Job Description

Job Description and Duties

If new to California state service, you will need to have taken and passed the examination for this classification in order to be hired for this position. If you are a current state employee, but do not have transfer eligibility or list eligibility, you will need to have taken and passed the examination for this classification in order to be hired for this position. Please go to CalHR’s website to review the exam bulletin:

This position supports the California Department of Public Health’s (CDPH) mission and strategic plan by improving African American maternal and infant health outcomes.

The incumbent works under the direction of the Health Program Manager I, California Perinatal Equity Initiatives Unit, the Health Program Specialist (HPS) I functions as a highly skilled, technical, program consultant responsible for providing support and expertise to the Local Health Jurisdictions (LHJs) funded by the Perinatal Equity Initiative (PEI) and their local grantees. The HPS I is required to provide technical assistance and consultation to Local Health Jurisdictions to support local program development and implementation. The HPS I reviews, monitors, and approves Scopes of Work and budgets; and reviews, analyzes, and provides feedback on required program reports.

The HPS I is responsible for facilitating and participating in the assessment, monitoring and evaluation of program activities and for providing written reports to management with recommendations for program improvement. The incumbent functions as a liaison between staff in the local programs and the State Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health (MCAH) Division and partners in other programs at the State and local level. Up to 5% in-state travel, which may involve overnight stays, is required to attend meetings, trainings, and conferences, and to visit PEI sites.

In July 2025, the State of California implemented the Personal Leave Program (PLP) 2025. This program temporarily reduces employees’ monthly base pay in exchange for paid leave credits. This position is subject to PLP 2025 and will have a monthly base pay reduction of 3% in exchange for 5 hours of leave credits through June 2027. The salary ranges shown on this job posting do not reflect the salary reduction.

This position may be eligible for telework. The amount of telework permitted is at the discretion of the Department and is subject to change, consistent with CDPH’s Telework Program. All employees who telework are required to be California residents in accordance with Government Code 14200. Candidates who reside outside of the state of California may be interviewed; however, the selected candidate must have a primary residency in the state of California prior to appointment (and continue to maintain California residency) as a condition of employment. Failure to meet this requirement may result in the job offer being rescinded.

Travel may be required for this position. Reimbursement for travel takes into consideration an employee’s designated headquarters, as reflected in the duty statement, and is subject to regulations and bargaining unit contract provisions. All commute expenses to the designated headquarters office will be the responsibility of the selected candidate.

The headquarters office location for this position is identified in the attached duty statement.

Please let us know how you heard about our position by taking this brief survey:

You will find additional information about the job in the .

Special Requirements

For experience/education to qualify during the application screening process, and to ensure that minimum qualifications can be determined, applicants should include all employment history on the Employment Application (STD 678) and/or Resume, including detailed job descriptions,  hours worked per week , and  start/end dates (MM/DD/YYYY) .  Application packages without this information will experience delayed processing times and your eligibility for this position may be impacted.

A completed State application (STD. 678) and any other relevant documents (e.g., unofficial transcript, copy of degree, resume, etc.) should be submitted electronically via your CalCareers Account. Please reference  Job Control # 534654  and indicate the basis of your eligibility in the Examination(s) or Job Title(s) section. SROA and surplus candidates should submit a copy of their letter with their application. Please remove any confidential information (i.e., social security number, date of birth) from your documents prior to submission.

Complete Application Packages (including your Examination/Employment Application (STD 678) and applicable or required documents) must be submitted to apply for this Job Posting. Application Packages may be submitted electronically through your CalCareers Account at Submitting an electronic application through your CalCareers account is strongly recommended since electronic applications will be received/processed faster than other methods of filing. Please submit only one application.

If you are unable to submit your application electronically through your CalCareers account, please email  apply@cdph.ca.gov for assistance and a CDPH Human Resources Division staff member will contact you to assist with the online application process or, a hard copy application package may be submitted through an alternative method as explained in the How to Apply section below. When submitting your application in hard copy, a completed copy of the Application Package listing must be included.

Desirable Qualifications

In addition to evaluating each candidate's relative ability, as demonstrated by quality and breadth of experience, the following factors will provide the basis for competitively evaluating each candidate:

• A conscientious individual with a solid work ethic.
• Excellent time management and organizational skills.
• Experience working in public health, particularly in the field of maternal health.
• Team player who develops and maintains cooperative working relations with internal and external stakeholders.
• Desire to improve the health of Californians by reducing maternal morbidity and mortality.
• High level of experience utilizing technology for communicating, producing webinars, and creating documents and spreadsheets.
• Solid writing, verbal and remote platform presentation skills (Teams, Zoom, Webex).

Benefits

Benefit information can be found on the CalHR website and the CalPERS website.

Statement of Qualifications

The SOQ should be no longer than two pages, 12-point Arial font. Resume is required and must be included.

1. Health program administration refers to the practice of managing and overseeing the operations of healthcare or public health programs to ensure efficient delivery of health services within a specific healthcare setting. Significant health programs include, but are not limited to: Mental Health Services, Physician Services, Medical Records, Pharmacy, Medical Appeals, Dietary, Nursing Services, Diagnostic (X-Ray, Lab), and Dental.

Describe in detail your health program administration experience including the duties performed, the length of time, with the start and end dates (month and year) of each job.

1. Describe and define your interpersonal communication style and how you would engage with a team working across several public agencies and with a range of perspectives and work styles?

Required Application Package Documents

The following items are required to be submitted with your application. Applicants who do not submit the required items timely may not be considered for this job:

• Current version of the State Examination/Employment Application STD Form 678 (when not applying electronically), or the Electronic State Employment Application through your Applicant Account at All Experience and Education relating to the Minimum Qualifications listed on the Classification Specification should be included to demonstrate how you meet the Minimum Qualifications for the position.
• Resume is required and must be included.
• Statement of Qualifications -

  Please see Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) instructions below at end of posting . Applications received without a written response to the SOQ may be rejected.

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