Policy and Strategy Specialist

The Center for Behavioral Health & Wellness "The Center," established in 2022 at the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC), was created in response to the growing need for evidence-based, effective, and meaningful behavioral health resources. The Center aims to promote and coordinate behavioral health and wellness programming across Boston. Envisioning a community where all can achieve their ideal behavioral health and wellness, through just, trauma-informed, and intersectional approaches. The Center focuses on reducing behavioral health inequities by addressing barriers that impede this vision.

Position Overview

The Policy and Strategy Specialist will support the Center in setting and advancing a behavioral health policy agenda for the City of Boston. This position plays a critical role in identifying and addressing systemic drivers of behavioral health inequities--through interdepartmental behavioral collaboration, strategic policy development, and community-driven planning.

The Policy and Strategy Specialist is responsible for building partnerships to align policy work between the Center and BPCH, the Center and key City Departments, and key stakeholders within the city. They will work to produce policy guidance and external materials that advance citywide behavioral health transformation.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Planning & Policy Development

• Assist with the creation of a strategic planning processes for the Center, informed by City Departments and partners, in alignment with BPHC Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) and other citywide behavioral health priorities, particularly those that respond to structural determinants such as housing, policing, community safety, education, and economic inequity.
• Research and develop policy options, white papers, and briefings on local, state, and national behavioral health trends and legislation relevant to the Center's work, BPHC's Live Long and Well Agenda, CHNA and other key initiatives.
• Serve as a key advisor to the Center on behavioral health, behavioral health equity, social determinants of behavioral health and trauma-informed and/or healing centered public behavioral health systems and models.
• Co-develop policies and guidance with internal and external partners that support community-based, culturally rooted, non-clinical, task sharing and restorative responses to behavioral health crises as well as evidence based clinical, medical and other public behavioral health approaches.
• Monitor and synthesize emerging practices in trauma-informed governance, community healing, and racial justice-oriented behavioral health approaches.

Interagency and Systems-Level Coordination

• Support alignment of behavioral health strategies across BPHC and City departments to ensure a coordinated and equity-driven approach to public behavioral health.
• Support and advance coalition, committees and other key de-siloing initiatives to integrate behavioral health crisis response systems, align behavioral health work across Boston and work to increase information sharing and de-siloing of behavioral health work overall.
• Participate in cross-departmental behavioral workgroups to integrate behavioral health policy into public safety, housing, education, youth development, and workforce efforts.
• Represent BPHC in key citywide coalitions and task forces, including the Behavioral Health Crisis Responders Collaborative and youth behavioral health policy agendas, committees and initiatives.

Policy Translation

• Lead short- and long-term policy related research, including analysis of available behavioral health-related funding, landscape analysis on current or forming behavioral health policy coalitions or committees, informing the Center on SDOH, SDOMH and behavioral health equity indicators, and more.
• Maintain inventory of Boston MH related programs and services as related to the Boston landscape, utilizing key data sources such as the BPHC Health of Boston (HoB) data reports and more.
• Conduct literature reviews and policy analysis and secondary data reviews to guide program best practices and program planning in Boston
• Review and draft internal and external memos, reports and data reports including for and in tandem with HoB, BPHC Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) and BPHC Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) reports and the like.
• Maintain inventory of Boston mental health--related programs and services as related to the local landscape, utilizing key data sources including HOB data reports and other relevant city and community-based datasets.
• Conduct literature reviews, policy analyses, and secondary data reviews to inform best practices and program planning for behavioral health initiatives in Boston.
• Design tools, infographics, policy briefs, and communication materials that distill complex policy or program information for public, policy, and community stakeholders.
• Translate research and data into actionable policy recommendations that reflect the lived experience of Boston's communities and promote equity-centered behavioral health agendas, strategy and solutions.
• Collaborate with evaluation teams and academic partners to ensure programs are producing evidence to inform future policy and funding decisions.

Community Accountability & Engagement

• Research and propose models for engagement with community stakeholders and people with lived experience in understanding the Center's policy priorities, current and past programming and future initiatives.
• Research and propose models for accountability mechanisms (e.g., advisory boards, community listening sessions, report cards) to ensure community input informs Center strategic planning efforts and ongoing programming and policy initiatives.
• Attend and support and assist in planning for community events, community forums and/or policy roundtables focused on behavioral health outreach, education and/or equity.

Funding Strategy and Advocacy Support

• Contribute to the development of funding proposals that align with The Center's strategic vision and policy goals.
• Draft memos and talking points for the Center and BPHC leadership including, but not limited to, the Chief Behavioral Health Officer of the City of Boston, the Center Director and the Center Program Manager to support budget advocacy and programing, both current, and program expansion.
• Analyze behavioral health funding streams and propose mechanisms to sustainably fund and scale equity-centered public behavioral health interventions.
• Master's degree in public health, Social Work, Public Policy, Psychology, or related field, or Bachelor's degree with at least 2 years of directly relevant experience.
• Experience with systems-level behavioral health policy, public health planning, or social justice advocacy.
• Deep knowledge of behavioral health, substance use, and trauma-informed approaches, especially in the context of racial and social determinants of health.
• Demonstrated ability to write clearly, translate data and policy into community-accessible formats, and produce communications for diverse audiences.
• Strong facilitation, coalition-building, and stakeholder engagement skills across sectors and with racially and culturally diverse groups.
• Ability to manage multiple projects with competing timelines and adapt to changing political and social conditions.
• Flexible and able to work in a dynamic environment.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working with local or state governments, community-based organizations, and residents most impacted by behavioral health inequities.
• Familiarity with Boston's neighborhoods, institutions, and public health landscape.
• Experience working within or alongside government agencies to advance anti-racist public health systems.
• Bilingual or multilingual skills a plus.
• Experience conducting trauma-informed and healing-centered policy or community work.