Senior Program Officer, Healthy Food Healthy Lives; NYSHF

Posted on November 17, 2020

The New York State Health Foundation (NYSHealth) is a private foundation dedicated to improving the health of all New Yorkers, especially the most vulnerable. NYSHealth began operations in 2006; today, it has approximately $300 million in assets, as well as a $15 million annual grants and operations budget.

The Foundation is committed to making grants, but also to making a difference beyond grant dollars: informing health care policy and practice; spreading effective programs to improve the health system; serving as a convener of health leaders across the State; and providing technical assistance to grantees and partners. Today, the Foundation concentrates its initiatives in two strategic priority areas:
Building Healthy Communities and Empowering Health Care Consumers. NYSHealth also engages in responsive grantmaking through a Special Projects Fund and maintains a special interest in veterans’ health.

NYSHealth is launching a new priority area in January 2021, Healthy Food, Healthy Lives , and is winding down its Building Healthy Communities area. The primary goal of this new priority area is to advance policies and programs that connect New Yorkers with the healthy and affordable food they need to thrive through two core strategies:
1) enabling policies that promote healthy and affordable food; and
2) testing and scaling programs that connect people to healthy and affordable food. This statewide focus on healthy food is especially urgent as the COVID-19 pandemic threatens the food security of millions of New Yorkers, with a disproportionate impact on communities of color.

Reporting to the Vice President (VP) for Programs, the Senior Program Officer (SPO) will support the development, launch, and implementation of Healthy Food, Healthy Lives in collaboration with the priority area’s team. The SPO will be responsible for generating project ideas/initiatives; managing programs and grants; reviewing proposals; making grantmaking recommendations to the VP for Programs and other senior staff; and working collaboratively across priority areas to advance shared goals.

The SPO plays a leadership and mentorship role. They will be an effective ambassador of the Foundation by contributing to NYSHealth’s growing media presence and visibility by hosting convenings; contributing to policy research products and advocacy efforts; and representing the Foundation at conferences and meetings throughout New York State and nationally.

This position is ideal for a creative and strategic thinker with strong content expertise. The SPO will co-lead the process of shaping and implementing this priority area to ensure that NYSHealth is maximizing the impact of its investments and adapting its strategy as new learning emerges. A successful candidate must bring deep and sophisticated understanding of and experience in the following:

• The New York State food system, including in the areas of purchasing and financing policies, local food systems, and/or public institution food landscape;
• The policy making process, including state and local legislative processes, regulatory and contracting processes, and federal rule making;
• Federal nutrition programs and related policies, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC);
• Food as a social determinant of health and the links between nutrition, healthy food, chronic disease, and related interventions (e.g. food as medicine); and
• Working directly with food access and distribution points, including emergency food networks, food hubs, mobile markets, and farmers markets.

• Partner with the VP for Programs and other program staff to build a Healthy Food, Healthy Lives strategic plan that translates into specific grantmaking, research, and thought leadership opportunities. Design and implement annual program goals and strategies.
• Develop, cultivate, and implement ideas for projects and initiatives.
• Lead and facilitate meetings with grantees,…