy research with strong analytical skills. Able to communicate complex information to diverse audiences clearly and precisely.
• Ability to function independently while effectively collaborating with diverse teams. Professional demeanor with a positive approach to working in a team environment.
• Experience with cultivating and maintaining relationships, and to identify opportunities to advance consensus, with senior-level individuals, stakeholders, and complex organizations.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment with varied responsibilities; able to assess the impact of and respond flexibly to changing conditions.
• Record of impactful policy-relevant publications and/or health care reform initiatives.
• Flexibility to work at alternate times (evening, early morning, weekend), if required.
• Ability to travel at least 10% (particularly for DC-based convenings, stakeholder meetings, and analysis). 

The intent of this job description is to provide a representative and level of the types of duties and responsibilities that will be required of positions given this title and shall not be construed as a declaration of the total of the specific duties and responsibilities of any particular position. Employees may be directed to perform job-related tasks other than those specifically presented in this description.

This position is offered at .70 FTE. Engagements are renewable annually upon funding availability. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis.

Application Materials Required:

• Cover letter
• Curriculum Vitae
• Three References (names and email addresses)

Duke University provides an annual base full-time salary range for this position as USD $115,000 to USD $195,650. Duke University considers factors such as (but not limited to) scope and responsibilities of the position; candidate's work experience, education/training, and key skills; internal peer equity; as well as market and organizational considerations when extending an offer. This pay range represents base pay only and excludes any additional items such as incentives, bonuses, clinical compensation, or other items. See hr.duke.edu/benefits for more info.

Duke is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to providing employment opportunity without regard to an individual's age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy and pregnancy related conditions), sexual orientation or military status.

Duke aspires to create a community built on collaboration, innovation, creativity, and belonging. Our collective success depends onthe robust exchange of ideas—an exchange that is best when the rich diversity of our perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences flourishes. To achieve this exchange, it is essential that all members of the community feel secure and welcome, that the contributions of all individuals are respected, and that all voices are heard. All members of our community have a responsibility to uphold these values.

Essential Physical Job Functions: Certain jobs at Duke University and Duke University Health System may include essential job functions that require specific physical and/or mental abilities. Additional information and provision for requests for reasonable accommodation will be provided by each hiring department.