Health Information Specialist II
What Makes Sonoma County a Great Choice
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 excellent benefits* including:
- A hybrid telework schedule that meets the needs of our staff, department operations, and the communities we serve
- Eligibility for 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
- Competitive vacation and sick leave accruals, 12 paid holidays, and an additional 8 floating holiday hours per year
- County paid 100% premium contribution for the majority of employee-only and employee + family health plan options
- An annual Staff Development/Wellness Benefit allowance of up to $850 and ongoing education/training opportunities
- County contribution to a Health Reimbursement Arrangement to help fund post-retirement employee health insurance/benefits
- Retirement fully integrated with Social Security
- May be eligible for up to 8 weeks (320 hours) of Paid Parental Leave after 12 months of County employment
About the Position
Health Information Specialist II (HIS II) positions perform a wide variety of health information and education activities within an assigned program area. This HIS II position will be assigned to work on the Tobacco Prevention team, and will work on activities for the Department of Justice Tobacco Grants program, the California Tobacco Control Program (CTCP), and to fulfill administrative and enforcement work related to ongoing tobacco retail license (TRL) fees for the County of Sonoma, City of Petaluma, and Town of Windsor.
Responsibilities include:
- Overseeing contracts to support retail compliance efforts with law enforcement and local contractor
- Performing and leading tasks involved with administering and conducting compliance activities, including conducting compliance visits with tobacco retailers in the county and issuing citations as needed
- Coordinating and training young adults to perform a purchase survey through decoy and observation operations
- Educating retailers on how to maintain compliance with all laws
- Developing and updating data collection tools, collecting data and providing analysis to produce salient messages, findings, and materials to educate the public, inform policy makers
- Supporting communities and city staff on the implementation of tobacco retail policy
- Coordinating and delivering training and presentations to the community on retail policy
- Administering and issuing annual tobacco licenses
- Maintaining a database related to tobacco retailers past and present in Sonoma County
- Developing, selecting, and posting educational materials and media
The position works closely with the team and supervisor to confirm the direction of new work and in making major decisions related to citations, data collection and analysis, having sensitive conversations, and finalizing public-facing outreach and education materials. On occasion, this position will work in the evening and on weekends. Their work involves driving and visiting retailers all over Sonoma County, so a driver’s license is required.
The ideal candidate for this position will possess:
- Significant experience working in the health prevention, promotion, and/or education field
- Knowledge of social determinants of health and equity concepts
- Excellent organizational skills and the ability to document all retail visits data in a complete and efficient manner
- The ability to research, analyze, and present data in the form of reports, articles, and social media
- An understanding of tobacco laws, especially in the retail arena would be beneficial
- The ability to represent the County to the public and with retailers, to work effectively at gaining respect from retailers, and to provide good customer service
- Intermediate Microsoft Office skills
- Experience conducting compliance visits would be helpful
- Spanish speaking at the basic level would be a plus
*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 Engineers and Scientists of California Union Local 20 Memorandum of Understanding (ESC MOU) and our Employee Benefits directory.
This recruitment is being conducted to fill a Health Information Specialist II position in the Department of Health Services. This employment list may also be used to fill future full-time, part-time, or extra-help positions as they occur during the active status of the list. Qualified county employees who wish to be considered for future vacancies should consider applying to this recruitment.
Minimum Qualifications
Education: Possession of a Bachelor's degree with major coursework in health education, community health, social services or closely related field. On-the-job experience in prevention, health promotion and/or health education experience, especially dealing with diverse populations, together with academic coursework in health education, community health, social services or a closely related field may be substituted for a Bachelor's degree on a year-for-year basis. Graduate level coursework is desirable in health education, community health, social services or a closely related field. Possession of a Master's degree is desirable.
Experience: Any combination of experience that would provide the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and abilities listed. Normally, two years of experience equivalent to the level of Health Information Specialist I with Sonoma County would fulfill this requirement.
Or
Two years of on-the-job work experience in prevention, health promotion and/or health education. Work experience in a public health education environment involving training and instructing various age groups and special target populations is highly desirable.
Special Qualifications: Some positions may require the ability to fluently speak and write a language other than English.
Working Conditions: Duties may require exposure to hostile, emotionally disturbed or mentally ill persons and/or confrontational interpersonal situations; exposure to communicable diseases; stand for long periods of time; stoop, lift articles in accordance with accepted safety standards; perform physical tasks as required; may work in high risk areas of the community; may be required to work a flexible schedule.
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
Working knowledge of: health education principles, practices and methods including those dealing with substance abuse, health promotion, health maintenance and disease prevention; principles, methods and techniques of community organization, group work, program planning; techniques for outreach to and collaboration with diverse groups and communities; public, non-profit, and private community resources and service agencies; State laws and regulations appropriate to a specialized area; methods, principles and techniques of instruction, training and teaching in structured and unstructured situations; research, survey, data compilation and evaluation methods and procedures; techniques in preparing written materials and other education aids; and facilitation and presentation skills.
Knowledge of: principles, methods and techniques of community organization, group work, program planning, program evaluation, grant writing, budget preparation and contract management; health education resources and materials; automated systems and programs utilized in the development and dissemination of documents and graphic materials; and State laws and regulations appropriate to a specialized area.
Ability to: Plan and implement health information and health promotion programs and services; apply statistical and survey methods to identify future program and community needs and evaluate programs and services; write and speak effectively and prepare and maintain clear and concise records and program reports; prepare public information materials and reports; make presentations to community and professional groups; exercise independent judgment, analyze and evaluate situations independently and take appropriate actions; plan, organize, conduct and oversee a variety of instruction and training activities; build coalitions of diverse organizations and individuals to facilitate the delivery of health education services; develop and maintain effective relations with clients, staff, community groups and organizations; work effectively with diverse groups; conduct research to identify sources of grant and other funds and assist in the preparation of proposals necessary for their acquisition; utilize mass media communication resources such as newspapers, radio, television and graphic arts; and utilize a variety of automated systems and programs to develop documents and graphic materials for use in program activities.
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.