Community Health Worker Specialist

Position Information

If you're looking for an opportunity to make a meaningful impact and be a part of a team dedicated to promoting public health, we encourage you to apply to be a Community Health Worker Specialist!

Starting salary up to $38.70/hour ($80,771/year), a competitive total compensation package*, AND bilingual premiums for bilingual positions**!
The Department of Health Services currently has one fluent, bilingual (English/Spanish) position and one monolingual (English) position open; however, this employment list is also expected to be used to fill future openings.
Community Health Worker Specialists play crucial roles in the County of Sonoma, ensuring that individuals and families receive the support they need through education, counseling, and access to services. Working at the community level, these positions support improvements to programs and systems that support a well-integrated network of services and supports. The Community Health Worker Specialist positions that are currently open will work in the Public Health Division, Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program or with the Tobacco-Nicotine Prevention and Enforcement Program (Tobacco Prevention Program). Depending on the program, these positions may provide quality and timely nutrition assessments, health goal setting, public outreach and education to the community and individuals, and support in a collaborative and dynamic environment, ensuring program participants receive the benefits and services they need. Additional responsibilities for these positions could include:
WIC Program Specific:

• Determining WIC program eligibility following WIC policies and procedures
• Providing both group and individual education and counseling on nutrition, breastfeeding, and other health-related topics
• Conducting comprehensive nutrition assessments, using available data (anthropometric, biochemical, environmental, and food/nutrition information), and creating personalized care plans
• Using motivational interviewing techniques to provide guidance and establish health goals
• Developing expertise in the program function and local, state, and federal laws
• Providing referrals to additional community resources as necessary, based on participant needs
• Working as part of a team to meet the demands of the WIC clinic, ensuring a high level of service and coordination across multiple sites
• Participating in ongoing training and certification as a WIC Nutrition Assistant (WNA) as mandated by CDPH WIC

Tobacco Prevention Program Specific:

• Engaging and educating diverse audiences through different media, including social media and in-person presentations
• Experience with, or an understanding of, how local ordinances are passed and implemented, including how the public can be engaged in this process
• Possession of presentation/public speaking skills
• Ability to develop expertise in local, state, and federal tobacco laws
• A Community Health Worker Certificate is desirable, but not required

As an ideal candidate, you will be enthusiastic about promoting a healthy lifestyle and nutrition, and you will possess many of the following, depending on the program:

• A passion for public health and serving underserved, diverse populations, and a desire to contribute to the well-being of the community
• An understanding of the drivers of behavioral change that include one's surroundings, availability of resources, and the policies that make healthy decisions possible and easier
• Ability to work well with a diverse group of people who are working towards a common goal, and to facilitate participation and involvement in meeting objectives
• Knowledge of the nutritional needs of infants, children, pregnant people, and breastfeeding people
  
• Excellent verbal communication skills with enthusiasm for presenting and leading group discussions
• Emotional intelligence with a high level of empathy and sensitivity to participants' needs
  
• Involvement in the community and an understanding of systems of health care delivery
  
• Basic proficiency in Microsoft Office tools
  
• Education, training, or coursework in nutrition or a related field is desired but not required
  
• Fluency in both Spanish and English (required for the open position in the WIC program)
  

Program Information

WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) is a nutrition program designed to protect and improve the health of low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum women, as well as infants and children up to the age of five. WIC provides healthy foods, nutrition education and counseling, breastfeeding support, and referrals to other services in the community. WIC loans electric breast pumps to participants and has a hospital exchange program with local hospitals. Lactation services are also provided by an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC). The work schedule for the position that is currently open in the WIC program is Monday to Friday, from 8 am to 5 pm, and from 10 am to 7 pm once or twice a week. You will rotate across all four WIC sites: Santa Rosa, Sonoma, Petaluma, and Guerneville.

Tobacco Prevention Program: The Community Health Worker Specialists in the Tobacco-Nicotine Prevention and Enforcement Program will perform a variety of tasks to advance the scope of work for the California Tobacco Prevention Program tobacco retail compliance program and the related compliance activities. The primary work involves public outreach and making connections with community organizations and individuals. This requires having experience and an understanding of how to engage various audiences through media, especially social media and other activities. The development of effective educational materials, representing the program at community events and meetings, and developing professional flyers for distribution are key components of this work. This work also involves developing expertise in local, state, and federal tobacco policy, understanding the health effects of tobacco use, the variety of tobacco products on the market, their use patterns, and prevalence in consideration of a variety of social and demographic strata. The position will assist in providing backbone support to the local tobacco coalition and will attend a variety of meetings where short updates or presentations are made. The position also leads and supports training on a variety of topics related to passing and implementing tobacco policies, and on the skills needed to engage with partners, organizations, leaders, and policymakers.

