PUBLIC HEALTH EDUCATION SPECIALIST - 40004350

Join Durham County Government
Durham County Government is home to over 2,000 dedicated professionals working together to deliver essential services that strengthen and support our vibrant, diverse community. As the heart of a fast-growing region, we offer meaningful careers across a wide range of fields—giving you the opportunity to make a real impact where you live, work, grow, and play. Learn more at www.dconc.gov.

This position is provisionally (grant) funded. Continued employment is contingent upon availability of funding. 

GENERAL DESCRIPTION:

This position requires flexibility to periodically work evenings and weekends to meet the needs of our clients and community partners. The individual in this role will be responsible for delivering services and engaging populations of interest during non-traditional hours, ensuring accessibility to those who may be unable to participate during standard business hours.

The position will support the expansion of HIV prevention efforts across the county, strengthening community partnerships, and promoting equitable access to prevention resources for all individuals at risk. Additionally, this role will involve offering technical assistance to agencies providing HIV prevention services to ensure effective program implementation and outreach.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

The essential functions listed below are those that represent the majority of the time spent working in this position. Management may assign additional functions related to the type of work of the position as necessary.

• Community Engagement, Testing, and Counseling: Collaborate with community partners, health clinics, businesses, and local universities/colleges to expand access to HIV testing services with a focus on priority populations. Conduct confidential HIV, Syphilis, Hepatitis C, Gonorrhea, and Chlamydia testing in non-traditional community settings. Interpret test results, provide risk reduction counseling, and provide resources to populations of interest. Adhere to all safety protocols and maintain a non-judgmental, supportive environment. Address the syndemic of HIV and syphilis co-infection by incorporating social determinants of health into community outreach efforts. Evaluate effectiveness of efforts to engage and test priority populations.
• Condom Access and Distribution: Coordinate the Durham County condom access and distribution program, ensuring efficient distribution, tracking inventory, and enhancing community accessibility. Conduct education on safe sexual practices, cultivate partnerships with local organizations, and expand outreach to underserved populations.  Collect and analyze data on distribution efforts, including tracking the locations and quantities of condoms delivered.
• Community Education and Awareness: Provide HIV/STI prevention and sexual health education through workshops, outreach events, trainings, and community partnerships. Evaluate the effectiveness of prevention and health education efforts through participant feedback, program attendance, and outcome data.
• PrEP Linkage: Coordinate timely and effective referrals to Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) services for individuals at higher risk of HIV infection. Develop strategies to facilitate access to healthcare providers who can prescribe and manage PrEP.  Assess barriers to linkage to PrEP.
• Advance DCoDPH. Priorities: Contribute to Departmental, Interagency, and Community activities that support the health and well-being of all Durham County residents and the Durham County Department of Public Health Strategic Plan.  Support efforts to advance racial equity and impact health disparities.  Document this work by the NC Local Health Department Accreditation Board and the Public Health Accreditation Board.  Attend all required Department, Division, and supervision meetings.  Responds to emergent public health needs. Performs related work as assigned.
• Career and Professional Development: Develop professional knowledge and skills by attending two professional development trainings per year.  Attend required annual County Government and other departmental training.
• Performs related work as assigned.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES:

• Knowledge of theories, principles, and practices of Public Health Education.
• Knowledge of program planning, implementation, and evaluation principles and methodologies.
• Good interpersonal communication skills and the ability to work effectively with humans of diverse gender identities, races, ethnicities, ages, and sexual orientations.
• Strong knowledge of principles for local-level coordination of HIV/AIDS response, including PrEP access, treatment as prevention (TASP), and efforts to address stigma.
• Strong knowledge of methods and techniques used in preparing and disseminating educational information to the public.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with individuals, groups, and communities, including departmental personnel, community organizations, and the public.
• Ability to write and speak effectively and to stimulate interest and cooperation among various groups in carrying out a program in public health education.
• Ability to contribute to grant writing, policy development, and reporting.
• Considerable skill in the development, selection, and use of effective educational materials.
• Considerable skill in the development, selection, and use of effective educational materials.

MINIMUM EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS:

• Graduation from a four-year college or university with a major in health education and one year of experience in public health education or a related field; graduation from a four-year college or university and two years of experience in public health education; or an equivalent combination of education and experience

SPECIAL CERTIFICATIONS AND LICENSES REQUIREMENTS:

• Whetstone, Counseling, Testing, and Referral. Bloodborne Pathogen and Phlebotomy may be acquired during probationary period.

EMERGENCY PREPARDNESS REQUIREMENTS:

Primary work hours are between the hours of 8:30 AM and 5:00 PM.  Employee is subject to be called upon at any time to help the agency respond to a public health emergency, which may include but is not limited to outbreak investigations, staffing mass dispensing or immunization clinics, providing disaster relief, or incidents (man-made or natural and intentional or non-intentional) as they arise, or any public health response as requested by the Health Director.

To further the mission of the Durham County Department of Public Health (DCoDPH) to partner with our community to advance health equity, protect the environment, and promote health and wellness for all, DCoDPH is implementing the employee vaccination and tuberculosis screening policies. All DCoDPH employees are considered healthcare personnel (HCP) working in a health care setting with the potential for exposure to patients and/or infectious materials and, therefore, are required to comply and provide documented proof of the following:

• Measles, Mumps & Rubella (MMR) vaccination/immunity 
• Varicella-Zoster Virus (Chicken Pox) vaccination/immunity 
• Tdap (Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis)
• Tuberculosis (TB) baseline screening within the last twelve (12) months prior to employment
• Hepatitis B vaccination/immunity – only required for DCoDPH employees with potential Bloodborne Pathogen (BBP) exposures.

Identified DCoDPH HCP with potential Bloodborne Pathogen (BBP) exposure have an additional requirement for the Hepatitis B vaccination. Required vaccination, serological testing to determine immunity, and baseline tuberculosis screening are available for all Public Health employees who elect to become DCoDPH patients upon request and at no cost.

Proof of vaccination and tuberculosis screening must be provided to Human Resources within seven (7) business days prior to the date of employment.

AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT COMPLIANCE:

Durham County is an Equal Opportunity Employer. ADA requires Durham County to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified persons with disabilities. Prospective and current employees are encouraged to discuss ADA accommodations with management. 

BACKGROUND CHECK STATEMENT:

This position may be subject to a background check, which could include, but is not limited to, criminal history (employment-related and/or SBI fingerprint-based), credit history, motor vehicle records, educational verification, and checks of the sexual offender registry, depending on the specific requirements of the role. A conviction record does not automatically disqualify an applicant from employment consideration, unless otherwise required by applicable state law.