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Partnership Manager, Clinical Placements & Rural Healthcare Workforce

Job description

Partnership Manager, Clinical Placements & Rural Healthcare Workforce

RI Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner seeks to hire a partnership manager, clinical placements & rural healthcare workforce, who will be responsible for developing, coordinating, and sustaining strategic partnerships between Rhode Island Nursing Education Center, institutions of higher education, healthcare organizations, rural healthcare providers, workforce organizations, and other community partners.

This position will serve as a primary liaison and relationship manager for the Rural Health Transformation Program and related clinical placement and workforce initiatives. The partnership manager will oversee the development and maintenance of clinical placement opportunities, support implementation and growth of a clinical placement registry, recruit and engage consortium members, coordinate partner onboarding, and facilitate communication among healthcare employers, academic institutions, students, and other stakeholders.

The position will play a key role in identifying workforce needs, expanding clinical education capacity, strengthening rural healthcare partnerships, and developing sustainable systems that support the education and placement of healthcare students throughout Rhode Island.

The partnership manager will work collaboratively with RI Nursing Education Center leadership and internal staff, higher education institutions, healthcare organizations, state agencies, workforce partners, and community organizations to ensure program goals, grant deliverables, and partnership activities are successfully achieved. 

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Partnership Development, Stakeholder Engagement & Workforce Initiatives

  • Develop and maintain strategic partnerships with rural healthcare providers, healthcare organizations, educational institutions, workforce organizations, and community partners to expand clinical education and workforce development opportunities
  • Serve as the primary liaison and relationship manager for assigned healthcare, academic, and community partners, maintaining regular communication and addressing partnership needs, challenges, and opportunities
  • Recruit, onboard, and engage consortium members, including healthcare organizations, educational institutions, workforce partners, and community stakeholders, while coordinating meetings, workgroups, communications, and follow-up activities
  • Lead communication and outreach activities, including partner meetings, presentations, site visits, informational sessions, community events, and professional activities that promote RINEC programs and strengthen stakeholder engagement
  • Coordinate partner onboarding and compliance, including required documentation, organizational requirements, affiliation agreements, memoranda of understanding (MOUs), renewals, and other partnership-related agreements
  • Identify healthcare workforce needs and develop new initiatives in collaboration with RI Nursing Education Center leadership and partners, including opportunities to expand clinical education capacity, workforce training, and rural healthcare pipelines

Clinical Placement Coordination

  • Coordinate clinical placement opportunities by facilitating communication between academic programs and healthcare organizations regarding student needs, placement capacity, schedules, requirements, and expectations
  • Manage and support the clinical placement registry, ensuring accurate and timely information regarding student demand, organizational capacity, placements, requirements, and outcomes
  • Identify and address barriers to clinical placement, working collaboratively with academic and healthcare partners to improve placement availability, efficiency, communication, and overall experience

Data, Reporting & Grant Support

  • Collect, manage, and analyze program data related to partnerships, clinical placements, consortium participation, workforce needs, and program outcomes to support evaluation and continuous improvement
  • Support grant management and reporting, including tracking goals, objectives, milestones, performance measures, deliverables, and documentation required for the Rural Health Transformation Program and other funding initiatives

Operations & Administrative Support

  • Maintain organized operational systems and records, including databases, tracking tools, calendars, reports, and project documentation, while managing multiple priorities and supporting the overall goals and activities of RI Nursing Education Center
  • Maintain an agenda of concerns that can be presented to both the director and staff to ensure timely management of the issue
  • Handle information of a sensitive and confidential nature

Other Duties

Perform other duties as assigned in support of RI Nursing Education Center operations and institutional goals

Qualifications

Required

Education: Bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration, education, public health, business administration, nursing, workforce development, social sciences, or a related field

Experience

  • Minimum of three years of professional experience in healthcare, higher education, workforce development, clinical education, project coordination, partnership development, or a related field
  • Experience working with multiple organizations, institutions, or community stakeholders
  • Experience coordinating projects, programs, partnerships, or similar initiatives
  • Experience maintaining databases, tracking systems, or program documentation
  • Experience working in a culturally diverse environment
  • Experience establishing and maintaining strong professional relationships with diverse stakeholders

