Community Health Specialist I

Job Announcement

Are you looking for a meaningful career where you can make a lasting impact in your community? Join the Fairfax County Health Department, the largest public health department in Virginia, and become part of a passionate, mission-driven team dedicated to protecting, promoting, and improving the health and quality of life for more than 1.2 million residents. Why Join Our Team?

• Supportive and collaborative team environment.
• Dynamic onboarding and orientation experience.
• Opportunities for continuous learning and professional growth.
• Meaningful work focused on health education, health promotion, and disease prevention.
• The ability to build strong community partnerships and address critical public health priorities.

With more than 100 years of public health leadership, the Fairfax County Health Department proudly serves residents from diverse ethnic, cultural, and economic backgrounds throughout Fairfax County. This position plays a vital role in advancing community health through outreach, education, and engagement efforts within ethnically diverse communities, nonprofit organizations, faith-based organizations, small businesses, and historically underserved populations. As part of the Community Outreach and Engagement team, this position collaborates closely with outreach managers, supervisors, community health specialists, agency staff, and a wide network of community partners to:

• Deliver health promotion and prevention education initiatives.
• Strengthen community partnerships and build local capacity.
• Support population-based public health interventions.
• Address social determinants of health and root causes impacting community well-being.
• Assist in implementing and evaluating strategies that improve community health outcomes.

If you are passionate about public service, community engagement, and creating healthier communities, we encourage you to apply and join our exceptional team of public health professionals. Note: This position requires working evenings and weekends on a regular basis. The position is fully in person and is not eligible for telework. Reliable transportation is required to fulfill the duties of this role.

Required Knowledge Skills and Abilities

(The knowledge, skills and abilities listed in this specification are representative of the class but are not an all-inclusive list.)

• Knowledge of program development, implementation and elementary evaluation;
• Knowledge of disease management/health promotions models that target the treatment of disease in symptomatic or at-risk individuals;
• Ability to conduct screenings, monitoring and education, coordination of care (i.e. physicians, hospitals, laboratories, and pharmacies) and evidence-based practice guidelines to identify and treat disease conditions before they advance to an acute or chronic stage;
• Ability to develop, collect and analyze quantitative and qualitative data to evaluate effectiveness of disease management/health promotion programs and quality assurance;
• Ability to deliver health education presentations within the community;
• Ability to work predominantly with adults, applying learning concepts;
• Ability to work with sub-group of the community to organize and implement health education services;
• Ability to communicate effectively through the use of verbal, written and electronic means.

Employment Standards

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: Any combination of education, experience, and training equivalent to the following: (Click on the aforementioned link to learn how Fairfax County interprets equivalencies for "Any combination, experience, and training equivalent to") Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with a bachelor's degree in health education, human services, or a directly related field; plus one year of experience in community capacity building, public and/or community health education, or other types of health-related work involving considerable public contact. CERTIFICATES AND LICENSES REQUIRED:

• Valid driver's license.
• Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) certification (Required within 60 days of hire).
• Automated External Defibrillator (AED) certification (Required within 60 days of hire).

NECESSARY SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS: The appointee to this position will be required to complete a criminal background check, Child Protective Services Registry check, and driving record check to the satisfaction of the employer. This position is emergency/essential services personnel. (Required to report for duty during inclement weather and/or other emergencies.) Additional Work Schedule Requirements: Flexible work schedule will be required to work evening and/or weekend community meetings or events to and/or be on-call. PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Master's degree in public health or related field of study.
• Two or more years of experience designing, implementing and contributing to evaluating community-based health programs in culturally and age-diverse populations.
• Experience developing and presenting health education topics to a multicultural population.
• Two or more years of experience with community development and capacity building activities.
• Ability to develop and maintain effective working relationships with a variety of individuals, such as community members and building partnerships with businesses, nonprofits and faith-based groups.
• One or more years of experience with managing, implementing, and developing comprehensive outreach programs for the public, preferably in health promotion and health access services.
• One or more years of experience working independently.
• Advanced knowledge of basic Microsoft Office Suite applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook).

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS: Job is generally sedentary in nature, and requires walking, standing, sitting (for long periods of time), and kneeling, reaching, bending, climbing stairs; may be required to lift or carry up to 25 lbs. as required for the position. Uses hands to grasp, handle, or feel. Visual acuity is required to read data from paper and on a computer monitor or other electronic device; ability to operate keyboard driven equipment and computer and use of touchscreen. Position frequently communicates and must be able to exchange accurate information with others verbally and in writing. Ability to drive a motor vehicle. Generally, works in an office environment may occasionally be required to perform job duties outside of the typical office setting. All duties performed with or without reasonable accommodations.

SELECTION PROCEDURE: Panel interview and may include exercise. Fairfax County is home to a highly diverse population, with a significant number of residents speaking languages other than English at home (including Spanish, Asian/Pacific Islander, Indo-European, and many others .) We encourage candidates who are bilingual in English and another language to apply for this opportunity.

Fairfax County Government prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetics, political affiliation, or military status in the recruitment, selection, and hiring of its workforce. Reasonable accommodations are available to persons with disabilities during application and/or interview processes per the Americans with Disabilities Act. TTY View phone number on click.appcast.io. View email address on click.appcast.io EEO/AA/TTY.