Community Policy & Prevention Specialist

The 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 role leads community-driven efforts to prevent commercial tobacco use and advance positive health outcomes through policy, systems, and environmental change.

Responsibilities

• 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.
• Develops and supports 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.

Qualifications

• Requires a Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited college or university in public health, public policy, behavioral health sciences, health administration, social work, education, or a related field.
• Minimum three years prior experience in 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.