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

  • Excellent written, verbal, interpersonal, and presentation skills
  • Strong organizational and project management skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines
  • Strong attention to detail and ability to maintain accurate records
  • Ability to independently manage projects while also working effectively as part of a multidisciplinary team
  • Strong problem-solving, critical-thinking, and decision-making skills
  • Proficiency with Microsoft 365, including Outlook, Word, Excel, Teams, SharePoint, and related applications
  • Ability to develop and maintain spreadsheets, databases, tracking systems, and reports
  • Familiarity with online survey, registration, scheduling, and data collection tools
  • Ability to analyze program data and communicate findings to diverse audiences
  • Ability to communicate professionally with healthcare executives, educators, faculty, students, community partners, and state and local stakeholders
  • Cultural competence and ability to work effectively with diverse populations and organizations
  • Ability to maintain confidentiality and handle sensitive organizational and student information appropriately
  • Ability to work independently and exercise sound judgment
  • Ability to travel throughout Rhode Island to healthcare organizations, educational institutions, and community partner locations.
  • Ability to work occasional evenings or early mornings to accommodate partner meetings and events
  • Ability to travel throughout the state as needed to perform job duties, including access to reliable transportation

Preferred

  • Master’s degree in a related field
  • Experience working in healthcare, higher education, or workforce development environments

Environmental Conditions

This position is primarily performed in a professional office and educational environment but requires regular travel to healthcare organizations, educational institutions, community organizations, and other partner locations throughout Rhode Island.

All requirements are subject to possible modification to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities.

This position is limited to December 31, 2027 with anticipated renewal based on funding. This is a non-union, non-classified, full-time position with a pay grade of 10 and a starting salary range of $70,000 – $75,000 commensurate with qualifications and experience. This position is an exempt, 35-hours/week position which may involve non-standard hours as required.

This role reports to the director of RI Nursing Education Center and supervises a part-time clinical placement & partnership coordinator at RI Nursing Education Center.

This position is full-time and is funded through the Rural Health Transformation Program, subject to the availability of grant funding and applicable program requirements.

The Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) is supported by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to improve the health and healthcare services of rural Rhode Islanders. Rhode Island is working towards a connected, community-based system that ensures every rural resident has timely, coordinated, high-quality care where they live. This program will build lasting infrastructure that empowers communities to lead their own health transformation.

Stevens Amendment: This project is supported by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $156,169,931.19 with 100 percent funded by CMS/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by, CMS/HHS or the U.S. Government.

This posting will remain open until the position is filled. Applications received by October 19, 2026 will receive first consideration. Applications received after October 19, 2026 may be reviewed depending on the status of the search process.

Application

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All requirements are subject to possible modification to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities. 

It is the belief and the policy of the State of Rhode Island that the race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, handicap/disability, age (subject to certain limitations established by law) or veteran status of an individual should neither serve as a barrier to his or her equal opportunity for employment nor be the basis of harassment in the workplace. The Rhode Island Council on Postsecondary Education fully endorses this basic policy of nondiscrimination.

As a state employer, Rhode Island Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner (OPC) must follow government recordkeeping and reporting requirements related to civil rights laws. To meet these obligations, we ask applicants to complete a form and volunteer information about their race, ethnicity, sex, veteran status, and disability status.

Providing this information is completely optional. It is kept strictly confidential and is never shared with the hiring committee or used in hiring decisions. Only the human resources staff who prepare OPC’s non‑discrimination plan will have access to this data. Their sole purpose in reviewing it is to ensure that OPC meets state and federal reporting requirements.

We share this to help applicants feel comfortable knowing why the information is requested, how it is used, and who can access it.

Ethnicity
Definitions are available in the descriptions to the right.
  1. Black or African American (not Hispanic or Latino) — A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. 
  2. Hispanic or Latino — A person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race. 
  3. American Indian/Alaskan Native (not Hispanic or Latino) — A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North America and South America (including Central America), and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment.
  4. Asian (not Hispanic or Latino) — A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asian, or the Indian subcontinent including for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam. 
  5. White (not Hispanic or Latino) — A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, North Africa, or the Middle East. 
  6. Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander (not Hispanic or Latino) — A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.
  7. Two or More Races — A person who primarily identifies with two or more of the above race/ethnicity categories. 
Sex
Disability Status
Definition is available in the description to the right.

An individual with a disability is a person who:

  • Has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.
    • Major life activities include, but are not limited to, caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating and working. A major life activity also includes the operation of a major bodily function, including, but not limited to, functions of the immune system, normal cell growth, digestive, bowel, bladder, neurological, brain, respiratory, circulatory, endocrine, and reproductive functions.
  • Has a history of such an impairment; or
  • Is regarded as having such an impairment.
  • The belief on the part of others that a person has such a disability.
Veterans
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You must check the disclosure box before hitting the submit box. It may take a few minutes for your application to complete. When it does, you will receive a message in a green box. Please wait for the “form successfully submitted’ message and do not repeatedly hit the submit button.

All requirements are subject to possible modification to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities. 

It is the belief and the policy of the State of Rhode Island that the race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, handicap/disability, age (subject to certain limitations established by law) or veteran status of an individual should neither serve as a barrier to his or her equal opportunity for employment nor be the basis of harassment in the workplace. The Rhode Island Council on Postsecondary Education fully endorses this basic policy of nondiscrimination.

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