Health Program Associate (35 Hour)

The State of Connecticut, Department of Public Health (DPH), Immunization Program, is recruiting for a Health Program Associate (HPA). This Health Program Associate will oversee vaccine compliance site visits and other compliance-related activities of the Immunization Program. Responsibilities of the HPA position include distributing CDC Vaccines for Children (VFC) and COVID-19 vaccine site visit assignments, oversight of site visit completion and documentation, progress report preparation and budgeting. This position will be responsible for creating and delivering trainings for new site visit reviewers and for ensuring that reviewers remain up-to-date with CDC site visit requirements and recommendations. This will involve leading staff based on CT DPH, local health department and other agencies contracted to participate in site visit activities. This person will have primary responsibility for maintaining CT records in the CDC’s Provider Education and Assessment Reporting (PEAR) database.     

The Mission of the CT DPH Immunization Program is to prevent disease, disability, and death from vaccine-preventable diseases in infants, children, adolescents, and adults. This an opportunity to join the Immunization Program and to play a key role in ensuring that CT childhood and COVID-19 vaccines are administered and stored in a way that is consistent with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) recommendations and requirements so that vaccines are distributed equitably, safely, and efficiently.      

The Mission of the Department of Public Health (DPH) is to protect and improve the health and safety of the people of Connecticut by assuring the conditions in which people can be healthy, preventing disease, injury, and disability, and promoting the equal enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health, which is a human right and a priority of the state.

DPH accomplishes this through the implementation of its Strategic Plan which outlines the actions that DPH is taking to accomplish its Mission.

Are you interested in joining our team as a Health Program Associate? We encourage you to apply today! This is a 35-hour per week, full-time position, based in Hartford. The work schedule is typically Monday through Friday. There is some opportunity for a partial telework schedule (up to 50% of scheduled hours).

Please Note: This position is grant funded with an anticipated end date of June 30, 2024.

We offer a competitive benefits package, excellent health care, generous leave policies, retirement plan, and more!  We also encourage a healthy work-life balance to all employees!

The minimum experience and training requirements must be met by the close date on the job opening, unless otherwise specified.

This position will be filled in accordance with contractual language, reemployment, SEBAC, transfer, promotion and merit employment rules. In order to be considered for this job opening, you must meet the Minimum Qualifications as listed on the job opening. You must specify your qualifications on your application.  

Due to the volume of applications anticipated, we are unable to provide confirmation of receipt or status during the recruitment process. Updates will be provided through your JobAps portal account. 

Interviews will be limited to candidates whose experience most closely meet the preferred requirements of the position. At any point during the recruitment process, applicants may be required to submit additional documentation which support their qualification(s) for this position. These documents may include:  a cover letter, resume, transcripts, diplomas, performance reviews, attendance records, supervisory references, licensure, etc., at the discretion of the hiring agency. Applicants must meet the minimum qualifications as indicated to apply for this position.

In order to comply with Public Act 21-69, the State of Connecticut is no longer asking for resumes during the initial application process.  

Please Note: You will be unable to make revisions once you submit your application for this posting to the JobAps system.

This posting may require completion of additional referral questions (RQs). You can access these RQs via an email that will be sent to you after the posting's closing date or by visiting your JobAps Personal Status Board (Certification Questionnaires section). Your responses to these RQs must be submitted by the question's expiration date. Please regularly check your email and JobAps Personal Status Board for notifications. Please check your SPAM and/or Junk folders on a daily basis in the event an email provider places auto-notification emails in a user's spam. 

Although applicants will receive correspondence via email, as a backup they are also encouraged to sign on to their Personal Status Board on a daily basis to monitor their status, view all emailed notices and complete tasks required in the recruitment process. 

The immediate vacancy is listed above, however, applications to this recruitment may be used for future vacancies in this job class.

All State employees shall follow the guidelines as listed in Executive Orders  13F (3a) and 13G (3a) .

Should you have questions pertaining to this recruitment, please contact Chelsea Moore at Chelsea.Moore@ct.gov

In a state health program or project, this class is accountable for performing high level work in the implementation and coordination of the non-clinical aspects of health care programs or projects.

The specific duties and responsibilities of this generic class vary widely depending on the nature of the program and the current stage in its life cycle. Typical examples of duties include the following: serves as regional coordinator for a statewide health program or project with responsibility for developing and maintaining appropriate programs, projects and liaisons in their assigned regions; participates in planning, organization and implementation of a statewide health program by having responsibility for major components of program such as staffing, work assignment and distribution decisions; initiates and oversees public relations efforts; establishes and maintains relationships involved in program within agency and with other state, community or public agencies; assists division head in expediting program; prepares comprehensive reports on planning and progress of program; develops objectives so program functions within cost estimates; analyzes, evaluates and interprets data; advises and participates in formulation of task forces within or outside agency and coordinates activities so program is successfully accomplished; works with federal, state and community agencies on new, proposed or revised programs to clarify or develop objectives, determine method of integrating programs in agency operations and establish cost estimates; provides technical assistance to community agencies; assists in drafting of legislation and regulations; gathers fiscal and programmatic data on programs and participates in planning budget and programmatic aspects of program; may also be assigned to conduct health planning, program monitoring and grants management for particular programs; may be involved in approval of grants or projects; may speak publicly about program issues and develop information for public distribution; performs related duties as required.

Considerable knowledge of purposes, plans, objectives and programs of public health agencies including changing patterns of preventive medicine and environmental health; considerable knowledge of relationships between risk factors and evidence of health problems; considerable knowledge of changing aspects of social-medical philosophies; knowledge of research and evaluation design methodologies; knowledge of state and community organizations and programs involved in field of public health and medical care; considerable oral and written communication skills; interpersonal skills; considerable ability to plan, organize and direct a complex technical program; ability to analyze, evaluate and interpret data; ability to lead and train staff.

Seven (7) years of professional experience in a health organization.

One (1) year of the General Experience must have been in health care program administration, a health systems agency or other health care organization in at least one of the following areas:

1. grant writing or monitoring;
2. formal program planning, development, management or evaluation;
3. or program consultation.

For State Employees this is interpreted at the level of Health Program Assistant 2.

Note: A health care organization is defined as a large multi-dimensional agency with responsibility for developing health programs.

1. College training may be substituted for the General Experience on the basis of fifteen (15) semester hours equalling one half (1/2) year of experience to a maximum of four (4) years for a Bachelor's degree.
2. A Master's degree in health education, hospital administration, public administration, public health or other closely related field may be substituted for one (1) additional year of the General Experience.
3. For State Employees one (1) year as a Health Program Assistant 2 may substitute for the General and Special Experience.

• Experience implementing immunization or other health care / public health compliance related recommendations and requirements
• Experience planning and preparing budgets, spend plans, and progress reports
• Experience using MS Office software packages (MS Word, MS Power Point, MS Excel)
• Experience creating training materials and conducting trainings
• Experience managing programmatic datasets
• Experience coordinating (planning, organizing, staffing, and overseeing) a statewide health program
• Experience initiating and overseeing public relations efforts with stakeholders
• Experience establishing and maintaining relationships involved in a program within a state agency and with other state, community, or public agencies

Incumbents in this class may be required to travel.

AN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

The State of Connecticut is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and strongly encourages the applications of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities.