Health Communications Specialist

General Duties:

• Develop and tailor communications materials for diverse audiences (e.g., public, consumer groups, industry, government officials, academia, and other technical audiences) in collaboration with CDC staff.
• Facilitate CDC subject matter expert review and clearance of communication materials and provide technical assistance on health promotion and communication needs.
• Provide rapid turn-around editing, writing, and communications input on messages to be released to the public during harmful algal bloom events.
• Design and produce communication and education materials for a variety of audiences to support preparedness and response to harmful algal bloom-related events.
• Work collaboratively with internal and external partners to create communication plans and ensure strategies meet communication objectives.
• Develop and execute dissemination plans for messages and materials to ensure distribution through appropriate channels to reach target audiences.
• Assist in the identification of gaps in existing communication materials. This role includes identifying and recommending content updates or new information for harmful algal bloom communication materials (e. g., fact sheets, newsletters, web pages, social media, and slide presentations), with a focus on writing and editing using plain language guidelines, coordinating clearance across internal and external stakeholders, and working closely with graphic design staff on layout.
• Provide technical assistance on health promotion and communication needs, including sharing CDC resources at educational or stakeholder conferences through exhibits, posters, and presentations, as deemed appropriate and necessary by CDC staff, and providing support for branch meetings, including planning agendas, creating slides, and providing technical support during web-based and in-person meetings.
• Establish and maintain working relationships with federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial partners, health officials, scientists, partners, stakeholders, and community representatives.
• Develop positive, effective relationships with senior level officials and scientific experts to determine and negotiate appropriate content updates and assist senior communication staff in developing agendas/materials for internal and external meetings.
• Identify topics or materials in need of formative or summative research and work with CDC staff to develop research questions and translate science research findings related to harmful algal bloom exposures and risks into prevention messages into communication materials.
• Evaluate and improve public health messaging. This includes compiling and analyzing metrics and other program evaluation data, collecting data from a variety of sources, including web, social media, and newsletters, and presenting in a cohesive, organized format.
• Assist in the design, re-design, and re-formatting of CDC web pages using best practices in web design and navigation.