Program Associate I

The Public Health Institute (PHI) is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting health, well-being, and quality of life for people throughout California, across the nation and around the world. As one of the largest and most comprehensive public health organizations in the nation, we are at the forefront of research and innovations to improve the efficacy of public health statewide, nationally, and internationally.

PHI was distinguished as one of the top 50 "Best Non-Profit Organizations to Work For" by the Non-Profit Times in a national search.

SUMMARY:

The Program Associate I is a member of the Population Health Innovation Lab (PHIL), a program of the Public Health Institute (PHI). The position requires collaboration and coordination across PHIL teams: Implementation, Research and Evaluation, Communications, and Operations.

The position provides project coordination and program content support across PHIL's portfolio. Current assignments include the 0-5 and Maternal Behavioral Health Technical Assistance Initiative, funded by the Behavioral Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission (BHSOAC) and supporting six grantee organizations across eight California counties, and the Rural Resilience Innovation Hub, which convenes practitioners, county agencies, and community partners across ten rural Northern California counties. Across these programs PHIL delivers individualized coaching, cohort learning structures, quality improvement support, and regional convenings.

Assignments shift with PHIL's portfolio, and the position supports additional projects as assigned.

The Program Associate I keeps project activities on schedule across assigned programs, maintains the project management systems that track commitments across grantees, partners, and coaches, and prepares the materials used in convenings, coaching sessions, and reporting. The position reports to the Head of Innovation and Learning, who assigns each item of work and provides the outline or source materials for content development.

This is a remote position. Travel within California is occasionally required for in-person convenings. Candidates should be based in Northern California and familiar with the Northern California health landscape. Candidates based in the Napa/Sonoma area, Sacramento, and north are strongly preferred.

This position is expected to start at 60% FTE (a schedule of 24 hours/week) with opportunity to increase dependent on availability of additional funding.

Full pay range for this position: $28.89 to $41.18 per hour. The typical hiring range for this position is from $28.89 (minimum) to $35.03 (midpoint) per hour. The starting wage is determined using a variety of factors, such as the candidate's knowledge, skills, and experience, as well as internal equity consideration and budget availability.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following:

Project Coordination

• Track project activities, priorities, and deadlines across grantees, partners, coaches, and PHIL staff, and follow up to confirm completion.
• Maintain Airtable records covering technical assistance request intake, milestone tracking, contact lists, participation records, and form submissions across assigned programs.
• Schedule and confirm coaching sessions, quarterly grantee meetings, Learning Collaborative and Community of Practice convenings, and internal team meetings.
• Execute meeting and convening logistics, including registration, materials distribution, room and platform setup, and post-event follow-up.
• Prepare and maintain project documents such as contact lists, agendas, meeting notes, attendance records, and action item logs.
• Maintain the project library of materials produced and used across assigned programs.
• Coordinate with the PHIL Communications team on cohort channel posts, newsletters, and program announcements.
• Support scheduling and logistics for site visits and travel within California.

Program Content Support

• Prepare slide decks, agendas, handouts, and session materials for convenings, coaching sessions, trainings, and partner meetings across assigned programs, working from outlines and source materials provided by the Head of Innovation and Learning or assigned coach.
• Assemble status summaries and progress updates from Airtable and project records for internal review and funder reporting.
• Format and finalize deliverable documents to PHIL and funder specifications.
• Draft routine recurring materials, including meeting agendas, attendance summaries, and resource lists, following established templates.
• Compile background and resource materials on topics requested by grantees and partners, and organize them for the resource library.
• Incorporate review feedback from the Head of Innovation and Learning, coaches, and the Principal Investigator into successive drafts.
• Support the preparation of quarterly and annual reporting packages.

Perform other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

Minimum Qualifications

• Two years of experience in public health, program administration, project coordination, community health, or a related field.
• Bachelor's degree required, or substitute with four additional years of relevant experience.

Other Qualifications

• Project coordination skills with strong attention to detail and consistent follow-through.
• Experience maintaining project management base in Airtable or similar platforms.
• Strong Microsoft Office skills, including PowerPoint, Word, Excel, Outlook, and Teams.
• Experience preparing presentation materials that follow an established format and visual standard.
• Experience supporting virtual and in-person meetings, including Zoom and Microsoft Teams.
• Strong written and oral communication skills.
• Ability to manage competing deadlines across multiple projects and to raise questions early when priorities conflict.
• Skill in working with community-based organizations, county agencies, and partners from a range of professional backgrounds.
• Interest in maternal and infant behavioral health, rural community health, quality improvement, or capacity building.
• Access to reliable transportation and ability to travel within California when needed.
• Master's degree in public health, public policy, social work, or a related field preferred.

The Public Health Institute is committed to a policy that provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, sex, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, pregnancy, medical condition including genetic characteristics, physical or mental disability, veteran status, gender identification and expression, sexual orientation, and to make all employment decisions so as to further this principle of equal employment opportunity. To this end, the PHI will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, pregnancy, medical condition including genetic characteristics, physical or mental disability, veteran status, gender identification and expression, sexual orientation, and we offer employment opportunities (and throughout employment treat our employees) fairly and equitably without regard to these characteristics.

Additional information about PHI's benefits and compensation offerings can be found here.

The Public Health Institute is committed to providing access and reasonable accommodation in its services, programs, activities and employment for individuals with disabilities. To request disability accommodation in the application process, contact the Recruitment Team at least 48 hours in advance at Recruitment@phi.org.