Job Description

Job Description and Duties

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.

The Health Program Specialist I (HPS I) supports the California Department of Public Health’s (CDPH) mission and strategic plan by enhancing preparedness and response for emerging public health threats. This position serves as a key technical consultant and liaison to local public health jurisdictions (LHJs), providing leadership, coordination, and oversight for emergency preparedness programs funded through federal and state sources. The HPS I ensures programmatic compliance, supports performance improvement, and fosters collaboration across public health and healthcare sectors.

• Coordinate the development, implementation, and evaluation of emergency preparedness programs for assigned LHJs, including Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP), Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP), and Pandemic Influenza (Pan Flu) initiatives.
• Serve as a subject matter expert (SME) providing technical assistance and training to LHJs on programmatic requirements, performance measures, and reporting expectations.
• Review LHJ annual work plans and programmatic purchase requests in coordination with Contract Managers to ensure alignment with federal and state guidelines.
• Monitor and track LHJ progress toward deliverables and performance measures; collect and analyze reports to identify best practices, challenges, and areas for improvement.
• Maintain awareness of evolving local, state, and federal emergency preparedness policies and communicate relevant updates to LHJs and CDPH leadership.
• Establish and maintain collaborative relationships with local, regional, and state emergency planning experts in public health and healthcare.
• Review LHJ emergency preparedness and response plans, identify capability gaps, and recommend strategies to strengthen local readiness.
• Act as a liaison between LHJs and the State to address preparedness gaps and escalate systemic issues to management.
• Plan and conduct annual site visits to assess LHJ programmatic progress, provide technical assistance, and document findings in formal reports.
• Organize and facilitate regional meetings with LHJs to promote coordination and share strategies for improving preparedness and response.
• Track and evaluate the effectiveness of implemented solutions and provide ongoing support to LHJs.
  

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:

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 .

Working Conditions

Telework Information

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.

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 # (494824)  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:

• Demonstrated experience in public health emergency preparedness or healthcare preparedness programs.
• Proven experience with developing and improving emergency preparedness and response plans.
• Strong knowledge of federal and state emergency preparedness funding streams, including PHEP and HPP.
• Familiarity with SEMS, NIMS, and other emergency management frameworks.
• Excellent analytical, organizational, and project management skills.
• Effective communication and interpersonal skills for working with diverse stakeholders.
• Ability to travel for site visits, trainings, and meetings (up to 20%).

Benefits

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

Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) Instructions

A Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) is required. The SOQ must be typed in 12-point  font, single-spaced, on letter sized paper, (8.5" x 11"), and be no more than TWO pages  in length. Responses should be complete, specific, clear, concise, and include  examples. Resumes or Cover letter will not be considered a substitute for the SOQ

Describe in detail your experience managing or supervising complex major health programs or projects including any planning, researching, implementing, evaluating, and monitoring. Please elaborate on the health program administration duties performed, your level of responsibility, and the start and end dates (month and year) of each position.

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 instructions below at end of posting .  Any applications received that  do not provide a written response to the SOQ will not be scored/reviewe d .

Job Tags

Permanent employment, Full time, Contract work, Work at office, Local area, Remote work,

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