Program Specialist (Communicable Disease Option)

THIS IS A NEW ASSEMBLED EXAMINATION. The eligible list resulting from this examination will cancel any existing list and may last approximately one year, but can be extended.

Applications must be in the possession of the Human Resource Services Department by 5:00 p.m. on the Last Day for Filing. Postmarks are not accepted. Applications will only be accepted on-line.

Supplemental Questionnaire: A properly completed Supplemental Questionnaire must be submitted with each application. Applications and Supplemental Questionnaires must be in the possession of the Human Resource Services Department by 5:00 p.m. on the Last Day for Filing. Applications will only be accepted on-line. Postmarks are not accepted. Failure to submit the Application or Supplemental Questionnaire will result in disqualification.

HEALTH CARE SERVICES AGENCY
Alameda County's Health Services Program is administered by the Health Care Services Agency and includes the following program areas: Behavioral Health Care, Public Health, Environmental Health, and Agency Administration/Indigent Health. The ultimate mission of the Health Care Services Agency is to provide fully integrated health care services through a comprehensive network of public and private partnerships that ensure optimal health and well-being and respect the diversity of all residents.

PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT
Alameda County Public Health Department has worked for over 80 years to improve the health and safety of its residents and the neighborhoods they live in. Traditional public health concerns such as disease outbreaks, environmental hazards and access to health care have been joined by contemporary concerns: bioterrorism, crime, violence, and substance abuse. Each of these poses a threat to public health and wellness and calls for short and long-term solutions that lie well outside traditional public health boundaries.  For more information about our Alameda County Public Health Department, please visit the Alameda County Public Health Department Website and latest Annual Budget document found on www.acgov.org

THE POSITION
Program Specialists provide program planning, technical assistance, review and evaluation functions to direct client service delivery programs where such services are provided by community-based organizations (CBO's), contract service providers and/or County staff in a wide variety of service areas; act as County liaison with service providers and funding sources and ensure that program regulations and procedures are followed; and to perform other related work as required.

THE VACANCY
There is currently one vacancy in the Division of Communicable Disease Control and Prevention (DCDCP).

SPECIAL REQUIREMENT: In addition to meeting the minimum qualifications below, this position requires two years of experience in advising, consulting, and training staff on the various types of communicable diseases in a public health setting. 

IMMUNIZATION SECTION
The Immunization (IZ) section is located within the Division of Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, a division of the Public Health Department. The mission and goal of the Immunization section is to help Alameda County adults and children get the necessary education, information, and resources regarding immunizations which protect against disease that can be prevented by providing referrals to free and low-cost clinics. The Immunization section is contracted with The California Department of Public Health to implement and maintain a program to make the required immunizations available to our residents as recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) while serving as a liaison between the Vaccines for Children Program and our medical providers. 

Our Immunization Assistance Project provides technical support and expertise to health care providers about quality assurance issues and methods to increase immunization rates in our county. The IZ section staff work with parents, physicians, clinics, schools, senior programs, faith communities and other organizations to accomplish our mission. The IZ section provides support to local schools and childcare centers in meeting school immunization requirements. The IZ section offers immunization clinics to vaccinate eligible residents for vaccine preventable diseases. The IZ section is registered with the California Automated Immunization Registry (CAIR), which is an electronic record keeping system governed by the State of California. The IZ section has coordinated many prevention projects in the community including the Immunization Assistance Project, I WHACK GERMS, and provision of school-based vaccination clinics.  The section also includes the Perinatal Hepatitis B Program, a county wide effort to decrease the transmission of Hepatitis B from mother to infant.

