Postgraduate Opportunities

Community Health Worker (CHW) Program Assistant with Partners In Health

 

Compañeros en Salud (CES) offers a graduating senior of the University of Notre Dame an opportunity to work as a Community Health Worker (CHW) Programs Assistant for one-year in Chiapas, Mexico. 

 

 

This program will not run in 2025.

 

Opportunity to work in Chiapas, Mexico as a Community Health Program Assistant with the Partners In Health organization, Compañeros en Salud

Compañeros en Salud (CES)  is offering a graduating senior of the University of Notre Dame an opportunity to work as a Community Health Worker Program Assistant for one-year (June 2024 to May 2025) in Chiapas, Mexico. The Kellogg Institute for International Studies at Notre Dame is supporting this position that is part of a broader research and collaborative partnership between the Kellogg Institute and Partners In Health/CES. 

Compañeros En Salud & Partners in Health:

Partners In Health (PIH) is an international health organization relentlessly committed to improving the health of the poor and marginalized. PIH partners with governments to build local capacity and works closely with impoverished communities to deliver high-quality health care, address the root causes of illness, train providers, advance research, and advocate for global policy change. The organization originally developed as a community health project in Haiti and has since expanded to several countries around the world, including Mexico. Since 2011, Compañeros En Salud (CES), Partners In Health in Mexico, has operated as a non-governmental organization that collaborates with the local Ministry of Health to strengthen healthcare delivery in the state of Chaipas, Mexico. Chiapas, bordering Guatemala, is the poorest state in Mexico.

To achieve comprehensive healthcare delivery, CES provides follow-up care for non-communicable diseases and maternal health patients with acompañantes (community health workers). Acompañantes care for members of their own community who have complex medical and social situations; the impact of their work on their own mental health – both its emotional burden and its therapeutic role – was highlighted in a CES quality improvement project to inform the creation of a comprehensive mental health pathway to care for the acompañantes. Programmatic changes suggestions done by current acompañantes are being taken into consideration to allow wellness and professional growth opportunities for the whole team.

Position mission:

Community Health Workers (CHW) and CHW supervisors play an important role in the care of non-communicable diseases (NCD) and maternal health patients as they deliver regular home visits for close follow up. The patients and social context with which CHWs works can often have an impact on the mental health of the CHW team.  We hope to have this position work to enhance and implement strategies that can help in building wellness skills among CHWs as well as strengthening the supervision and mentorship that can be offered to them. This program assistant role is focused on delivering these strategies to the whole CHW and CHW supervisors’ team.

Organizational profile

PIH currently has implementation programs in Haiti, Rwanda, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Peru, Mexico, Russia, Sierra Leone and Navajo Nation. Through our partnership with Harvard Medical School and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, we support a wide range of programs in dozens of other countries around the world.

Partners In Health (PIH) is committed to the fundamental principle of equal opportunity and equal treatment for every prospective and current employee. It is the policy of PIH not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, age, religion, creed, disability, sex and gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state or local law.  PIH works in and with a number of governments in and outside the U.S., and to the extent applicable, this statement is intended to incorporate the prohibition of any unlawful discrimination covered by applicable laws in such countries, states and municipalities


Terms of Fellowship

The fellowship is for an unpaid volunteer position with Companeros En Salud. The  Fellowship Program term typically will start in June 2024 and conclude in May of 2025. Kellogg will provide a plane ticket for your round trip to Mexico. In addition, Kellogg will pay for all of the vaccinations you will need to enter Mexico. Kellogg will provide  a stipend in the total amount of $10,000 to help defray your lodging, food and living expenses as well as health insurance and evacuation coverage (GeoBlue). 

Steve Reifenberg, sreifenb@nd.edu, Senior Strategic Advisor of the Kellogg Institute and Teaching Professor of the Keough School of Global Affairs, is a member of the PIH board of trustees and is the liaison with CES. 

Click here to read about the program and the past Notre Dame community health workers.

 

Specific Responsibilities
  • Wellbeing skills development for both CHW teams and CHW supervisors
    45% approximate of work time  
    • Review the wellbeing development curricula and work plan and determine (supported by the CHW supervision and coordination) if there should be any modification prior to its implementation
    • Deliver the curricula in a timely manner with every CHW team according to the work plan
    • Organize the materials and plan the logistics for each wellbeing activity
    • Inform of the wellbeing activities to the CHW supervision team and if their assistance/support will be necessary so adequate planning can occur  
    • Review most recent evaluations for CHWs and determine who someone who should be prioritized
  • Supervision and leadership skills enhancement
    40% approximate of work time
    • Review the supervision enhancement curricula and work plan and determine (supported by the CHW coordination) if there should be any modification prior to its implementation
    • Perform an ongoing literature review of CHW programs publications from other PIH sites and/or organizations to determine the pieces of information more relevant to our context to be shared with the CHW supervisors
      • If publications are found only in English, translations of them will be required as none of the CHW supervisors speak English
    • Incorporate said publication discussions to the already existing curricula
      • Summarize important points in a presentation to be shared with CHW supervisors
    • In partnership with others, deliver the curricula in a timely manner with every CHW supervisor according to the work plan (most likely a monthly)
  • General assistance according to program’s current needs
    15% approximate of work time
    • Depending on the work load, activities and needs, the responsibilities can adapt according to the specific projects conferred by the immediate leader
    • Support the supervision team in practical sessions, for example, inr the use of Microsoft Office package  
Qualifications
  • Education
    • Candidates need to have successfully completed their undergraduate Notre Dame degree by May 2024 (before they begin the fellowship).They need to have familiarity with the work of Partners in Health, and ideally have some kind of experience with teaching, training and/or mentoring.
  • Experience 
    • Experience in a low-resource or rural setting or with wilderness activities strongly preferred
    • Experience and passion for teaching and working on health and/or leadership education lesson plans
    • Experience in popular education is strongly preferred
  • Technical skills
    • Spanish fluency or high proficiency
    • Fluency/proficiency in Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Google Workspace
  • Competencies 
    • Resilience, flexibility with changing work schedules and living conditions
    • Strong interpersonal skills, outgoing personality
    • Ability to problem-solve as part of a team and work with limited resources
    • Proactive and collaborative work style
    • Well-developed organizational skills

Application

To apply to work as a Community Health Worker (CHW) Program Assistant with the Compañeros en Salud, please complete the application by TBD.

A complete application will consist of the following uploaded through the online application system:

  • Two essays (see kellogg.nd.edu/accompaniment for background information)
    • Essay one: Describe your professional and personal goals. Please label page with essay question and name. (Limit to one page, text 12pt.)
    • Essay two: Describe how your most relevant academic, extracurricular, volunteer, internship, and/or professional experiences will help you contribute to Compañeros En Salud. Given the specific approach to development of Compañeros En Salud, why are you a good fit with this organization? Be specific. (Limit to two pages, text 12pt.)
  • Résumé
    A résumé with details on relevant international experience and previous experience with government, health, community organizations, or volunteer agencies
  • One letter of recommendation 
    The system will ask for the name and email address of the person whom you have asked to write a letter of recommendation. The recommender will receive an email link to submit their letter. Please request your letter from your faculty recommender several weeks ahead of the deadline.

Personal interviews will be required of applicants who are selected as finalists.