Executive Director

Position Executive Director

Organization Caribbean Women’s Health Association, Inc.

Location New York, NY

Website www.cwha.org

Opportunity

Caribbean Women’s Health Association, the oldest network serving the Caribbean Diaspora in New York for over forty years, is seeking a highly approachable and influential non-profit leader as its next Executive Director.

Reporting to the Board of Directors, the Executive Director will hold a visible role providing strategic leadership, financial acumen, and operational excellence to this

$4M advocacy group and service provider in the Caribbean community, working hand in hand with partner agencies to advance services in Medicaid/health insurance, maternal health, HIV/AIDS, immigration, and domestic violence.

Key priorities for the role include (1) maintaining and expanding partnerships with community boards, elected officials, city councils, and city/state/federal agencies – including the Mayor’s and Governor’s offices; (2) engagement and empowerment at the grass-roots level to lead initiatives, distribute services, and execute programs; (3) welcoming persons of the Caribbean Diaspora community; and (4) successful grant-writing to fundraise and expand CWHA’s operating budget. Going forward, the Executive Director will build on the organization’s exemplary track record of performance as a blueprint to explore and guide longer-term emerging imperatives which advance CWHA’s strategic direction, including but not limited to New York State’s Medicaid Section 1115 waiver amendment to invest in maternal health/doula services, health equity, and opportunities in social determinants of health.

A great opportunity for a flexible and fearless leader of high integrity to take CWHA to the next level, the successful candidate will demonstrate being a people person with a passion for women’s health and connectivity to the needs of the community with cultural competence. The next Executive Director will make a profound impact at CWHA with its mission to provide high-quality, comprehensive, culturally appropriate health, immigration, and social support services to its diverse

constituency.

CARIBBEAN WOMEN’S HEALTH ASSOCIATION, INC.

LEADERSHIP PROFILE

Caribbean Women’s Health Association

Caribbean Women’s Health Association, Inc. (CWHA) was founded in 1982\. For over forty years CWHA has served as an advocacy group and service provider in the community. CWHA strongly relies on community involvement in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of programs that meet the health and social support needs of the community. There is continuous interaction with the community to review the appropriateness of the educational and promotional materials produced by CWHA.

Mission

Transforming lives, strengthening families, and building bridges across culturally diverse communities. CWHA’s mission is to provide high-quality, comprehensive, culturally appropriate health, immigration, and social support services to its diverse constituency.

Services

CWHA has served as an urban problem solver, creating innovative solutions to community issues with a focus on breaking the cycle of poverty through building diverse partnerships and grassroots leadership initiatives. CWHA conducts programs that aim to improve the well-being of individuals, strengthen families, and empower communities. These programs are uniquely designed to provide comprehensive, integrated, and coordinated culturally appropriate “one-stop” services. Read more about CWHA’s services here.

Women’s Health: CWHA seeks to assist in the reduction of infant mortality and improve maternal and infant health outcomes and health disparities through community-based activities in neighborhoods disproportionately affected by poor birth, infant, and health outcomes. Through its various multi- year grants, CWHA provides services to at-risk pregnant, postpartum, and inter- conceptional women, and their infants and families, as well as young adults. Outreach, care coordination, and community-wide education cover areas such as infant safe sleep, breastfeeding, maternal physical and mental health, labor and delivery support, and doula services.

CWHA is presently the largest provider of doula services in New York City, working with almost every city hospital in perinatal care and serving on the city’s task force on black maternal health. CWHA recently procured an NIH grant to study doula services and track maternal health outcomes for seven years. Going forward, CWHA plans to apply for status as a Medicaid billing provider.

HIV/AIDS: CWHA provides education on prevention methods as well as counseling and testing to the targeted populace in North and Central Brooklyn. These programs are culturally sensitive, testing is free and confidential, and results are given in as little as one minute.

Immigration: The immigration department of the Caribbean Women’s Health Association offers “Know Your Rights” workshops for New Yorkers on a range of immigration law issues including citizenship/naturalization, DACA renewals, employment authorization, consular processing, relative petitions, green card status, and border crisis response.

