Washington Dental

Program Manager - Posted 6/13/08

Position Description:

Program Manager/Team Leader

Washington Dental Service Foundation

Summary:
Lead a team that is responsible for executing the Foundation’s strategies for improving oral health in Washington State. Leadership should result in a team that actively identifies opportunities to implement the strategies and works with communities, creating vision and commitment to action. This position is part manager, part planner and part activist, requiring the ability to ask, listen and act.

Management Skills:

Ability to promote and foster teamwork, drawing out best thinking and capitalizing on each individual’s talent.
Drives the team for results, conveying a sense of urgency and persistence.
Empowers and develops others through delegation and timely feedback and coaching.
Uses sound judgment in a confident manner, providing clear direction even in the face of obstacles and difficult decisions.
Comfortable with conflict and ambiguity.
Develops trust by dealing with others in a fair straightforward manner and fostering open communication that creates a supportive work environment.
Champions and adapts to new ideas while focusing on the critical, high payoff opportunities.
Develops and monitors budgets and uses data and other information to assess results and shape future activities.
Models the skills required of team members, including the:

Ability to identify factors in the environment or community context that either help or hinder healthy decisions by individuals.
Ability to see what would be required to alter or create a context that would predispose individuals to make healthy decisions.
Willingness to influence those with the power to make change, to engage them in the oral health issue, to support them in taking leadership.
Ability to analyze professional documents, to access and synthesize research on oral health issues so as to make it useful to decision makers.
Ability to explain things in common sense terms.
Conduct oneself in external settings in a way that reflects positively on WDS Foundation as an organization of competent, confident and sensitive people.
Ability to seek direction, approval from management on essential matters and discern parameters so as to maximize independence and consistent support from management.
Ability to juggle multiple topics/tasks and to balance the need for planning and relationship building with the need for results.
Basic financial analysis skills: ability to understand how an initiative might be financed, what the cost benefit relationships are, opportunity for financial sustainability.
Ability to see how one’s work intersects with that of other Foundation activities - manage in a mutually supportive manner. Make appropriate use of knowledge/ expertise/ connections of other Foundation Staff.

Responsibilities:

Takes direct responsibility for high priority staff work or new initiatives.

Leads a team that is adept at:

Implementing strategies by identifying geographic areas or individuals where change is deemed to be possible. Work to influence those capable of making the desired change - creating vision and commitment to improving oral health.
Developing an understanding of the assigned strategy (one or more), what the underlying theory of change is; be sufficiently knowledgeable so as to be able to speak credibly about it with external parties.
Determining by trial and error whether execution efforts are feasible. Balance patience and the need to “cut bait” i.e. abandon and try elsewhere.
Seeking out/ build strong relationships with others who are key to WDSF’s success.
Evaluating grant proposals; work with grantees to ensure best possible results.
Scanning for opportunities to improve oral health within the priority targets identified by the Foundation.
Providing staff support to Foundation Committees, individual Trustees as well as Foundation President.
Representing the Foundation in external audiences; prepare and deliver presentations as needed.

Conducts staff recruiting activities and makes hiring recommendations, sets goals, monitors performance, coaches, and develops and executes individual staff development plans.

Education/ Experience:

Experience having performed many of the above skills and responsibilities in a subject area that may or may not involve oral health.

Academic background in public interest law, public affairs, public health, community development, public policy analysis and implementation.

Please submit cover letter and resume to: Diane Oakes, Washington Dental Service Foundation, P.O. Box 75983, Seattle, WA 98175-0983. (206) 528-2373, doakes@deltadentalwa.com