Health Care Advocate, OSPIRG

About the Job

OSPIRG seeks a Health Care Advocate to help lead our campaigns to make health care work better for Oregon consumers.

At OSPIRG we stand up to powerful interests whenever they threaten our health and safety, our financial security, or our right to fully participate in our democratic society. For more than 40 years, we’ve stood up for Oregon consumers, countering the influence of big banks, insurers, chemical manufacturers and other powerful special interests. We’re particularly proud of work we’ve done to help cut over $280 million in waste from health insurance premiums for Oregon consumers, protect Oregonians from surprise medical bills, and increase transparency and accountability for prescription drug price hikes.

Here are two of our top campaigns:

Reigning in the High Cost of Prescription Drugs: Rising prescription drug costs are a burden on all Oregonians through rising health insurance premiums, rising costs for Oregon businesses and a growing burden on state and federal budgets. We’re working to bring down those high costs by creating more transparency and holding the prescription drug industry accountable for unreasonable prices and unjustifiable price hikes. We’ve taken the first step by passing legislation to make drug companies explain their big price hikes publicly, but there’s much more work to do.

Health Insurance Rate Watch: OSPIRG watchdogs the health insurance industry on behalf of Oregon consumers and organizes the public to push back when health insurance premiums skyrocket. Since 2011 our scrutiny of rate hikes has helped cut over $280 million from premiums. We’re proud of these results, but when studies show that a third or more of every dollar we spend on health care is wasted on something that doesn’t improve our health, we know we’re far from finished.

Responsibilities

As the OSPIRG Health Care Advocate you’ll exercise independent judgment and discretion to develop policy solutions and implement a variety of campaign strategies to mobilize the public and influence insiders. Representative responsibilities include:

Program Development: Help develop programs and campaigns, including researching the issue, creating viable policy solutions, and proposing the right political strategy and messaging.

Advocacy: Represent OSPIRG in legislative meetings and hearings. Build relationships with players in key regulatory agencies, the Governor’s office, the Capitol and more.

Campaign Strategy: Develop plans to win our campaigns; assess opportunities for building political support for our agenda through coalition-building, grassroots organizing, media coverage, and message development.

Coalition Building: Build relationships and mobilize support with key constituencies, from health professionals, business owners, school board members and others.

Media Outreach: Serve as the spokesperson for our campaigns through tactics like media events, press releases and editorial board meetings.

Fundraising: Write grant proposals, build relationships with foundation staff, and meet with major donors, all to bring more resources to our campaigns.

Managing Interns: Recruit new interns and volunteers to increase our impact and build our power. Oversee interns to develop and implement work plans, provide training and leadership development opportunities.

Qualifications

We're looking for a goal-driven and results-oriented individual who is committed to the public interest — someone with leadership, initiative, and the verbal and written skills necessary to make the case that protecting consumer and advancing public health must be a top priority. Candidates should have at least 3 years of relevant professional experience, including (but not limited to) work in political, policy, legal, journalistic or government settings. Advanced degrees, including a J.D. or masters in related fields, may count toward a candidate's professional experience.