IDEAL CANDIDATE
In addition to meeting the minimum qualifications stated below, the ideal candidate will possess extensive coalition development, community advocacy, or community organizing experience. The ideal candidate will also have a firm grasp on effective communication strategies and practices to reach diverse audiences and competent technical skills to sustain all communications. Additionally, successful candidates will possess the following critical attributes:

• Experience with managing coalitions, collaborative efforts or partnerships - knowledge regarding how to coordinate various activities and keep all participating partners highly engaged and motivated.
• Exceptional written communication skills with the ability to create powerful, succinct messages of high quality for diverse audiences, and well as the ability to assist with broader documents such as grant applications or reports.
• Knowledge of required immunizations for pediatric and adult populations and communicable disease principles.
• Experience creating new projects/activities/products based on data from the community.
• Ability to work cooperatively with internal and external partners to accomplish the objectives of building and maintaining mutually beneficial relationships and partnerships.
• Exceptional organizational skills; ability to independently prioritize tasks, work on multiple projects simultaneously, and provide status updates on projects at a moment’s notice.
• Desire to pursue, and plan for, ongoing professional development.
• Experience with developing training curricula and creating high quality, accurate presentations.
• Experience with developing effective marketing materials and use of various marketing mediums.
• Experience with disseminating messages to diverse audiences, using numerous mechanisms (social media, web postings, email newsletters, etc.).
• Experience with developing evaluations of different activities and initiatives to ensure effectiveness.

 

Education:

The equivalent to graduation from an accredited four year college or university (180 quarter units or 120 semester units) with major coursework in business or public administration, a social science or a field related to the program area to which assigned.

(Additional experience as outlined below may be substituted for the education on a year-for-year basis.)

AND

Experience:

The equivalent to three years of full-time professional-level or supervisory work in the direct delivery of services to clients or the oversight of such services in the program area to which assigned, one year of which must have included program planning and evaluation, or in program administration, contract negotiations, grants management and similar financial services.

Substitution:

(Possession of a Master’s degree in business, public administration, social science or a related field to the program area to which assigned from an accredited college or university, may be substituted for two years of the required experience.)

SPECIAL REQUIREMENT: In addition to meeting the minimum qualifications below, this position requires two years of experience in advising, consulting, and training staff on the various types of communicable diseases in a public health setting. 

Licenses:
Specified positions may require possession of a valid California driver's license. Specified positions may also require licensure or certification in the programmatic area to which assigned.

NOTE: The Civil Service Commission may modify the above Minimum Qualifications in the announcement of an examination.

The most suitably qualified candidates will possess the following competencies:

Knowledge of:

· Principles, practices, funding sources and administrative requirements in the program area to which assigned.
· Principles and practices of program planning and evaluation.
· Principles and practices of direct client service delivery.
· Practices and techniques of programmatic analysis and report preparation.
· Applicable federal, state and local laws, rules and regulations.
· Computer applications related to the work.
· Office administrative practices and procedures, including records management and the operation of standard office equipment.
· Basic budgetary and financial record-keeping techniques.

Ability to:

· Plan, monitor and evaluate program and service delivery effectiveness in the programmatic area to which assigned.
· Identify programmatic and operational problems, investigate and evaluate alternatives and implement effective solutions.
· Interpret, explain and apply complex regulations, policies and procedures.
· Prepare clear, accurate and effective reports, correspondence, policies, informational brochures and other written materials.
· Represent the department and the County in meetings with others and make effective presentations to diverse groups.
· Organize and prioritize work and meet critical deadlines.
· Maintain accurate records and files.
· Exercise sound independent judgment within established policies and guidelines.
· Establish and maintain effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of the work.

The examination will consist of the following steps: 1) A review of candidates' applications to verify possession of minimum requirements. Those candidates who possess the minimum requirements for the class will move on to the next step in the examination process. 2) A review of candidates’ Supplemental Questionnaires to select the best qualified applicants to continue in the process. 3) An oral interview which will be weighted as 100% of the candidate's final examination score. The oral interview may contain situational exercises. CANDIDATES MUST ATTAIN A QUALIFYING RATING ON EACH PORTION OF THIS EXAMINATION. We reserve the right to make changes to the announced examination components.

Alameda County utilizes a Civil Service Selection System founded on merit. Such a system is competitive and based on broad recruitment efforts and equal opportunity for qualified applicants to test in an examination process designed to determine the qualifications, fitness and ability of competitors to perform duties of the vacant position. Many of our recruitments are targeted and specific to the needs of a current vacant position, in which case, the eligible list may be exclusively used for that current vacant position. Other recruitments may be more broadly used for both current and future vacancies, or for other alternate jobs with comparable scopes of work.

To learn more about our recruitment and selection process, please visit the “What You Need to Know” section of our website, www.acgov.org/hrs.

