Health Philanthropy Fellow, Health Program

Two Year Term

The Kresge Foundation’s Health Program has an immediate opening for a Health Philanthropy Fellow.

About the foundation

The Kresge Foundation is metro Detroit's largest private, national foundation, with more than $3.6 billion in its endowment, a growing staff of nearly 100 employees and a mission to expand opportunities in America's cities for low-income people. We do this through grantmaking and social investing in arts and culture, education, environment, health, human services, and community development efforts in Detroit. 

The foundation has a state-of-the-art campus located in Troy, which includes an 1850s farmhouse, a LEED-Platinum certified wing and a newly opened expansion that includes a cafeteria and convening center. It also has an office in Midtown Detroit.

The Kresge Foundation offers a competitive total compensation package including health, employer-paid dental, vision, basic life insurance, short and long-term disability, generous paid time off, free breakfast, lunch, and snacks.  We also provide robust employee learning and professional development opportunities and tuition reimbursement.  We promote and support a healthy and green work environment and encourage intellectual curiosity where we embrace and live out our values of creativity, respect, opportunity, partnership, and stewardship.

About the Kresge Health Program 

The Kresge Health program works to achieve equity-focused systems of health through three strategies:

• Accelerate the Integration of Health and Human Services - We will invest in innovative in Health and Human Services providers to work across sectors to create more seamless, effective, and sustainable interventions that impact the well-being of people and the communities they serve.
• Leverage Institutional Investment for Community Health – We will work to influence local and regional institutions to align their financial and human capital investments to build healthy, prosperous communities and equitable, sustainable economies.
• Support Community-Driven Solutions for Health – We will drive locally determined solutions that influence policies, systems, services, and practices to create equitable conditions and improve well-being.

In all of our work, we look for efforts that:

• Include and build genuine community engagement and leadership.
• Facilitate cross-sector partnerships and connections.
• Prioritize health equity.
• Develop innovative policy solutions.
• Direct resources to upstream strategies.
• Promote access to opportunities that can improve health.
• Employ effective communication strategies.
• Evaluate and disseminate the impact of health initiatives, programs and investments.

This is an exciting time for health philanthropy.  Many of the basic health protections and resources that Americans have relied on are under threat.  At the same time, policy makers, institutions and others are seeking new solutions and models that can generate better outcomes and reduce health care costs.  The Kresge Health Program aims to play a vital role in both safeguarding essential resources for health, while fostering innovation that can improve opportunities for health in low-income communities.

About the position

The Kresge Foundation is recruiting a Health Philanthropy Fellow to support the Health Program in implementing its mission to create equity-focused systems of health.  The Fellow will gain experience and insight into institutional philanthropy, health policy and advocacy, community development, and strategies to improve the health of historically disadvantaged or disenfranchised communities.  This position both provides a valuable career development opportunity for emerging public health professionals, as well as added capacity to enable the Health program to fulfill its ambitious vision.  This fellowship will be a two-year appointment and is open to those who have completed Master’s level training in public health.  We are also interested in candidates who have completed joint degrees involving public health with urban planning, public administration, public policy, health administration, social work and/or environmental science.

Primary responsibilities of the fellow position include:

• Lead at least one priority project during the term of the fellowship, on a topic to be jointly determined;
• Develop and manage a grant portfolio, including both new and existing grants;
• Provide project management support and contribute to the coordination and execution of team programmatic processes and projects;
• Provide preliminary review of incoming funding requests, including an assessment of their alignment with program strategies;
• Analyze reports from grantees to identify key lessons that should be highlighted, shared and applied to our future strategies;
• Participate in at least one cross-cutting Kresge function that provides broader exposure to philanthropic practice; 
• Contribute to the Health team’s Strategic Learning and Evaluation practices;
• Conduct background research to support Health team strategy and program development, and keep abreast of new developments and published research in health policy, public health and related fields;
• Participate in travel to conferences, convenings and site visits with funded partners as needed.

Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in public health; graduates of dual-degree public health and another discipline such as public policy, social work, public administration or urban planning programs are also strongly encouraged to apply;
• At least two years relevant work experience;
• An orientation toward practice rather than research (we value the role of research in shaping effective practice, but this is not a research fellowship);
• The ability to collaborate effectively within and across Kresge teams to reach common goals;
• A learning orientation that enables one to recognize patterns, identify key lessons and develop creative solutions;
• A self-starter who is capable of managing multiple complex projects and tasks;
• Someone who shares the Health team’s commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion;
• Strong written, oral and interpersonal communication skills. 

To apply please send the following to [email protected] :

• Resume or CV
• Cover letter/essay describing skills describing:
  • How the candidate’s skills and experience would contribute to the success of the Kresge Health team;
  • What the candidate finds compelling about this opportunity;
  • How this fellowship would advance the candidate’s career development plans.
  • Two letters of recommendation.
  • Original transcripts of graduate work.

Deadline for application submittal: March 2, 2018

We aim to have our Fellow on board by June 2018 

Kresge is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.