Domestic Violence: CWHA provides safe support and referrals for survivors of relationship violence, such as in marriage, cohabitation, or parental abuse in the areas of counseling, housing, sanctuary setup, and legal services.

Reporting Structure

CWHA Board of Directors

The Executive Director will report directly to the Board of Directors. Christine Blackmore, MPH, CIC, RN is the Chairperson of CWHA’s Board of Directors. Ms. Blackmore is a retired infection preventionist and registered nurse, formerly serving Lenox Hill Hospital.

The nominating committee of the Board comprises members with expertise from the healthcare, non-profit, and Caribbean communities in New York City such as Anne-Marie Grant and David John, MD.

• Ms. Grant serves as the Executive Director for the American Foundation for the University of the West Indies and Co-Director of SUNY/University of West Indies’ Center for Leadership \& Sustainable Development.
• With nearly 30 years of experience in Family Medicine, Dr. David H.A. John served as Chief Medical Officer of Gotham Health, one of the largest federally qualified health clinics across the five New York City boroughs and a part of NYC Health \+ Hospitals network.

Sun River Health

The Executive Director will maintain a dotted line reporting to Sun River Health’s COO and Executive Vice President, Allison Dubois.

• As Chief Operating Officer, Allison Dubois is responsible for all Sun River Health operations, capital improvement projects and real estate, facility management and security, dental operations, program and grants management, behavioral health for Articles 31s and Article 28s/OASAS, and organizational compliance. Allison was the former Director of Government Affairs and Special Projects for the Community Health Care Association of New York State, with broad experience in advocacy and policymaking on behalf of community health centers.

Supervisory Role

The Executive Director will oversee all employees of Caribbean Women’s Health

Association and an operating budget of $3\.5M.

Position Summary

The Executive Director is the key management leader of Caribbean Women’s Health Association, an affiliate of Sun River Health which has over 50 health centers making them the largest Federally Qualified Health Center in New York. The Executive Director is responsible for overseeing the administration, programs, and strategic plan of the organization. Other key duties include fundraising, marketing, and community outreach and engagement.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities

Board Governance:

Works with the Board to fulfill the organization's mission.

• Responsible for leading Caribbean Women’s Health Association in a manner that supports and guides the organization’s mission as defined by the Board of Directors.
• Responsible for communicating effectively with the Board and providing, in a timely and accurate manner, all information necessary for the Board to function properly and to make informed decisions.
• Responsible for serving as ex-officio on Committees of the Board and Committees of the Organization (including the Nominating Committee, the HIV Committee, and Finance Committee amongst others).

Financial Performance and Viability:

Develops resources sufficient to ensure the financial health of the organization.

• Responsible for developing and expanding revenue-gathering and fundraising activities in support of CWHA’s mission.
• Responsible for writing grants and coordinating response activities with grant writers.
• Responsible for the fiscal integrity of CWHA, to include submission to the Board of a proposed annual budget, as well as financial statements which accurately reflect the financial condition of the organization.
• Responsible for fiscal management that generally anticipates operating within the approved budget, ensures maximum resource utilization, and maintenance of the organization in a positive financial position.
• Coordinates with Sun River Health on shared services such as financial audits and reporting of financial statements.

Organization Mission and Strategy:

Works with the board and staff to ensure that the mission is fulfilled through

programs, strategic planning, and community outreach.

• Responsible for the exchange of information regarding all funded issues to promote the development of programs and policies in support of CWHA’s goals and objectives.
• Responsible for implementing CWHA’s programs that carry out the organization’s mission. Responsible for designing and implementing emerging initiatives (some examples are billing Medicaid for doula services or providing HIV/AIDS treatments in the Caribbean).
• Responsible for strategic planning to ensure that CWHA can successfully fulfill its mission into the future.
• Responsible for the enhancement of CWHA’s image by being active and visible in the community and working closely with other professional, civic, and private organizations.