Applicants will be informed via email with reasonable notice in advance of any examination process which will require their attendance. The following dates are tentative and subject to change based on the needs of the Agency:

TENTATIVE SELECTION PLAN

Deadline for Filing:                                                            5:00pm, Monday, September 19, 2016
Review of Minimum Qualifications:                                              Thursday, September 29, 2016
Review of SQ for best qualified:                                                            Monday, October 3, 2016
Panel Interviews:                                                                                   Monday, October 24, 2016*      

*Updated 10/3/2016                   
 
Alameda County and the Human Resource Services Department will make reasonable efforts in the examination and/or selection process to accommodate qualified individuals with disabilities and/or medical conditions in accordance/compliance with the State Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), Federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Alameda County’s Reasonable Accommodation Policy and applicable statutes. To request an accommodation due to a disability/medical condition during this or other phases of the examination/selection process, please contact the assigned Human Resources Representative listed on the job announcement before the last date of filing. Alameda County requires applicants to provide supporting documentation to substantiate a request for reasonable accommodation. In order to qualify for a reasonable accommodation, applicants must have a disability/medical condition pursuant to the ADA, FEHA and applicable statutes.

For more information regarding our Reasonable Accommodation procedures, please visit our website, www.acgov.org/hrs

Alameda County offers a comprehensive and competitive benefits package that affords wide-ranging health care options to meet the different needs of a diverse workforce and their families. We also sponsor many different employee discount, fitness and health screening programs focused on overall well being.  These benefits include but are not limited to*:

For your Health & Welfare Benefits

• Medical – HMO & PPO Insurance
• Dental – PPO & DHMO Insurance  
• Vision
• Basic Life Insurance 
• Supplemental Life Insurance (with optional dependent coverage) 
• County Allowance (Employer Credit)
• Health Flexible Spending Account
• Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account
• Accident, Critical Illness & Hospital Indemnity
• Long Term Care Insurance
• Employee Assistance Program

For your Financial Future

• Short-term Disability Insurance
• Long-Term Disability Insurance
• Retirement Plan – (Defined Benefit Pension Plan)
• Deferred Compensation Plan

For your Work/Life Balance

• 11 paid holidays
• Vacation and sick leave accrual
• Vacation purchase program
• Management Paid Leave**
• Group Auto/Home Insurance
• Commuter Benefits Program
• Group Legal
• Guaranteed Ride Home
• Employee Wellness Program (e.g. At Work Fitness, Incentive Based Programs, Gym Membership Discounts)
• Employee Discount Program (e.g. theme parks, cell phone, etc.)
• Child Care Resources
• 1^st United Services Credit Union 

*Eligibility is determined by Alameda County and offerings may vary by collective bargaining agreement.  This provides a brief summary of the benefits offered and can be subject to change.

** Non-exempt management employees are entitled to up to three days of management paid leave. Exempt management employees are entitled to up to seven days of management paid leave.

All notices related to County recruitments for which you have applied will be sent/delivered via email. Please add @acgov.org and alamedacountyHR@acgov.org as accepted addresses to any email blocking or spam filtering program you may use. If you do not do this, your email blocking or spam filtering program may block receipt of the notices regarding your application for recruitments. You are also strongly advised to regularly log into your County of Alameda online application account to check for notices that may have been sent to you. All email notices that will be sent to you will also be kept in your personal online application account. You will be able to view all of your notices in your online application account by clicking on the "My applications" button on the Current Job Openings page.

Please take the steps recommended above to insure you do not miss any notices about a recruitment for which you have applied. The County of Alameda is not responsible for notices that are not read, received or accessed by any applicant for a County recruitment.

NOTE: All notices are generated through an automated email notification system. Replies to the email box alamedacountyHR@acgov.org are routed to an unmonitored mailbox. All notices are generated through an automated email notification system. Replies to the email box are routed to an unmonitored mailbox. If you have questions please go to our website at www.acgov.org/hrs. You may also contact the Human Resources Analyst listed on the job announcement for the recruitment for which you have applied.

Lindsay Christopher, Human Resources Analyst
Human Resource Services, County of Alameda
510-272-6393
Lindsay.christopher@acgov.org

Alameda County is an Equal Opportunity Employer