Data, Quality, and Research Specialist at Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program – Boston, Massachusetts

Who We Are
Since 1985, BHCHP’s mission has been to ensure unconditionally equitable and dignified access to the highest quality health care for all individuals and families experiencing homelessness in greater Boston. Over 10,000 homeless individuals are cared for by Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program each year. We are committed to ensuring that every one of these individuals has access to comprehensive health care, from preventative dental care to cancer treatment. Our clinicians, case managers, and behavioral health professionals work in more than 30 locations to serve some of our community’s most vulnerable—and most resilient—citizens.

From our earliest days as a program, we have always sought to do work that is transformational: recognizing our shared humanity; centering dignity, compassion, mutual respect and supporting the right of every individual to access the highest levels of health care and every staff member to reach their fullest potential. We continue to be committed to building bridges and breaking down barriers, including systemic racism which harms us all. We provide community-based health care services that are compassionate, dignified, and culturally appropriate, incorporating social determinants of health, with the goal of breaking down the physical and systemic barriers that our patients face.

Job Summary:
Hours: Full time; Monday – Friday 8:30am-5:00pm
Union: None
Union Name: None
Patient Facing: Yes

We are looking to hire a Data Specialist (DS) who will work closely with both the HIV Team and Hepatitis C Team across four distinct Department of Public Health (DPH)-funded initiatives to improve BHCHP’s capacity to respond to the hepatitis C, sexually transmitted infection (STI), drug overdose and HIV syndemic. The DS will support these efforts by ensuring excellent record-keeping, data management, reporting and basic analysis for both quality and panel management initiatives internal to BHCHP, as well as for grant reporting purposes.

In this role, you will focus on not only creating data systems but also maintaining and improving those systems, both on an individual patient- and population-level. As a member of a broader Clinical Quality Management Team, you will meet routinely with other team members to exchange information and participate in multidisciplinary team meetings and patient care plans. You will also share information across the program, including the Quality and Efficiency Committee and with external funders such as DPH and the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC), as well as at professional conferences and meetings.

The DS position requires the ability to perform routine data extraction, conduct basic statistical analyses, generate standard and ad hoc reports, and translate findings into clear, actionable insights for public health programs and stakeholders. Strong organizational and communication skills are also central to this role.

Responsibilities:
HCV Treatment team related duties:

• Responsible for the creation, submission, and maintenance of patient-level and aggregate reports for internal use and to external funding entities on a weekly and monthly basis; collaborate with and support other HCV team members to ensure efficient and accurate use of a Salesforce-based data management tool for a large volume of patients undergoing treatment for HCV
• Communicate with external payers when they seek treatment outcome data; collaboration on goal setting for HCV Team through annual plan and equity goal setting process
• Lead data sharing initiatives such as cascades of care and screening information to teams across the program; lead and facilitate research activities related to the HCV team

• Enter data from electronic health record into Careware data base on monthly basis for Active Retention in Care for Health (ARCH) program, an outreach social worker-based intervention to engage high risk homeless people living with HIV; build and maintain database of all ARCH patients for purposes of providing monthly reports, tracking outcomes and alerting staff when assessment updates are due.
• Support HIV Clinical Quality Management Team on ongoing quality improvement initiatives with internal data tracking, reporting and basic analysis; support team with HIV viral load suppression reporting to DPH monthly
• Support Ryan White reporting mechanisms such as the MAVEN portal to provide additional data support when necessary

• Submit all infectious disease reporting forms and communicate with Field Epidemiology Staff at DPH to obtain necessary sexually transmitted infection (STI) treatment histories; build data base and track all patients with positive HIV, HCV, or STI results to ensure appropriate linkage to care and treatment
• Respond flexibly to additional data asks requests from funders; ensure efficient and high-quality submission of prevention team related data and documentation to DPH

• Mentor relevant interns and junior investigators as needed and as relevant to team needs; support research and quality agendas of each team as needed, including broader HIV team needs by working in an integrated fashion with HIV Clinical Quality Management Team
• Lead and facilitate conference submissions and attendance as connected to DPH and BPHC-funded projects; in collaboration with the Quality and Efficiency Committee, serve as quality champion for goals relevant to HCV and HIV work at BHCHP by implementing creative and relevant quality improvement strategies
• Analyze and convey data to ensure equitable delivery of care in accordance with BHCHP and team-specific goals; attend team meetings as requested

• Master of Public Health (MPH) or equivalent Master-level degree
• Strong database management and analytical skills to support data-driven decision-making and program evaluation, including demonstrated proficiency managing, maintaining, and optimizing databases to ensure data integrity, accuracy, security, and accessibility; advanced ability to extract, clean, validate, and manage large datasets from multiple sources, including platforms such as Salesforce.
• Strong working knowledge of data management and analysis tools, including Microsoft Excel (e.g., pivot tables, advanced formulas, data visualization), Microsoft Access (e.g., relational database design, queries, reporting), and Stata for data cleaning, statistical analysis, and basic reporting; prior experience with medical record systems and quality reporting
• Comfort with public health concepts of harm reduction and drug user health, and basic knowledge of communicable diseases such as HIV, hepatitis C, and STIs; must be able to work cooperatively as a member of a multidisciplinary health care team
• Ability to deal with deadlines across multiple programs; must be self-motivated and work independently
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills; work effectively with a diverse staff and patient population
• Demonstrated interest in working with an under-served population; commitment to equitable and culturally appropriate care for a wide range of diverse populations, including communities of color, LGBTQIA communities, non-English speaking populations, people with substance use disorders and behavioral health challenges and people experiencing homelessness.

• The compensation increases based on years of experience and ranges from $68,460 - $109,536 annually.
• BHCHP full time employees are eligible for our competitive time off program, health, dental and vision insurance, 403B retirement savings plan, pre-tax MBTA pass program with 40% discount, additional compensation for demonstrated bilingual proficiency and more. Benefits are prorated for part-time employees.

Does this amazing opportunity interest you? Then we'd love to hear from you.

As an equal opportunity employer, Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified individuals and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age, marital status, veteran status, pregnancy, parental status, genetic information or characteristics, or any other basis prohibited by applicable law.

Covid-19 Vaccination: Proof of Covid-19 vaccination(s) is optional for employment. Candidates who are offered employment will be given details about how to demonstrate receipt of vaccination if they choose to.

Please Note: Employment at Boston Health Care for the Homeless is at-will. Boston Health Care for the Homeless does not sponsor work authorization visas.