Compass

The University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center (UNMCCC) is seeking a Senior Program Manager for its Office of Community Outreach and Engagement (COE).

Job overview: This position will provide administrative oversight of daily activities for the Office of COE, as well as implementation of activities to ensure alignment with the UNMCCC strategic plan. The Senior Program Manager will work with the Associate Director of COE and UNMCCC faculty and affiliated staff to ensure implementation success in all mission areas.

Office of Community Outreach and Engagement Overview: Community outreach and engagement (COE) is a fundamental activity of National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Cancer Centers, including UNMCCC.  COE spans all aspects of the UNMCCCs' programs, including basic, clinical, translational, and population-based research. COE works with community partners to identify community cancer-related needs (i.e., "outreach"), communicate those needs across the Center's leadership and research programs (i.e., "in-reach"), and expands conduct activities of special relevance to the Cancer Center's geographic catchment area population, the State of New Mexico. COE strategic priorities and resources include: 1) address and serve the state's multiethnic and geographically dispersed populations, each with their different patterns of cancer incidence and mortality; 2) identify cancer health priorities among New Mexico communities by building trusting relationships with key stakeholder partners; 3) facilitate research across all UNMCCC Research Programs to address catchment area needs; and 4) through community-based education and partnerships, disseminate strategies that reduce the cancer burden in the state of New Mexico.

The COE maintains an active Community Advisory Board, consisting of up to 15 statewide members who meet on a quarterly basis to review and guide all mission areas. COE also features two integrated components led by Assistant Directors, including: 1) a cancer data monitoring program that ensures access to patterns of cancer incidence, mortality and different outcomes, and 2) a community-based patient navigation program that addresses access to care challenges and supports cancer patients through screening, treatment and survivorship stages. Lastly, the COE has extensive partnerships with health system and community-based organizations that enable presentations and information sharing about cancer health issues. UNMCCC COE staff support the above activities; the Senior Program Manager coordinates activities across staff to ensure continued alignment with UNMCCC strategic priorities, and identifies opportunities to engage in novel activities to address gaps.

Team culture: The UNMCCC and COE is committed to addressing issues of cancer health that impact all communities in NM. We work hard to create an environment that values collaboration, mutual respect and an opportunity for all team members to share their experiences and perspectives. The Senior Program Manager will contribute to shaping this team culture and will work with COE components, staff, UNMCCC leadership, and community partners, including the Community Advisory Board, to maintain and enhance a shared vision.  

Senior Program Manager Duties & Responsibilities: The Senior Program Manager is an essential position in the COE Office. As the lead administrator, they will oversee fiscal and programmatic functions, supervise staff, and coordinate interactions with UNMCCC leadership and components as well as community partners.
Duties and Responsibilities include:

1.      With support from the COE Associate Director and Assistant Directors, collaboratively establishes and implements objectives and activities of the Office in alignment with the mission of the Cancer Center;

2.      Oversees and implements systems to collect, track and evaluate programmatic efforts; develops and contributes to reports and other required summaries;

3.      Directs, manages and guides daily administrative components of the COE Office, including processes to recruit, train, supervise and evaluate program staff;

4.      Manages the Community Advisory Board by maintaining regular communication, meeting planning, continuous engagement, recruitment of new members, creating summary reports and distributing updates to the UNMCCC;

5.      Represents the COE Office in various community events, including establishing and maintaining partnerships to advance goals of cancer health consistent with UNMCCC priority areas;

6.      Support COE staff in their efforts to provide community education and general outreach activities; this may include ensuring that such events are aligned with UNMCCC mission areas and leading administrative planning;

7.      Develop and manage annual budgets in coordination with the CCRA Director of Research Administration; may include creating contract and other purchasing processes related to conduct of COE activities;

8.      Communicates with COE stakeholders through the use of websites, social media and other approaches to distribute regular updates to community partners;

9.      Performs miscellaneous job-related duties as assigned.

The University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center is the Official Cancer Center of New Mexico and the only National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center in a 500-mile radius. Its 136 board-certified oncology specialty physicians include cancer surgeons in every specialty (abdominal, thoracic, bone and soft tissue, neurosurgery, genitourinary, gynecology, and head and neck cancers), adult and pediatric hematologists/medical oncologists, gynecologic oncologists, and radiation oncologists. They, along with more than 600 other cancer healthcare professionals (nurses, pharmacists, nutritionists, navigators, psychologists and social workers), provide treatment to 65% of New Mexico's cancer patients from all across the state. And they partner with community health systems statewide to provide cancer care closer to home. In 2024 they treated more than 15,000 patients in almost 105,000 ambulatory clinic visits in addition to in-patient hospitalizations at UNM Hospital. A total of 2,075 patients participated in cancer clinical trials to study new cancer treatments that include tests of novel cancer prevention strategies and cancer genome sequencing. The more than 123 cancer research scientists affiliated with the UNM Cancer Center were awarded 38.3 million in federal and private grants and contracts for cancer research projects. Since 2015, the physicians, scientists and staff have provided education and training experiences to more than 750 high school, undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral fellowship students in cancer research and cancer health care delivery.

Website: unmhealth.org/cancer