Fellow, Fitness Evaluation Practicum (Paid)
Position Title: Fellow, Fitness Evaluation Practicum
Location: Washington, DC or Remote
Department: Health
Reports to: Director, Fitness and Health Research
Organization Summary
Special Olympics Health, made possible by the Golisano Foundation, and in the United States in collaboration with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is creating a world where people with intellectual disabilities have every opportunity to be healthy.
Fitness is an important aspect of the Special Olympics (SO) mission. Physical activity, adequate nutrition and hydration enhance athletes’ sports performance and improve health and overall quality of life. Special Olympics supports a variety of programs to engage athletes and their families, caregivers, and friends in year-round fitness, including Unified Fitness Clubs, Fit Families and Friends, and SOfit.
Special Olympics is interested in evaluating the effectiveness of fitness programming--not only to affirm programs work, but also to provide objective data that can provide support for expansion.
Job Summary
The Fitness Evaluation Practicum Fellow will support the Special Olympics International research and evaluation and fitness teams in the evaluation of SO fitness programming. This role will support SO state Programs in the evaluation of their fitness programming, the development of assessment tools, coordination of feasibility studies, analyses of existing data, and the creation of manuscripts/reports to disseminate fitness evaluations. The fellow will perform a combination of the primary responsibilities described below.
Primary Responsibilities
- Multiple US-based SO Programs have expressed interest in fitness evaluation for the coming year. The practicum fellow will support SO Programs to develop a data collection approach for evaluation.
- Update and develop fitness evaluation tools to support the Fitness Implementation Guide and SOI fitness resource page.
- Support the coordination of feasibility studies to assess a Health and Fitness Battery for Youth.
- Assist with the refinement of existing survey tools and creating plain language instructions for implementation.
- Assist in the creation of manuscript(s) that evaluate SO Fitness Programming
- Other duties as assigned.
Required Qualifications
- Currently enrolled in an accredited university and pursuing a Master’s or Doctorate degree in adapted physical activity, kinesiology, public health, epidemiology, or related field.
- Effective written communication
- Strong attention to detail, along with skills in organization, time management and prioritization.
- Good interpersonal skills and ability to work effectively in a team environment as well as independently with minimal supervision.
Desired Qualifications
- Prior experience or background knowledge in Special Olympics and/or a passion for working with individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities.
- Previous record of academic publications.
- Experience with data software and analyses.
Work Schedule:
The practicum fellow will work 10-20 hours per week (up to 500 total hours) between August 15, 2023- July 31, 2024. Time frames to be mutually agreed upon between fellow and supervisor. It is expected that the fellow will record hours in weekly timesheets.
Special Olympics provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.
This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.