Community Health Nurse Navigator

About The Job

The Community Health Nurse Navigator (CHN) provides clinical and public health nursing expertise to support community-based cancer screening, navigation, education, care coordination, and quality improvement initiatives across Minnesota communities. This position blends community-based nursing practice, patient navigation, population health, and systems-level quality improvement to strengthen equitable access to cancer screening and follow-up care. The CHN will initially focus on supporting the Mobile Colorectal Cancer Community Screening Program through screening eligibility assessment, clinical consultation, results communication, triage, and care coordination for individuals receiving colorectal cancer (CRC) screening services in community settings. As the program expands, this role will support additional evidence-based community cancer screening initiatives, including breast, cervical, lung, prostate, liver, and other preventive health screening efforts. In partnership with Masonic Cancer Center (MCC) leadership and community partners, the CHN will help build scalable community-based screening and navigation infrastructure that improves screening completion across diverse populations. In addition, this role will partner with primary care clinics and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) to support improvements in cancer screening quality metrics, referral pathways, follow-up systems, and equitable access to care. This is a field-forward public health nursing role. The CHN will regularly attend community outreach and mobile screening events, travel locally and regionally across Minnesota, and conduct on-site visits to clinics and community partners.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain collaborative relationships with community-based organizations and outreach partners supporting cancer prevention initiatives.
• Regularly attend and provide clinical oversight at mobile screening events and community outreach activities, including occasional evenings and weekends.
• Conduct on-site visits to partner clinics and FQHCs across Minnesota to support cancer screening initiatives.
• Deliver culturally responsive health education related to cancer prevention, screening, and follow-up care.
• Provide real-time clinical consultation during screening events.
• Ensure adherence to public health nursing standards, standing orders, and scope of practice in community-based settings.
• Support culturally responsive and trauma-informed engagement strategies.
• Conduct screening eligibility assessments using current evidence-based screening guidelines.
• Review participant health histories to determine appropriate screening pathways and referral needs.
• Provide clinical consultation regarding high-risk findings, abnormal results, and escalation needs.
• Aid in the development and maintenance of clinical workflows, standing protocols, and navigation processes in collaboration with physician leadership.
• Maintain accuracy and timeliness of documentation of clinical interactions, referrals, and follow-up activities.
• Track screening completion, referral outcomes, navigation metrics, and quality improvement indicators.
• Assist with identifying funding opportunities and contributing to grant writing, proposal development, and grant-related reporting to support program sustainability and expansion.
• Support development of training materials, workflows, documentation templates, and navigation protocols.
• Participate in internal team meetings, planning efforts, and program development activities.
• Contribute to program evaluation, scholarship, and continuous quality improvement initiatives.
• Serve as a resource on screening navigation, care coordination, and equitable access strategies.
• Collaborate with primary care clinics and FQHCs to support improvements in cancer screening quality metrics and follow-up systems.
• Assist clinic teams in identifying workflow gaps related to screening eligibility, referrals, documentation, patient outreach, and follow-up processes.
• Support implementation of systems-level improvements to increase screening rates and reduce loss to follow-up.
• Collaborate with clinic leadership and partners to review screening and follow-up data and identify disparities and opportunities for improvement.
• Provide education on evidence-based screening guidelines and best practices for healthcare providers, staff, Community Health Workers, and community members.
• Partner with Masonic Cancer Center (MCC) leadership and community partners to build scalable community-based screening and navigation infrastructure.
• Support expansion of community-based cancer screening and navigation initiatives across additional cancer types.

Qualifications

• Current licensure as a Registered Nurse (RN) in the State of Minnesota.
• Bachelor’s degree in Nursing with at least two years of experience or a combination of related education and work experience to equal at least six years.
• Experience in public health, community health, oncology, primary care, or patient navigation.
• Experience working with underserved populations experiencing healthcare access barriers.
• Experience coordinating care or referrals across healthcare systems.
• Proficiency in electronic health records and data tracking systems.
• Valid driver’s license and ability to travel regionally across Minnesota.
• Willingness to work occasional evenings and weekends to support community-based events.

About The Department

The Masonic Cancer Center (MCC) is an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center dedicated to cancer research, education, and patient care for the citizens of Minnesota and the surrounding region. Since the time of the first award in 1997, there has been consistent growth of the membership and research base, enabling our center to further advance our knowledge and enhance care for our catchment area. We are driven to be the choice academic healthcare environment for patients, clinicians, scientists and students who seek exceptional, compassionate, precision cancer therapy; innovative clinical trials and prevention programs; cutting-edge research opportunities; and outstanding advanced education.

Pay And Benefits

Pay Range: $75,000 - $95,000; depending on education/qualifications/experience
Time Appointment: 100% Appointment
Position Type: Civil-Service & Non-Faculty Labor Represented Staff
Please visit the Office of Human Resources website for more information regarding benefit eligibility.

How To Apply

Applications must be submitted online. To be considered for this position, please click the Apply button and follow the instructions. You will be given the opportunity to complete an online application for the position and attach a cover letter and resume. Additional documents may be attached after application by accessing your "My Job Applications" page and uploading documents in the "My Cover Letters and Attachments" section. To request an accommodation during the application process, please e-mail employ@umn.edu or call (612) 624-8647.