Colorado Nonprofit Association

Health Equity Specialist – Youth Engagement

What Success Looks Like In This Job

Primary leadership role responsible for integrating youth into department and county-wide planning, decision-making, and implementation of projects, programs, and services that impact policies, systems, and the environment. The Youth Engagement Specialist is both an individual contributor and part of the Community Health Promotion Team within Adams County Health Department (ACHD) Health Equity and Strategic Initiatives (HESI) Division. This position will support the capacity building, development, and strategic direction of an inaugural county-wide youth health advisory council.   

This position will lead the Youth Engagement Advisor and support youth in planning, implementing, and evaluating strategies to address substance misuse and overdose in Adams County. This position will collaborate with a coalition of community members, organizations, schools, local government, and health programs to influence youth and school-based health. It will ensure youth voices, engagement, and leadership are integrated into all aspects of ACHD programming, policies, and services, focusing on objectives, outcomes, and social determinants of health affecting youth.

Examples of Duties for Success

Leadership:

• Serves as subject matter expert and consultant with a deep understanding of youth engagement principles, evidence-base, trainings, and resources, including, but not limited to, Positive Youth Development, Shared Risk and Protective Factors, Social Justice Approach to Prevention, and Adult-Youth Allyship.
• Promotes policy, system and environmental changes as it relates to youth engagement and prevention initiatives.
• Provides technical assistance to health department staff, local government staff, elected officials, community organizations interested in applying youth engagement principles that enhance and improve youth-focused initiatives.
• Shows strong leadership by educating, mentoring, training, and developing colleagues and community partners in authentic youth engagement. Provides ongoing support, guidance, and coaching to Youth Engagement Advisor and youth engaged in ACHD programming.
• Contributes to the development of leadership programs for young people to learn about health equity, racial justice, substance use prevention, mental health promotion, and leadership and advocacy skills.
• Reviews policies, procedures, and protocols and provides recommendations to ACHD and Adams County leadership to advance healthy equity and meet Adams County youth health needs.
• Works cross-divisionally to ensure youth engagement is integrated into planning, development, and evaluation of strategic, long-term impact efforts, including ACHD Strategic Plan, ACHD Community Engagement Plan, and the Community Health Improvement Plan.
• Works independently while consulting with staff at various levels, from entry level to executives and elected officials.
• Communicates effectively both verbally and in writing to inform, negotiate, navigate, and reach consensus among differing opinions to promote youth engagement through changes to systems, policies, and practices.
• Public Health Advanced Practice:
• Supports the development and procurement of funding to sustain youth engagement efforts.
• Develops goals, objectives, and strategic planning for Youth Engagement initiatives across the health department and county-wide.
• Gathers and analyzes information from community members (including youth) and organizations that can inform options for policies, programs, and services.
• Utilize systems-oriented approach to understand the multiple origins of a complex challenge and how the parts of a system can work together to improve community outcomes.
• Participates in regional and state-level workgroups to influence policy in order to meet Adams County youth needs by integrating youth into decision-making.  
•  Coordination, Collaboration and Community Engagement
• Facilitates youth involvement in creating messaging to raise awareness of promotion and prevention initiatives, using de-stigmatizing language and highlighting the importance of substance use prevention for youth. Ensures youth voice is part of ACHD decision-making processes and directives.
• Conduct orientation, as well as initial and ongoing training for young people on various topics (i.e., legislative and systems advocacy, leadership development, effective partnerships with adults, shared risk and protective factors, etc.).
• Supports diverse perspectives and builds and maintains relationships with community and partner organizations to understand community assets and priorities, create and maintain connections across organizations, and ensure achievement of shared objectives.
• Seeks knowledge of patterns and relationships in systems contributing to public health challenges and inequities and coordinates responses to changing public health environment through problem-solving and adapting programs using change management tools and best practices.General Administration: 
• Strong project management skills, including the ability to plan, organize, and execute multiple tasks and projects effectively to achieve program goals and meet deadlines.
• Organizes program data for use in grant reporting, ACHD annual reports, and other documents as identified.
• Conducts formal and informal performance management activities, including continuous quality improvement, development and maintenance of outcomes-based performance tracking, and program evaluation activities.
• Participates in grant processes and supports processes to identify and secure funding that address community health gaps.
• Maintains regular communication with other ACHD programs regarding program progression, successes, and support needs.
• Performs other duties as assigned.
• Commitment to Equity:
• Regularly assesses work and supports changes to remove systemic barriers and build systems that address inequities.
• Prioritizes transparency and supports an open-door culture.
• Uses health and racial equity practices to inform the development and implementation of all project strategies.
• Understands the concepts of institutional and structural racism and bias, and a genuine commitment to equity and inclusion.