What We Offer

Working at the County of Sonoma offers expansive opportunities for growth and development, the ability to be a part of a challenging and rewarding work environment, and the satisfaction of knowing you're working to better our communities. You can also look forward to flexible work arrangements and excellent benefits* including:

• Hybrid Telework - A schedule that meets the needs of our staff, department operations, and the communities we serve may be available depending on the assignment
• Salary Advancement - A salary increase after 1,040 hours (6 months when working full-time) for good work performance; eligibility for a salary increase for good performance every year thereafter, until reaching the top of the salary range
• Bilingual Premium Pay* - An additional $1.50/hour on top of the hourly pay rate for fluent bilingual positions
• Paid Time Off - Competitive vacation and sick leave accruals, 12 paid holidays, and an additional 8 floating holiday hours per year
• County Paid Health Premium Contributions - 100% premium contribution for the majority of employee-only and employee + family health plan options
• Staff Development/Wellness Pay - Annual benefit allowances of up to $500 and ongoing education/training opportunities
• Post-Retirement Health Reimbursement Arrangement - County contributions to help fund post-retirement employee health insurance/benefits
• Retirement - A pension fully integrated with Social Security
• Paid Parental Leave - May be eligible for up to 8 weeks (320 hours) after 12 months of County employment
• Student Loan Debt Relief - County employees may be eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness through the U.S. Department of Education

*Salary is negotiable within the established range. Benefits described herein do not represent a contract and may be changed without notice. Additional information can be found in the Service Employees International Union Local 1021 Memorandum Of Understanding (SEIU MOU) and our Employee Benefits Directory .

This recruitment is being conducted to fill a fluent, bilingual Community Health Worker Specialist position in the Department of Health Services. Bilingual positions require English and Spanish skills at the fluent (reading, writing, and conversational) level. Applicants who wish to be considered for a bilingual position must indicate their level of skill in the required supplemental questionnaire. An examination will be conducted prior to employment in a bilingual position to confirm the level of skill in this area. Bilingual premium pay is $1.50/hour for fluent skill sets.

The employment list established from this recruitment may also fill other full-time, part-time, and extra-help bilingual English/Spanish positions that may occur during the active status of the employment list. Qualified County employees who wish to be considered for future positions should consider applying to this recruitment.

If you are interested in future possible opportunities as a Community Health Worker Specialist, we encourage you to apply!

Application submissions require the Supplemental Questionnaire to be completed.

Minimum Qualifications

Education and Experience: Any combination of education and work experience which would provide an opportunity to acquire the knowledge and abilities listed herein. Normally, this would include coursework in education, sociology, psychology, nutrition, or a closely related course, and one year of experience equivalent to that of a Community Health Worker II. Possession of a Community Health Worker Certificate is highly desirable.

Special Requirement: Designated positions may require the ability to speak and write a language in addition to English.

License: Possession of a valid driver's license at the appropriate level including special endorsements, as required by the State of California, may be required depending upon assignment to perform the essential job functions of the position.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Considerable knowledge of: Department of Health Services' programs, policies and procedures; a wide variety of community health and social services resources; psycho/social/cultural issues faced by members of the underserved and at risk communities served; a wide variety of public and private health care community support services.

Working knowledge of: Methods and procedures of training staff and volunteers; methods and procedures of health education; principles and practices related to public speaking and the development of formal presentations; methods and techniques of conducting interviews; counseling techniques.

Knowledge of: basic public health principles, health behavior theories, healthy lifestyles and self-care, as well as the social determinants of health and related disparities.

Ability to: conduct self-management coaching, manage conflict, use interviewing techniques, coordinate care, communicate with residents of the underserved and at risk communities and with representatives of public and private agencies providing community health-related services; work effectively and gain support with clients of different ages and backgrounds; provide training and education to staff, clients, community agency staff, and the public; communicate effectively both orally and in writing in English; work well with others; function as a team member, and benefit from supervision and training; carry out a variety of assignments and balance priorities in assigned area(s) with minimal supervision.

Selection Procedure & Some Helpful Tips When Applying

• Your application information and your responses to the supplemental questions are evaluated and taken into consideration throughout the entire selection process.
• You should list all employers and positions held within the last ten years in the work history section of your application. Be as thorough as possible when responding to the supplemental questions.
• You may include history beyond ten years if related to the position for which you are applying. If you held multiple positions with one employer, list out each position separately.
• Failure to follow these instructions may impact your competitiveness in this process or may result in disqualification.

