Community Policy & Prevention Specialist

Community Policy and Prevention Specialist

The Community Policy and Prevention Specialist is part of the Community and Behavioral Health Team within Adams County Health Department (ACHD) Strategic Health Initiatives (SHI) Division. The Community Policy and Prevention Specialist leads community-driven efforts to prevent commercial tobacco use and advance positive health outcomes through policy, systems, and environmental change. Serving as both a key individual contributor and a member of the Community and Behavioral Health Team, this role builds community capacity and drives strategic direction for equitable tobacco control and prevention initiatives across Adams County. This role administers a range of tobacco prevention and community engagement efforts, guiding partnerships with local government, community-based organizations, property managers, business owners, and healthcare providers to reduce tobacco use, address nicotine addiction, and promote healthy environments. The specialist ensures that community perspectives particularly from populations at higher risk inform ACHD programs and policies, advancing public health objectives and addressing the social determinants that influence tobacco use and overall community well-being.

Examples of Duties for Success

Local policy identification, development, and response (60%): Support the identification, coalition-building, and development of local policy efforts to advance tobacco and nicotine prevention and control efforts. Lead the process to track and respond to all secondhand smoke complaints in community, housing, and business settings.

• Mobilizes and leads community coalition(s) in support of local and/or place-based policies for retail licensing, smoke-free settings, and Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act violations based on need (i.e., facilitation, coordination, participation, training, transferring skills to community partners).
• Tracks and responds to all secondhand smoke complaints in Adams County.
• Serves as subject matter expert and consultant with a deep understanding of tobacco prevention and cessation, local policy, trainings, evidence base, and resources.
• Demonstrates developed leadership abilities, including educating, mentoring, training, and developing colleagues and community partners in program related areas.
• Provides technical assistance to health department staff, local government staff, elected officials, community organizations, and partners interested in local tobacco policy that enhances and improves public health.
• Works cross-divisionally to elevate and embed tobacco prevention and cessation education and resources into other strategic programs.
• Exercises moderate decision-making latitude and works independently while consulting with staff at various levels, from entry level to executives and elected officials.
• Negotiates, navigates, and reaches consensus among differing opinions to promote health through changes to systems, policies, and practices.

• Gathers and analyzes information from community members (including youth) and organizations that inform options for policies, programs, and services.
• Utilizes a systems-oriented approach to understand the multiple origins of a complex public health challenge and how parts of a system can work together to improve community outcomes and address upstream determinants.
• Leads and participates in regional and state-level workgroups to influence tobacco prevention/cessation policy.

Coordination, Collaboration, and Community Engagement (30%): Develop and support partnerships with local government, community-based organizations, property managers, business owners, and healthcare providers to reduce tobacco use, address nicotine addiction, and promote healthy environments.

• Presents data and informs local policy initiatives considered by City Councils, Mayors, County Commissioners, property managers, business owners, and other community partners.
• Initiates and manages subcontracts with community-based organizations according to grant guidelines.
• Communicates with funding agencies, contractors, vendors, partners, community members, and Adams County colleagues in a timely and respectful manner.
• Collaborates internally and externally, with multiple partners, to provide interested/affected groups with education on evidence-based strategies and best-practices in program, policy, systems, and/or environmental changes for population health.
• Ensures the community voices, decision-making process, and policy approach is includes the impacted community.
• Communicates effectively both verbally and in writing.

Other Duties

• Participates in program development, grant writing, and grant implementation, as appropriate, to advance the work in the community.
• Prepares written materials and present program updates in for the public, other government agencies and elected officials.
• Performs both internal and external work in a way that represents and is effective within the various communities we serve.
• Regularly assesses work and supports changes to remove systemic barriers, build systems that address unfair differences, and integrate fairness into all areas of work.
• Creates and maintains partnerships and processes that support, integrate, and celebrate unique and fair engagement into all aspects of Adams County Health Department work.
• Performs other duties as assigned and required.
• Responds, as required, to support public health emergencies, incidents, and events.
• Participates in all exercises and drills on emergency preparedness, as required.
• Completes emergency preparedness and response trainings as appropriate for this level of employee within the health department.
• Maintains sensitive and confidential client information according to the HIPAA policy and Title X confidentiality requirements.
• Flexibility in work hours may be required to accommodate community events, meeting, and outreach activities.
• Travel within the community and participation in evening, weekend and on-call duties may be required.

More Qualifications for Success

Education & Experience:

• Requires a Bachelor's Degree from an accredited college or university public health, public policy, behavioral health sciences, health administration, social work, education, or a related field.
• Minimum three years prior experience in the following:
• Leading community outreach activities, including recruiting stakeholders, planning, task delegation, troubleshooting, and evaluation of processes.
• Leading, or working closely with leadership, to advance policy, program, and systems change strategies.
• Using community-centered approaches to engage constituents to advance health fairness and negotiate non-punitive approaches to public and environmental health issues.
• Master's degree preferred
• Must be in possession of, or have the ability to obtain, a valid Colorado driver's license within 30 days of hire.

HIPAA Statement: Maintain sensitive & confidential client information according to the HIPAA policy and Title X confidentiality requirements. Emergency Preparedness and Response Duties: Completes trainings identified as appropriate for this level employee. Employee participates in all exercises and drills on emergency preparedness and response, as required. Employee responds, as required, to support emergencies, incidents and events with a public health and medical impact. Working Conditions and Physical Abilities:

• Flexibility in work hours may be required to accommodate community events, meeting, and outreach activities.
• Travel within the community and participation in evening, weekend and on-call duties may be required.
• This role remains in a semi-stationary position, which may include sitting or standing for prolonged periods and occasionally moving about in an office environment to accomplish tasks.
• This position's physical demands are assessed to be light work.
• This role constantly communicates with others to exchange information by speaking and typing, and that includes repeating motions that include wrists, hands, and/or fingers.
• This position will be asked to self-assess accuracy, neatness, and thoroughness of work assigned.
• This position can expect no adverse environmental conditions as the majority of work is performed in an office building.
• Note there will be frequent participation at both outdoor and indoor community events.