Organization Operations:

Oversees and implements appropriate resources to ensure that the operations of the organization are appropriate.

• Responsible for the hiring and retention of competent, mission-driven, qualified staff.
• Lead, coach, develop, and retain CWHA’s high-performance senior management team.
• Maintain an open door for staff and external partners to approach CWHA.
• Responsible for ensuring programmatic excellence in all areas.
• Responsible for effective systems of tracking progress, and regularly evaluating program components, so as to measure successes that can be effectively communicated to the board, funders, and the broader community.
• Responsible for the development and implementation of agency policies and procedures, utilizing Board Committees and staff.
• Responsible for signing of notes, agreements, contracts, and other instruments made and entered into on behalf of the organization.
• Supervises all employees of CWHA, including hiring, firing, and performance evaluations with the primary goal of ensuring efficient and quality program management. ED direct hires include: Program Directors, Office Manager, and Finance Manager. Ensures orientation of all new employees and in-services for all employees in compliance with CWHA policies, as well as federal and state regulations.
• Networking to expand and maintain CWHA relationships with federal, state, county and other authorities, professional organizations and other entities as appropriate for the ongoing development of the organization and related programs (some examples are the Mayor’s office, the Governor’s office, Robin Hood Foundation, faith-based organizations, city hospitals such as Columbia-NY Presbyterian, and Sun River Health).

Health and Safety:

Ensures the health and safety of agency staff and consumers accessing on-site services.

• Responsible for ensuring that CWHA maintains a safe working environment for staff.
• Responsible for providing a safe environment in which consumers can access services.
• EEO Policy:
• Responsible for adhering to the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy Statement as set forth by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ensuring that no application is denied employment as set forth under the terms of the EEO policy.
• The position of Executive Director is classified as an Exempt Position and therefore does not fall under the provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Candidate Qualifications

Education

• A Master’s Degree in health, human services, or another related field required.

Required Experience

• Five or more years’ experience in senior nonprofit management at the executive level.
• Expertise and skill in working with Board of Directors.
• Strong fiscal management skills, including budget preparation, analysis, decision-making, reporting, and leading with financial integrity.
• Grant applications and management.
• Knowledge of the Caribbean Diaspora. Brings cultural competence and awareness of population heterogeneity and demographic diversity. Understands the value of the Caribbean community’s contribution to the economic engine of New York City and significance of preserving one voice to advocate for the collective community at large.
• Strong work ethic, mission-driven, self-directed, with a high degree of energy.

Preferred Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Demonstrate high integrity leadership and transparency.
• Unwavering commitment to quality programs and data-driven program evaluation.
• Experience successfully working with a variety of community health,
• education, and human services agencies.
• High level of strategic thinking and planning. Ability to envision and convey the organization’s strategic future to the staff, board, volunteers, and donors.
• Ability to effectively communicate the organization’s mission to donors, volunteers, and the overall community.
• A history of successfully generating new revenue streams and improving financial results.
• Active fundraising experience. Excellent donor relations skills and understanding of the funding community.
• Previous success in establishing relationships with individuals and organizations of influence, including funders, partner agencies, and volunteers.
• Excellence in organizational management with the ability to coach staff, manage, and develop high-performance teams. Solid organizational abilities, including planning, delegating, program development, and task facilitation.
• Strong written and oral communication skills.
• Strong public speaking ability.
• Fluent in English and a second language such as Spanish, French, Haitian Creole, or others.

Equal Opportunity Employment

• Caribbean Women’s Health Association is an employer and educator recognized for valuing AA/EEO, protected veterans, and individuals with disabilities.

Compensation

An attractive compensation and benefits package will be offered commensurate with the candidate’s experience, with a base salary range starting at $130,000 yearly. This position, like all positions at CWHA, is subject to external grant funding. Funding agencies award grants and contracts to the Caribbean Women’s Health Association on behalf of specific programs and/or research conducted by our organization. These awards are given to the organization and not to individuals.