Evaluation Coordinator (New Mexico)

Position Title: Evaluation Coordinator

Location: New Mexico

Department: Research and Evaluation

Reports to (supervisor): Vice President, Health Research & Evaluation 

Salary Range for US Based Staff: $55,463 - $65,250

FLSA Status: Exempt 

 

Organization Summary:

Founded in 1968, Special Olympics is a global movement to end discrimination against people with intellectual disabilities. We foster acceptance of all people through the power of sport and programming in education, health, and leadership. With nearly four million athletes and Unified Sports® partners and one million coaches and volunteers in more than 170 countries, Special Olympics delivers more than 30 Olympic-type sports and nearly 50,000 games and competitions every year. Learn more at SpecialOlympics.org. 

 

Position Summary:

Special Olympics is excited to announce a search for additional innovative and collaborative evaluation coordinators who have the goal of making a significant difference for one of the world’s most marginalized populations - those with intellectual disabilities. Special Olympics Inc. is an international non-governmental organization serving over 3 million people with intellectual disabilities across 200 countries. Best known for its engagement around sports, Special Olympics promotes a myriad of health services and activities and houses the largest global database of health screenings of people with intellectual disabilities. The Special Olympics Health strategy is supported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Golisano Foundation and directed towards promoting equity and reducing health disparities through four strategic activities:

• Preventive care services, including early intervention for those under 8 years of age, fitness programs and public health promotion activities;
• Assessment services, directed at preventive health screenings and early detection of the most common conditions for people with intellectual disabilities and developing person-centered care coordination and connections to reduce those conditions;
• Education and training services, to engage the health care workforce using evidence-based learning activities that employ virtual and hands-on interactions to improve quality of care; and
• Promoting health systems reform through partnerships with providers and government organizations and promoting strong self-advocacy.

 

The Inclusive Health Longitudinal Evaluation is a new initiative under the 1st strategic pillar of prevention. Our understanding of the health status of Special Olympics athletes and the impact of their participation in Special Olympics Sport and Health programming is incomplete. Our knowledge is largely based on evidence that comes from studies that observe individuals at a single point in time, rather than following them over an extended period of time. To gain a better understanding of the impact of these activities over time, Special Olympics is implementing a longitudinal evaluation with four Special Olympics State Programs to capture changes in the physical, mental, and social-emotional well-being of athletes throughout their lifetimes.  

 

The Evaluation Coordinator will be embedded with the Special Olympics State Program as their primary work location to interact with State Program staff and local coaches, athletes, families and program administrators. The Evaluation Coordinators will serve as the project liaison on behalf of the Special Olympics Health Research and Evaluation team and participate in the Community of Practice to develop best practices among the participating Programs.

 

 

Primary Responsibilities:

Longitudinal Evaluation (80%). The evaluation coordinator will guide implementation of the evaluation protocol in collaboration with SO Program staff and local program staff/volunteers/coaches. This will include the following activities: 

• Participate in standardized training on the longitudinal evaluation protocol and implementation approach.  
• Complete CITI Program training in human subject research and perform informed consent, data collection, and data management best practices to safeguard the privacy of participants. 
• Participate in planning and training calls with the SOI Health Research and Evaluation team, occurring on a weekly basis. 
• Meet regularly with the state SO Program Health team to discuss the project and the most feasible way to recruit and retain athletes for the evaluation.  
• Recruit athletes to participate in the longitudinal evaluation. 
• Collect health-related fitness data, physical assessment, and survey