Public Health Program & Data Assistant with Navajo Nation Initiative
This position is part of a PKG program called PKG Community-Informed Field Immersion (CIFI). This specific program is a collaborative program between Brigham & Women’s Hospital (BWH) Division of Global Health Equity (DGHE) and the PKG Center for Public Service, along with other organizations involved in the COVID-19 initiative on Navajo Nation, including other Navajo Nation organizations/partners and Partners in Health. As part of this experience, join a team of MIT student participants that are placed on specific projects with selected supervisors at BWH DGHE. The Division of Global Health Equity is committed to training, research, and service in healthcare to reduce disparities in disease burden and to improve treatment outcomes both domestically and abroad. This particular program will occur remotely, serving the Diné (Navajo) community living on or near the Navajo Nation.
Desired length of commitment and approx. hours per week: Summer; May 31st- August 13th; 20 or 40 hrs per week (student commits to 20 or 40 hrs/wk)
Bulleted list of tasks and responsibilities of the position:
- Support teams with program facilitation, design, or development
- Provide administrative support to various public health programs. These may include:
- Food Access and Insecurity
- Communications: creating digital stories, helping with social media, creating Annual Report, etc.
- Training & Outreach
- Data Collection & Reporting
- Implementing a curriculum on cancer awareness
- COVID-19 Efforts
- Coordination including arranging virtual meetings and trainings
- Assisting with curriculum design, including graphic design
- Become familiar with all virtual platforms, and able to work within each
- Support the initiative partners in gathering and reporting data; provide technological assistance to stakeholders
- Participate in designated meetings with staff and stakeholders
- Communicate consistently and frequently with supervisor to provide updates on progress and challenges; meet deadlines as defined by the organization within the appropriate MDT timezone.
- Assist with other COVID-19 response program activities and coordination as needed
- Effectively communicate with identified stakeholders in a timely manner, as determined with supervisor and PKG Center team
- Participate in assigned outreach to community organizations and members
- Follow all onboarding policies and procedures
- Other role-related activities as assigned
- *This position is a remote position. Connection to internet and a functioning computer are needed in order to perform the remote tasks.
Any skills, qualifications and other requirements:
- Project Management experience, whether supporting or leading a group effort (evaluation, outreach, communications, social media, design, website development, data reporting)
- Demonstrated skill with database management and the use of virtual platforms OR graphic design experience
- Strong organization and management skills
- Preferred experience with curriculum design or creation
- Experience with Data Management, Analysis, and Dashboards (Ex: Excel, Python, SPSS, STATA, PowerBi, or Tableau, etc)
- Ability to use cultural humility when collaborating across difference
- Interest in learning about the social determinants of health underlying COVID-19 and other public health challenges in the community
- Ability to demonstrate self-reflection
- Willingness to participate in group and individual discussions around social determinants of health and power, privilege, and positionality
- Demonstrates careful attention to detail
- Effective and efficient communicator: able and ready to professionally respond to supervisor and stakeholders promptly
This program is designed to match your technical skills with community-identified needs to address the complex challenge of COVID-19.
All participants in this program are required to participate in group orientation and reflection activities throughout the summer. The requirements of this program include:
- Prompt completion of all required onboarding paperwork and clearances (as specified by the PKG Center and community partner organizations)
- Participation in a weekly group reflection meeting to learn about different contextual factors and social determinants of health influencing public health on Navajo Nation, and process the project-based learning experience. These meetings will occasionally require participants to read an article or 2 prior to the meeting, possibly write a short paragraph reflection piece, or watch a short video
- Participate in scheduled meetings with other student cohorts as part of program
- Participation in a weekly half-hour check-in call with PKG Center staff as needed
- Completion of a weekly supervision check-in document, required by 1pm MDT each Friday of the program, and submit this to designated PKG Center and partner staff
- Complete 1 blogpost for the PKG Center website to share your work and experience (with review from onsite supervisor)
- Complete end-of-program survey(s)
- Participate in end-of-program showcase and reflection meeting (date TBD)
Please note- the PKG Center will share any updates to this position throughout the interview process, given the dynamic nature of public health work. Additionally, the COPE team is eager to meet student applicants and learn about your unique skill set. The position may change as you continue through the interview process, adapting certain projects to your skills.
Hourly wage/range:
A stipend of $2,500 or $5000 will be paid to each student as a means of offsetting the cost of participation (food, transportation, lodging, living expenses, etc.) depending on the students’ commitment as a part-time or full-time participant (20hrs/wk or 40hrs/wk). International students seeking to apply should check with the International Students Office to verify eligibility.
In order to apply, please upload your cover letter and resume to the MIT Handshake platform. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and interviews scheduled accordingly, with a priority deadline of Sunday, May 16th for initial review of applicants. If you have questions, please contact cifi@mit.edu.