Placement Organization: City of Newark
Placement Location: Newark, NJ
Eligible Citizenship: Non-American

 

About: The City of Newark, at 280,000 residents, is the largest city in the state of New Jersey and stands out as a leader in the movement to revitalize American cities. Newark has famously struggled to escape from decades of major challenges. In 1996, Time Magazine called Newark the most dangerous city in America. 25% of families are below the Federal Poverty Line, and there are substantial undocumented and homeless populations. Amidst these challenges, Newark is also home to six large universities, an important port, and a rapidly growing business sector. There have been tremendous improvements in public safety. Newark is on the rise, but there is still much need for continued work.

Mayor Cory Booker, since his election in 2006, has drawn national attention for his innovative and unrelenting approach to serving the city. The World Mayor Project ranked him the 7th best Mayor in the world last year, and he has brought tremendous philanthropy to the city, including the recent $100 million investment from Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg to aid education reform efforts.

The Mayor’s team is lean, fast, and passionate. The Health Policy Fellows will join the city team to lead health policy development. While it is difficult to comprehensively forecast upcoming priorities, the Health Policy Fellows will join the team to respond to upcoming challenges and opportunities around issues of:

  • Health care systems strengthening
  • Reducing health disparities
  • Integrating health into the vision of city revitalization

Position Overview: This fellow position is focused on creating policy recommendations for the city.  The fellow will interact with city and health officials of all levels.

 

Responsibilities:

  • Assist senior staff members in the Mayor’s Office and Department of Child and Family Well Being in analyzing policy options and developing strategies for achieving city goals
  • Compile, analyze and present data to senior officials for use in policy formulation
  • Collaborate with and attend bi-monthly meetings of Health Department’s Surveillance Group, which is chaired by the Assistant Dean of Medicine at UMDNJ and supported by the Health Department’s Epidemiologist
  • Review best practices from other similar urban areas
  • Provide a health perspective in development of other policies in Newark

Required Skills and Experience: N/A

 

Preferred Skills and Experience: Successful candidates will have:

  • Entrepreneurial drive
  • Exceptional work ethic and self-management skills
  • Ability to independently develop work streams and deliver results
  • Strong understanding of health care and health policy
  • Positive attitude and flexibility
  • Strong interpersonal and communication skills (oral and written)
  • Ability to work with the highest-level leaders paired with a willingness to perform unglamorous and difficult work
  • Experience working in an urban setting and/or government a plus

Living Conditions: Fellows will be provided with housing, health insurance and a living stipend of $750/month. Fellows will also receive an award of $1500 upon successful completion of the fellowship year.  Flights to and from the placement site and all other costs associated with GHC programming are included.