Please visit Getting a Job with the County of Sonoma to review more detailed information about the hiring process, including the application process, examination steps, and department selection process.

Application submissions require the Supplemental Questionnaire to be completed.

Responses to supplemental questions will be scored using position-specific criteria. Please provide specific and detailed responses of a reasonable length to allow for a thorough assessment of your qualifications. Responses that state, "See Resume" or "See Application" may be considered insufficient and therefore may not be scored.

The selection procedure will consist of the following examination:

An Application & Supplemental Questionnaire Appraisal Examination (weight 100%) will be conducted to evaluate each applicant's application and supplemental questionnaire for satisfaction of minimum qualifications (pass/not pass); and for educational coursework, training, experience, knowledge, and abilities which relate to this position. Each applicant will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

• Relevance of work history, related experience, and achieved level of education and/or training as described in the application and responses to the supplemental questions.

Candidates demonstrating possession of the minimum qualifications will be placed on an employment list in order of most qualified to least qualified based on the achieved score received in the Application & Supplemental Questionnaire Appraisal Examination which evaluates the education, training, experience, skills, knowledge, abilities, and other qualifications that you demonstrate in your application and/or response to the supplemental questionnaire. Please be aware that resumes and cover letters are not typically evaluated in the Application & Supplemental Questionnaire Appraisal Examination. Scores may be adjusted based on such factors as the number of candidates, anticipated vacancies, past practice, and natural breaks in the scores achieved by this group of candidates.

Additional Information

A background investigation is required prior to employment. Candidates referred to departments for a selection interview are typically required to sign authorization and release forms enabling such an investigation. Failure to sign prescribed forms will result in the candidate not being considered further for that vacancy. Reference information will not be made available to applicants.

Additional requirements, such as successful completion of a physical exam, drug screen, etc., may apply, depending on the duties and responsibilities of the position. If you receive a conditional job offer for the position, the requirements upon which the offer is contingent will be outlined in the conditional job letter. You may also review the Job Classification Screening Schedule to determine the requirements for this position.

How to Apply

Applications are accepted online at www.yourpath2sonomacounty.org . Paper applications may be submitted by person, fax (707-565-3770), email, or through the mail. All applications and appropriate supplemental information as outlined in the job bulletin must be RECEIVED by the time and date specified on the first page of this job announcement. Applications received after the recruitment closes will not be accepted.

The County of Sonoma values diversity and is dedicated to creating a workplace environment that provides individuals with a sense of belonging. We are committed to having a diverse workforce that is representative of the communities we serve. The County is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer where all aspects of employment are based on merit, competence, performance, and business need.

HR Analyst: SZ

HR Technician: RR

IMPORTANT NOTE: Benefits described herein do not apply to Extra Help positions.

COUNTY OF SONOMA BENEFITS: GENERAL*

These are some of the excellent benefits the County offers:

Paid Time Off :Competitive vacation and sick leave accruals; 12 paid holidays, and an additional 8 floating holiday hours per year; and may be eligible for up to 8 weeks (320 hours) of Paid Parental Leave after 12 months of County employment.

Health Plan : Choose from nine health plans (three HMOs, three deductible HMOs, and three HSA-qualifying plans) with a generousCounty contribution to the premium (the contribution amount varies by bargaining unit). For more information, please see the appropriate MOU.

Retirement :Fully integrated with Social Security.For more information regarding eligibility, retirement contributions, and reciprocity with prior public service, please visit https://scretire.org/active-/-deferred/when-you-are-hired .

IRS 457 Plan : Pre-tax employee contribution up to the IRS annual maximum.

Retiree Medical :County contribution to a Health Reimbursement Arrangement to help fund post-retirement employee health insurance/benefits.

Student Loan Debt Relief :County employees may be eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness through the U.S. Department of Education.

Plus excellent dental, vision, disability, life insurance, professional development, and more.

For answers to specific questions regarding the employment process and more details about benefits or retirement, please contact Human Resources at (707) 565-2331.Additional details about benefit and compensation packages can be found in the MOUs located at https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/administrative-support-and-fiscal-services/human-resources/divisions-and-units/employee-relations/labor-agreements-and-salary-resolution . For specific information about health and welfare benefits including plan options, coverage, and premium amounts go to https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/administrative-support-and-fiscal-services/human-resources or, contact the Human Resources' Risk Management-Benefits Office at benefits@sonoma-county.org or (707) 565-2900.

*IMPORTANT NOTES: Benefits described herein do not represent a contract and may be changed without notice.

Closing Date/Time: 5/9/2025 11:59 PM Pacific

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• County of Sonoma

• 707-565-8059

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