Job Description

The Department of Public Health prioritizes equitable and inclusive access to quality healthcare for its community and values the importance of diversity in its workforce. All employees at the Department of Public Health work to advance equity, inclusion, and diversity with a specific lens and focus on race, ethnicity, gender, sex, sexuality, disability, and immigration status. 

• Application Opening –  Friday, January 2, 2026
• Application Deadline – the application filing will be open continuously at least through Tuesday, January 13, 2026  and will close any time thereafter.
• Salary : $116,064-$141,102Annually
• Appointment Type :  Permanent Civil Service
• Recruitment ID : CBT-2819- H00144

The Mission of the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) is to protect and promote the health of all San Franciscans. SFDPH strives to achieve its mission through the work of multiple divisions - the San Francisco Health Network, Population Health, Behavioral Health Services, and Administration. The San Francisco Health Network is the City’s only complete system of care and has locations throughout the City, including Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center, and over 15 primary care health centers. The Population Health Division (PHD) provides core public health services for the City and County of San Francisco: health protection, health promotion, disease and injury prevention, and disaster preparedness and response. Behavioral Health Services operates in conjunction with SFHN and provides a range of mental health and substance use treatment services.

Job Description

GENERAL

JOB DESCRIPTION

:  Under general supervision, the Health Educator leads various public health education initiatives; plans, conducts and evaluates special and continuing programs in health education; may supervise subordinates engaged in such work; and performs related duties as required.

NATURE OF POSITION:  This position may require sustained physical effort involving continuous walking with some bending and stooping in conducting activities with occasional exposure to health and safety hazards and other unpleasant conditions. Also requires sustained time working at a computer workstation. May occasionally be required to work evenings and weekends.

Examples of Important and Essential Duties:
The essential functions of a 2822 Health Educator include, but are not limited to:

• Acts as health education specialist to inter and intra-departmental divisions across the full Spectrum of Prevention; this may include: policy development, systems/organizational change, coalition building, mobilizing community, and educating providers, community members and individuals.
• Supervises Assistant Health Educators, interns, or other staff engaged in related work, as needed.
• Supports and provides backbone staffing to DPH and community coalitions focused on culturally relevant health prevention and promotion projects, activities, and programs.
• Plans, organizes, conducts, and evaluates training programs for DPH employees, the SF Health Network, and community partners.
• Develops communications plans utilizing relevant and effective communication strategies; develops, produces, and updates printed and electronic materials.
• Keeps informed of current trends in public health, the work of other agencies, community relations; represents the health department in professional and community affairs.
• Partners with and provides technical assistance to community organizations to support objectives and programs of DPH; attends and addresses meetings; acts as technical advisor to organizations; arranges meetings and obtain speakers; recruits volunteers for DPH programs.
• Analyzes and utilizes data for policy analysis, program planning and evaluation, and other related work.
• Prepares strategic plans, reports to funders, grant proposals, position papers, quality improvement (QI) activities, and other key documents.
• Confers with supervisor and Branch leadership regarding assignments, problems, and progress.
• Attends Branch, Division, and Department level staff meetings.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Qualifications

MINIMUM

QUALIFICATIONS

( Required ):

1. Education: Requires possession of Master's Degree in Public Health (MPH) with:
   • A concentration in Health Education accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) ,  OR
   • Completion of 4 courses (minimum of 10 semester units or 15 quarter units) in any of the following subjects: program planning/evaluation, community assessment/intervention, public health education/social behavior theory, community organization/promotion, groups process, training fundamentals, culture/ethnic diversity, eliminating health disparities/inequities, and community-based research methods;  AND
2. Experience: Requires 6 months (completion of 1040 hours) of health educator experience during or post-Master's program in a public or community health setting.

Applicants must meet the minimum qualification requirement by the final filing date unless otherwise noted. 

One-year fulltime employment is equivalent to 2,000 hours (2,000 hours of qualifying work experience is based on a 40-hour work week).

SPECIAL CONDITIONS:  Some positions may require special conditions, including but not limited to Bilingual Proficiency: Some positions may require bilingual fluency in a variety of languages depending upon the department's bilingual needs. Only those eligible candidates who pass the bilingual proficiency test will be considered for bilingual positions. Applicants must indicate on the application form the language(s) in which they claim proficiency. Special conditions associated with the position(s) to be filled may differ from the standard minimum

qualifications

associated with this classification.

Important Note:  Please make sure it is absolutely clear in your application exactly how you meet the minimum

qualifications

. Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. Please be aware that any misrepresentation of this information may disqualify you from this recruitment or future job opportunities. 

Additional Information

Selection Procedures : 
After application submission, candidates deemed qualified must complete all subsequent steps to advance in this selection process, which includes the following.

Multiple-Choice Examination (Weight: 100%)

Candidates that meet the minimum

qualifications

will be invited to participate in a multiple-choice examination designed to measure knowledge, skills and/or abilities in job related areas which may include but is not limited to the following: knowledge of community health education and public health principles and practices; knowledge of health education program planning; knowledge of health education evaluation methods; health education training ability; communication ability; and interpersonal/collaborative ability.

Candidates must achieve a passing score on the exam in order to continue in the selection process and will be placed on the confidential eligible list in rank order according to their final score.

Additional selection processes may be conducted by the hiring department prior to making final hiring decisions.

Certification
The certification rule for the eligible list resulting from this examination will be the  Rule of Ten Scores.

Eligible List/Score Report :
Once you pass the exam, you will be placed onto an eligible list and given a score and a rank. For more information, visit 

The duration of the eligible list resulting from this examination process will be 12 months and may be extended with the approval of the Human Resources Director.

How to apply:

Applications for City and County of San Francisco jobs are only accepted online at  careers.sf.gov .

Our e-mail communications may come from more than one department so please make sure your email is set to accept messages from all of us at this  link .

Applicants may be contacted by email about this recruitment. Please consider using a personal email address that you check regularly rather than a work or school account.

Applicants will receive a confirmation email that their online application has been received in response to every announcement for which they file. Applicants should retain this confirmation email for their records. Failure to receive this email means that the online application was not submitted or received.

Terms of Announcement and Appeal Rights:
Applicants must be guided solely by the provisions of this announcement, including requirements, time periods and other particulars, except when superseded by federal, state or local laws, rules or regulations. [Note: The correction of clerical errors in an announcement may be posted on the Department of Human Resources website at  .] The terms of this announcement may be appealed under Civil Service Rule 110.4. Such appeals must be submitted in writing to the Department of Human Resources, 1 S Van Ness Avenue, 4th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94103-5413 by close of business on the 5th business day following the issuance date of this examination announcement. Information concerning other Civil Service Commission Rules involving announcements, applications and examination policies, including applicant appeal rights, can be found on the Civil Service Commission website at  .

Additional information

regarding Employment with the City and County of San Francisco: 

If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the analyst,  Elaine Adams at  elaine.adams@sfdph.org or (628) 271-6974 . 

We may use text messaging to communicate with you on the phone number provided in your application. The first message will ask you to opt in to text messaging.

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.

Job Tags

Permanent employment, Full time, Work experience placement, Local area, Weekend work, Afternoon shift,

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