Job Summary:

The Department of Family Medicine and Community Health is seeking a full-time Community Health Worker to support a NIH grant entitled, “Targeting Family Meal Quality and Quantity to Reduce Childhood Obesity Using Ecological Momentary Intervention (EMI) and Video Feedback”. The study intervenes with families with young children around their family meals using innovating technology (i.e., ecological momentary intervention and video feedback) and in-person education. This is a 5-year grant that is funded through the end of 2025 and will report to the Intervention Coordinator.

This position will work on a team of CHWs who will work with 500+ families across the Twin Cities providing a 6-month intervention around improving the quality and quantity of family meals, using motivational interviewing, and SMART goal setting. Some families will receive the intervention 100% virtually and others will receive a combination of virtual and in-person visits.  Virtual visits will all take place out of the study’s office on the East Bank campus of the University of Minnesota. Therefore, this position is not expected to have any remote (i.e., from the candidate’s home) work. Additionally, because this study intervenes with families, all visits will need to occur when the family is available and will include afternoon/evening and weekend visits.  

Key Responsibilities:

60%:  Engaging with families in intervention visits and tracking study progress

• Meet with families virtually and in-person at family’s homes and deliver intervention around improving the quality and quantity of family meals.
• Effectively work with people from diverse backgrounds in reducing barriers to having family meals and healthy home environments.
• Serve as main contact and follow-up with assigned participants in between visits to provide support.
• Document visit activities and feedback.
• Continuously expand knowledge of community resources related to social determinants of health for intervention participants.
• Other duties as assigned.

25%:  Preparing for intervention visits

• Helping to create intervention materials for visits.
• Review materials from intervention visits (e.g., video-recorded family meals) and prepare feedback for families.
• Regularly check in with families.
• Assist families with identifying necessary resources, such as food assistance.

15%:  Meetings and supervision

• Attend training sessions and feedback/coaching sessions.
• Meet regularly with Intervention Director and CHW team.
• Maintain training in SMART goal setting and motivational interviewing.
• Ensure compliance with human subjects, HIPAA, and other regulations.

This position is represented by a bargaining unit, AFSCME Technical. Starting pay dependent on qualifications and internal equity:

$17.08 to $25.03 per hour and $35,526.40 to $52,062.40 annually

The University of Minnesota offers a comprehensive benefits package including:

• Competitive wages, paid holidays, vacation and sick leave
• Low cost medical, dental, and pharmacy plans
• Health care and dependent daycare flexible spending accounts
• Excellent retirement plans with employer match
• Disability and employer paid life insurance
• Wellbeing program with reduced insurance premiums
• Tuition reimbursement opportunities covering 75%-100% of eligible tuition
• Student loan forgiveness opportunity
• Opportunities for growth and promotion
• Employee Assistance Program

For more information regarding benefits:  https://humanresources.umn.edu/sites/humanresources.umn.edu/files/2021_tcd-cslr-75100-ben-0105-7_final.pdf

All required qualifications must be documented on application materials.

Required Qualifications:

• High school or GED diploma.
• Experience in working with people on health behavior change (e.g., eating, activity, chronic disease); OR education in the areas of Psychology, Public Health, Social Work, or Family Therapy. 
• Excellent verbal and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Detail-oriented with exceptional organizational, planning, and problem-solving skills.
• Verifiable good driving record and reliable transportation.
• Ability and willingness to work nights and weekends.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office.
• Must be comfortable and able to do in-person in-home visits with study participants.

Preferred Qualifications:

• In pursuit or completion of a CHW Certificate program.
• Previous experience with using motivational interviewing.
• Experience working in-person and virtually/remotely with individuals.
• Experience working with young children.
• A strong preference will be given to candidates with familiarity with Black/African American, Asian, Hispanic/Latino, and/or Native American families.
• Spanish fluency and ability to translate intervention materials into Spanish.