DHHS Program Specialist - Environmental Public Health

The work we do matters!

Hiring Agency:

Health & Human Services - Agency 25

Location:

Lincoln, NE

Hiring Rate:

$24.314

Job Posting:

JR2025-00018599 DHHS Program Specialist - Environmental Public Health (Open)

Applications No Longer Accepted On (If no date is displayed, job is posted as open until closed):

08-25-2025

Job Description:

The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health is seeking a motivated individual with a passion for public health to fill the role of a Program Specialist.

The Program Specialist will join our Epidemiology team and will be responsible for planning and coordinating programs focused on Environmental Public Health and Epidemiology. In this role, you will help fulfill the agency goal of ‘Helping People Live Better Lives’ by supporting programs that use health and environmental data to drive actions for improving the health of Nebraskans.

 

Job Duties:

• Coordinate day-to-day program operations and grant activities for environmental public health and epidemiology programs.
• Develop and implement programs plans, interventions, and policies to improve public health services and enhance the effectiveness of programs.
• Build relationships and serve as liaison to state and federal agencies, local health departments, health professionals, academia, community organizations, and the public.
• Organize, prepare, and submit work plans, grant applications, progress reports, performance measures, and reports.
• Conduct health outreach and training to a wide variety of communities and audiences.
• Develop and implement communication and health education projects. 
• Draft contracts and subawards, review and approve work plans and payments, conduct programmatic and fiscal monitoring, and provide technical assistance.
• Monitor program budgets, allocation of grant funding, and financial reporting.
• Prepare and submit budget justifications and budget requests to state and federal agencies.

 

Requirements/Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree, or equivalent coursework/training, in public administration, social/behavioral sciences, healthcare, human services or other program related field. Professional experience working in a human/social service or health care agency with responsibility for planning or evaluation services, programs or operational policies and practices may substitute in lieu of the educational requirement.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in public health, public administration, or other related field.
• At least one year of experience working with grants, budgets, contracts, and/or public health programs.
• Prior experience performing program planning, implementation, monitoring and/or evaluation.
• Proven ability to build relationships with diverse internal and external stakeholders.
• Effective communication skills, including both technical writing and oral communication.
• Skilled in Microsoft Office Suite, including Excel and Word.
• Experience or knowledge of environmental health concepts.

Other:  Valid driver's license.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Knowledge of federal and state regulations, agency policies, and business/management principles.
• Knowledge of public health programming, including contracts, grant funding, and budgeting methods. 
• Ability to plan, organize and direct a major program.
• Ability to prepare and review technical documents such as summaries of state and federal regulations, action plans, reports, contracts, and grants.
• Ability to maintain liaison with community representatives and other governmental agencies.
• Strong communication skills to present information clearly to internal leadership, external stakeholders, and federal partners.

 

Benefits

We offer a comprehensive package of pay, benefits, paid time off, retirement and professional development opportunities to help you get the most out of your career and life. Your paycheck is just part of your total compensation.

Check out all that the State of Nebraska has to offer! Benefit eligibility may vary by position, agency and employment status. For more information on benefits, please visit: https://statejobs.nebraska.gov/index.html#benefits

Equal Opportunity Statement

The State of Nebraska values our teammates as well as a supportive environment