Communications Outreach Specialist

Thurston County Public Health and Social Services is recruiting for a Communications Outreach Specialistfor our Administrative Services Division to support the Communications Program.
As Thurston County's local health jurisdiction and human services department, Public Health and Social Services (PHSS) is responsible for protecting the health and promoting the well-being of all people who live, work, and play in Thurston County. We value diversity and strive to foster a sense of belonging, honoring the unique experiences, cultures, skills, backgrounds, identities, and perspectives of our employees and community. As an agency actively working to address health equity, we aspire for everyone to have the opportunity to attain their highest level of health, regardless of their individual circumstances.
In the role of Communications Outreach Specialist, you will support the Public Information Supervisor by providing translation services assistance, committee facilitation, material development, and external outreach assessments. Your goal is to provide timely, accurate, and culturally relevant public health information in easy-to-read formats that best communicate a variety of health messages.
Some of the essential job functions may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Develop, review, update, and revise informational and educational content that will be published to our social media and website ensuring cultural relevance, timeliness, accuracy, and transparency.
• Analyze and interpret technical information in order to distill it in ways that are easily digestible for the communities we serve.
• Assist with the development of new targeted outreach methods to effectively reach the intended audiences.
• Develop a wide variety of outreach materials including videos, flyers, and social media graphics.
• Request and manage translations/interpreters, as needed, ensuring documents are provided in various languages for community members.
• Assist in coordinating whole department communications and outreach materials.
• Perform other work as required or assigned including but not limited to a 24/7 response during public health emergency situations and disease outbreak investigations.

The ideal candidate has the following knowledge, skills, and abilities:

• Experience working with social media and web content creation.
• Working knowledge and understanding of video production, graphic design, and/or photography capability.
• Ability to write, edit, and simplify messages from a variety of program areas using Plain Talk principles.
• Ability to conceptualize and design effective publications and public information materials.

What we offer our employees:

• Work-Life Balance: We are committed to ensuring that our staff experience the reward of public service, while also sustaining a routine that suits each individual's lifestyle.
• Plan for Your Future: As a member of our team, you enjoy great employee benefits, including a retirement plan, pre-tax savings accounts, as well as comprehensive health care and dental/vision care for you and your family. Please visit our 2023 Thurston County Employee Benefit Planswebsite for more information.
• Paid Leave: Full-time regular employees earn a minimum of 12 paid vacation days per year in addition to 11 paid holidays and 2 floating holidays.
• Robust Training Program: Employees are encouraged to attend County-paid training to help them further their career, learn new skill sets, and stay on top of emerging trends in our industry. We also encourage staff to participate in professional organizations and attend conferences.
• Flexible Work Schedules: Options some employees may take advantage of include alternative or compressed schedules and/or remote working.
• See under Benefitslater in this job description for detailed information about the many other benefits the County offers.

Why you'll love it here:
Thurston County is located between Seattle and Portland in Western Washington's South Puget Sound Region. Perched between the mountains and the ocean, the area boasts the perfect blend of year-round outdoor activities including boating, hiking, skiing, and more. The region is also home to the state capital city of Olympia, known for its many restaurants, microbreweries, coffee shops, farmers markets, kids' activities, history, and art events. Discover more about life in Thurston County at Experienceolympia.com.

• Bachelor's degree in education, public health, environmental health, environmental science, or other closely related field. Additional experience can be substituted for education on a year-for-year basis.
• Must have three years experience working in public health, environmental issues, or other related field promoting education, outreach, media campaign, public relations or other comparable experiences to successfully perform duties and responsibilities of the classification.
• Must have the ability to utilize a personal computer with related software to perform the essential functions of the position.
• Current Washington State Driver's License or have requested and obtained an appropriate accommodation.
• A professional certification applicable to area of assignment is highly desired (examples: Pesticide Applicator, Public Health Educator Certification, Hazardous Waste Health and Safety training, etc.).

Respect and Organizational Culture:

• Create an environment where employees and partners can safely express needs or concerns and where employees can make and correct mistakes.
• Effectively interact with sensitivity while working with persons from diverse cultural, socioeconomic, educational, racial, ethnic, and professional backgrounds, and persons of all ages, gender identities, sexual orientations, and lifestyles.
• Thrive in a fast-paced, robust organization maintaining a positive work environment.

Communication:

• Serve the public in a timely, complete, accurate, and professional manner while ensuring that written and verbal communication is clearly understood by others.
• Maintain cultural competency to support diverse perspectives in developing, implementing, and evaluating policies, programs, and services that affect the health of the community.
• Strong oral communication for networking and interpersonal relationships.
• Excellent written communication including the ability to craft correspondence, reports, and articles or web postings with minimal grammatical and syntax errors.

Goal Setting and Accomplishment:

• Use strategic thinking and planning for goal setting and evaluation.
• Effectively plan, organize, and manage competing priorities and challenges under pressure.
• Create a sense of mission by articulating and modeling confidentiality, professional values, and ethics with honesty and integrity.
• Operate with a high degree of flexibility, initiative, attention to detail, and commitment.
• Delegate and use persuasion and negotiating skills for shared responsibility and acceptance of change.

Questions about this recruitment?
The contact person for this recruitment is: Vickie Larkin: vickie.larkin@co.thurston.wa.us or (360) 867-2505
This position is:

• Represented by a union
• Eligible for overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
• Eligible for benefits
• Contingent on the ability to pass a criminal background check
• Grant funded

Items required for consideration:

• Application
• Resume
• Cover letter

PLEASE NOTE: The candidate selected for this position is requiredto show proof of the following immunizations by their agreed upon start date:

• Proof of immunizations of measles/mumps/rubella (MMR)
• Proof of tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (Tdap/TD)

Employment Type: Regular Full-Time Employee