Colorado Nonprofit Association

Substance Use and Violence Prevention Systems Specialist

What Success Looks Like In This Job

The Substance Use & Violence Prevention Specialist is part of the Behavioral Health Team within Adams County Health Department (ACHD) Health Equity and Strategic Initiatives (HESI) Division. This position will support the capacity building and development of an emerging Behavioral Health Coalition that will engage behavioral health partners in taking a strategic and collective impact approach to substance use prevention in Adams County.  

This position will work closely with the Behavioral Health Supervisor, Mental Health Promotion Specialists, Youth Engagement Team, and the broader health department to coordinate and align substance use prevention and violence prevention initiatives internal and external to ACHD.  This role will collaborate with those with an interest in and opportunity to influence prevention of substances and their misuse and violence prevention across the lifespan, including community members, community organizations, school partners, Adams County Health Department programs, local government, and regional and statewide programs.

To be considered for this position, you must include the following on your job application. 

• Cover Letter
• Resume/CV

Examples of Duties for Success

Leadership:

• Serves as subject matter expert and consultant with a deep understanding of substance use and violence prevention strategies, evidence-base, trainings, and resources, including, but not limited to, Shared Risk and Protective Factors, Policy and Advocacy, Safe Spaces, Prevention of Access to Lethal Means, Stigma Reduction, Early Identification and Intervention, Harm Reduction and Recovery Support.
• Demonstrates developed leadership abilities, including educating, mentoring, training, and developing colleagues and community partners in program-related areas.
• Reviews policies, procedures, and protocols and provides recommendations to ACHD and Adams County leadership to advance healthy equity and meet Adams County residents’ behavioral health needs.
• Focuses on strategic, long-term impact, leading and implementing projects and refining processes.
• Exercises high-level decision-making latitude and 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 substance use prevention through changes to systems, policies, and practices.Public Health Advanced Practice: 
• Maintains active 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, specifically related to priority populations to ensure:
• Behavioral health strategies and resources are connected and mutually reinforcing.
• Community stakeholders know they may turn to ACHD for resources and information on substance use prevention and violence prevention and are connected to those resources.
• Assists in development of strategic goals and objectives for behavioral health initiatives across the health department and county-wide.
• Supports the development and procurement of funding to sustain substance use prevention and violence prevention strategies.
• Compiles and interprets data, makes recommendations on quality improvement, and assists with design and implementation of systems and programs.
• Seeks knowledge of patterns and relationships in systems contributing to public health challenges and inequities and coordinates responses to a changing public health environment through problem-solving and adapting programs using change management tools and best practices.
• Coordination, Collaboration, and Community Engagement:
• Supports the co-creation and dissemination of messaging and communications to increase the awareness of promotion and prevention initiatives, integrate de-stigmatizing language in all communication, and elevate the importance of substance use prevention in priority settings.
• Works with project teams and work groups internally and externally to apply tools that facilitate development and tracking of shared goals.
• Collaborates internally and externally, with multiple sectors, 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.
• 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.
• Facilitates collaborative models for community health improvement using both collective impact and process improvement facilitation to leverage existing community efforts and strengths.
• Ensures community voices, decision-making process, and prevention and policy approach are inclusive of the impacted community.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 demonstrates a genuine commitment to equity and inclusion.

Qualifications for Success

• Knowledge of public health model(s), techniques and best practices related to community change, shared risk and protective factors, community engagement, coalition building and collective impact.
• Knowledge of substance use and violence prevention strategies, evidence-base, trainings, and resources, including, but not limited to, Shared Risk and Protective Factors, Policy and Advocacy, Safe Spaces, Prevention of Access to Lethal Means, Stigma Reduction, Early Identification and Intervention, Harm Reduction and Recovery Support.
• 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 stakeholders 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.
• Must be proficient in use of online meeting platforms and Microsoft Office tools including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.

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. 
• 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.
• Skilled in leading program planning for sustainable policy changes, facilitating diverse groups, and managing public health programs through data analysis and project management.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.