Policy & Advocacy Specialist

Here, it’s different. Come join us.

Children's Hospital Colorado has defined and delivered pediatric healthcare excellence for more than 100 years.

Here, the nation’s brightest nurses, physicians, scientists, researchers, therapists, and care providers are creating the future of child health. With an optimist’s outlook, a trailblazing spirit, and a celebrated history, we’re making new strides every day.

We’ve been Magnet-designated four times by the American Nurses Credentialing Center and are consistently recognized among the best of the best pediatric hospitals with #1 rankings in Colorado and the region by U.S. News & World Report.

As a national leader in pediatric care, we serve children and families from all over the nation. Our System of Care includes four pediatric hospitals, 11 specialty care centers, 1,300+ outreach clinics and more than 10,000 healthcare professionals representing the full spectrum of pediatric care specialties.

Here, we know it takes all of us, every role, to deliver the best possible care to each child and family we treat.

That’s why we build our teams toward a foundation of equity in access, advancement, and opportunity. We know teams of individuals with different identities and backgrounds can nurture creativity and innovation. We know we can see, treat, and heal children better when our team reflects the diversity of our patient population. We strive to attract and retain diverse talent because we know a truly inclusive and equitable workforce will help us one day realize our most basic calling: to heal every child who comes through our doors.

A career at Children's Colorado will challenge you, inspire you, and motivate you to make a difference in the life of a child. Here, it’s different.

The Policy & Advocacy Specialist provides advanced, technical expertise in researching and analyzing policy and advocacy issues and in developing and implementing education and communications outreach. The Policy & Advocacy Specialist also serves as a team lead, leading work on large scale, highly complex projects and assigning work and providing coaching and mentoring to other policy and advocacy team members.

Department Name: Government Affairs
Job Status: 40 hours per week, eligible for benefits
Shift: Days. Monday - Friday, business hours.

• EDUCATION – Bachelor’s degree in political science, advocacy or other related field.
• EXPERIENCE – Seven years of experience in policy or advocacy work.
• EQUIVALENCY – Professional experience, beyond requirements, in a related field may substitute for a Bachelor degree requirement on a year for year basis.

POPULATION SPECIFIC CARE

• No direct patient care.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

An employee in this position may be called upon to do any or all of the following essential functions. These examples do not include all of the functions which the employee may be expected to perform.

• Researches, foresees, and provides coaching and guidance to other team members on potential policy issues that could impact local, state, regional, and/or national strategies for Children’s Hospital Colorado.
• Conducts research on complex, undefined, or novel policy issues impacting CHCO and provides recommendations on how to achieve specific objectives; and designs advocacy strategies to accomplish objectives.
• Leads and/or develops recommendations to respond to policy issues, to include communications and outreach activities; partners as needed with internal stakeholders to develop potential operational changes.
• Participates in local, state, regional and national efforts related to policy and advocacy events and committees.
• Maintains effective working relationships with internal and external stakeholders, to include lobbyists, key elected officials and public policy leaders. Serves as liaison between program, department, CHCO and community partners on large scale initiatives and strategies.
• Provides consultative support and advice to internal stakeholders and Government Affairs team on community engagement activities and partnership opportunities. Plans and leads activities and partnerships in support of large scale initiatives and strategies.
• Leads the design and delivery of training and technical assistance to support strategies as identified by department, division and community partners.
• Serves as the team lead, assigning and reviewing work, providing work instruction (OTJ training) and coaching/mentoring opportunities. Provides recommendations to Government Affairs leadership on key priorities or opportunities for policy/advocacy work, after researching and assessing organizational needs, objectives, and challenges.
• Leads and/or works on highly complex or controversial policy and advocacy issues; performs project management activities and helps other team members prioritize requests and projects. Provides technical expertise on programs, processes, and best practices across all issue areas. Leads the team in collecting internal stakeholder feedback on current issues and emerging trends, ensuring coordination and alignment across issue areas.
• Partners with Government Affairs leadership to develop and disseminate communications out to the organization on projects and hot topics.

SCOPE AND LEVEL

• Guidelines: Advanced professional level work that requires additional knowledge, education, training or experience. Guidelines are generally in the form of stated objectives only, with issues and factors largely undefined, requiring the employee to exercise creativity and ingenuity in devising criteria, techniques, strategy, and methodologies for approaching assigned functions or projects.
• Complexity: Duties performed involve concepts, theories, and concrete factors to be evaluated and weighed requiring a high degree of analytical ability, independent judgment, and decision-making. Acts as a subject matter expert in the field of expertise.
• Decision Making: Exercises consistently reliable judgment and discretion in difficult or complex situations, and is responsible for determining the time, place and sequence of the work performed for themselves and other team members.
• Communications: Contacts with team members, clients or the public where high degrees of discretion and judgment are required in carrying out a major program and/or function of the organization.
• Supervision Received: Performs work with minimal supervisory oversight. Work assignment is generally unstructured and employee is responsible for organizing complex, varied, and simultaneous coordination of several functions, programs, or projects in various stages of completion.

• Audio-Visual: Hearing: Good
• Audio-Visual: Near Vision: Good
• General Activity: Sit: 2-4 hrs. per day
• Weight Lifted/Force Exerted: Up to 10 pounds: 1/3 or more of time

WORK ENVIRONMENT

• Mental and Emotional Requirements: Independent discretion/decision making.
• Mental and Emotional Requirements: Makes decisions under pressure.
• Mental and Emotional Requirements: Manages stress appropriately.
• Mental and Emotional Requirements: Works with others effectively.

It is our intention that all qualified applicants be given equal opportunity and that selection decisions be based on job-related factors. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, or any other status protected by law or regulation. Be aware that none of the questions are intended to imply illegal preferences or discrimination based on non-job-related information.

The position is expected to stay open until the posted close date. Please submit your application as soon as possible as the posting is subject to close at any time once a sufficient pool of qualified applicants is obtained.

Salary Information

Annual Salary Range (Based on 40 hours worked per week): $82,095.81 to $123,143.72
Hourly Salary Range: $39.47 to $59.20

Benefits Information

Here, you matter. As a Children’s Hospital Colorado team member, you will receive a competitive pay and benefits package designed to take care of your needs that includes base pay, incentives, paid time off, medical/dental/vision insurance, company provided life and disability insurance, paid parental leave, 403b employer match (retirement savings), a robust wellness program, and access to professional development tools, including an education benefit to help you advance your career.

As part of our Total Rewards package, Children's Colorado offers an annual employee bonus program that rewards eligible team members based on organizational performance. If organizational goals are met for the year, the bonus is paid out the following April.

Children’s Colorado delivers annual base pay increases to eligible team members based on their performance over the previous year.