KACo is working with Vital Strategies, a NACo-endorsed global health organization, to place a full-time staff member at KACo to provide strategic guidance, planning and implementation support related to the opioid settlement funds for Kentucky counties. 

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Job Purpose:

Vital Strategies is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Technical Advisor – Opioid Settlement Funds Planning and Capacity-Building, seconded to the Kentucky Association of Counties (KACo), located inFrankfort, KY. The salary range for this position is $80,000-$90,000.

The Kentucky Association of Counties (KACo) is a non-profit, non-partisan, member-owned association of elected county officials in all 120 counties. KACo provides services and products to support, educate and advocate for our members. Vital Strategies will provide seconded staff to KACo to provide strategic guidance, planning, and implementation support related to Kentucky counties opioid settlement funds. Counties are on the frontline of ensuring the health and safety of our residents affected by this crisis and will be receiving direct funding from the national settlement to support evidence-based programming and services. This position is for an experienced public health and public policy advisor to coordinate cross-agency and multisector planning and to provide capacity-building support to localities. This position requires the ability to manage many project elements including excellent organizational skills, anticipating challenges and creative problem solving.

The candidate must have eligibility to work in the U.S. at time of hire.

Duties and Responsibilities:

The Secondee shall conduct work as if the Secondee were a full-time employee of KACo and shall have the following duties:

1. Support KACo’s county-level opioids settlement funds strategy development in collaboration with other local jurisdictions, local agencies and providers, state leadership, and university research partners for maximizing and prioritizing of opioid settlement funds;

2. Provide engagement, capacity-building, and technical assistance to counties and localities on use of the opioid settlement funds, with recommendations on evidence-based activities allowable under the terms of the settlement agreement;

3. Develop and draft documents for multiple audiences in various formats including technical internal documents to support decision making by leaders and easily digestible public content like PowerPoints, press releases, social media, and website copy related to overdose prevention initiatives and the opioid settlement funds;

4. Manage relationships with internal and external stakeholders collaborating on the opioid settlement funds and overdose prevention initiatives;

5. Coordinate with KACo Communication staff for public communication materials and drafting responses to media and public inquiries regarding the opioid settlement funds and overdose prevention initiatives;

6. Lead on opioid settlement funds-related researching and summarizing best practices from other states and counties through partnership with the National Association of Counties;

7. Collect opioid settlement funds-related information about current county and local policies and practices, and analyze information to identify strengths and barriers related to overdose initiatives;

8. Help to identify additional funding sources to supplement opioid settlement funds to initiate new projects, and expand and sustain activities related to overdose prevention initiatives;

9. Lead on opioid settlement funds-related reporting to internal and external stakeholders on overdose-related government activities and progress;

10. Support cross-pollination discussions with other Vital Strategies seconded staff to share relevant project updates, seed collaboration opportunities, and strengthen the network of overdose prevention staff statewide;

11. Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

Education and Degree - 

· Bachelor’s degree in public health, public policy, social work, psychology or other relevant field, preferred;

· Minimum of 10 years of relevant technical work experience in lieu of degree is acceptable.

Skills and Abilities - 

· Project management expertise, with the ability to exercise independent judgment and maintain appropriate deadlines;

· Excellent oral and written communication skills;

· Strong interpersonal skills, with demonstrated ability to maintain collaborative relationships with internal and external partners;

· Demonstrated ability to analyze data and basic understanding of evaluation and its role;

· Ability to work well with diverse groups of individuals and organizations;

· Excellent organizational skills;

· Self-starter with ability to work independently;

· Familiarity with Microsoft Office Suite.

Experience:

Required - 

· 8 years professional experience, preferably in public health;

· Familiarity with opioids settlement funds and/or federal and state funding landscape for overdose prevention initiatives;

· Experience with planning and capacity building large funding initiatives in collaboration with state and local stakeholders.

Preferred - 

· Familiarity with drug use, harm reduction, and intersections with racial justice and health equity, preferred.

· Familiarity of regional, cultural, rural, frontier, urban, and intersections with harm reduction

· Experience driving institutional change and developing partnerships with government leaders and services providers