Qualifications for Success

• Maintains strong working knowledge of public health advanced practice, including the social determinants of health, community engagement and partnership development, population-based health promotion, disease prevention, coalition building and collective impact.
• Maintains active working knowledge of the shared risk and protective factors associated with behavioral health and overall health.
• Maintains active working knowledge of principles of trauma informed care and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) as applicable to work.
• Strong knowledge of public health model(s), techniques and best practices related to community change, shared risk and protective factors, youth engagement, coalition building and collective impact.
• Working knowledge of prevention strategies, evidence-based trainings, and resources, including but not limited to, Shared Risk and Protective Factors, Policy, and Advocacy, Adult-Youth ally-ship, Substance Use Prevention and Harm Reductions Strategies, Communication, Facilitation, Leadership, Mentoring and Program Planning and Development.  
• Skills to establish and maintain effective working relationships with other ACHD employees, representatives of other agencies/organizations, and members of the community.
• Ability to present information in a variety of settings with different partners within the community, both internal and external to the organization. Ability to facilitate group processes to advance dialogue that leads to collaborative and informed action.
• Strong desire and ability to communicate and work with youth from racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, and gender diverse communities.
• Ability to have authentic and courageous conversations with young people about their lived experiences, their goals, and their current choices.
• Desire to educate the community about the unique issues facing young people.

More Qualifications for Success

Any combination of experience and training that would likely provide the required knowledge and abilities is qualifying. Years of experience may substitute for a degree, on a year-for-year basis. A typical way to obtain the knowledge and abilities is as follows:

Experience & Education: 

• High school diploma or GED equivalent required AND 6 years’ experience in collaborating with coalitions, local government, and policymakers to improve health and social outcomes. Skilled in leading program planning for sustainable policy changes, facilitating diverse groups, and managing public health programs through data analysis and project management.
• A Bachelor’s degree obtained from an accredited college or university, with major coursework in public health, public policy, behavioral health sciences, health administration, social work, education, or a related field may substitute for 4 years’ required experience.
• A Master’s degree obtained from an accredited college or university, with major coursework in public health, public policy, behavioral health sciences, health administration, social work, education, or a related field may substitute 5 years of the required professional experience.License or Certificate: Possession of or ability to obtain valid Colorado driver’s license and access to dependable transportation for business purposes as needed is required.

  Background Check: Must pass a criminal background check.

  Other: Bilingual candidates are preferred and may receive a Language Pay incentive based on use.

  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.

  HIPAA STATEMENT: Maintain sensitive & confidential client information according to the HIPAA policy confidentiality requirements.

  Working Conditions & Physical Requirements: 

• Work is primarily conducted indoors with occasional time spent in an outside environment.
• Incumbent will experience routine, environment.
• Requires travel between Adams County offices and to locations in the surrounding community for meetings and events.
• May be required to work after normal work hours to attend meetings and events.
• Requires sufficient hearing and speech ability to communicate verbally in response to inquiries, complaints, and to speak to groups of people or the media in an informational or training situation.
• Requires sufficient writing ability to communicate needs fluidly and accurately in program development.
• Requires the ability to operate computer and office equipment.
• Requires the ability to sit and perform administrative and computer work for significant periods of time.

  Equipment Used: Standard office equipment including, but not limited to, personal computer and associated hardware and software, telephone, copier, calculator, and audio-visual equipment.

Adams County complies with Colorado’s Job Application Fairness Act (“JAFA”). JAFA prohibits employers from asking individuals to disclose their age, date of birth, or dates of school attendance or graduation on an initial employment application. However, additional application materials such as certifications and transcripts containing this information may be required for certain positions; if such additional materials are requested, applicants may redact information that identifies the applicant’s age, date of birth, or dates or attendance or graduation.