Health Educator: Public Health
Maternal & Child Health
“Follow Your Calling, Find Your Career”
Please apply by: 6/18/25
Salary Range: $51,111.10 - $57,353.00/year
This is a
GRANT FUNDED exempt (salary) position
Pay rates are based on education, skill, experience level and internal equity. Internal equity considerations include an assessment of the applicant’s salary history and qualifications in comparison to the market rate and requirements for the job
Grant: Improving Community Outcomes for Maternal/Child Health.
This grant expires May 2026 with an option to renew.
About Us
At Mecklenburg County, you’ll have the chance to build a career as unique as you are with support, inclusive culture and technology to become the best version of you. We’re counting on YOUR unique voice and perspective to help Mecklenburg County Public Health become even better, too. Join us and build an exceptional experience for yourself, and a healthier world for all.
As a member of the Mecklenburg County Public Health team, you will become a subject matter expert in the public health field. The CDC foundation explains that “Public health is the science of protecting and improving the health of people and their communities. This work is achieved by promoting health lifestyles, researching disease and injury prevention, detecting, preventing, and responding to infectious disease”.
Come be a part of Mecklenburg County’s Public Health department’s vision to “assure the health and safety of our diverse and changing community today and for future generations.”
Position Summary
The Maternal & Child Health Educator is a multi-year grant funded through the Improving Community Outcomes for Maternal Child Health (MCH) Initiative and will report to the Sr Health Manager of the Mecklenburg County Prenatal to Five Initiative.
The Maternal & Child Health Educator is responsible for assisting with the ongoing work of the Prenatal to Five Initiative in addition to grant requirements for community breastfeeding education, positive parenting and related evidence-based strategies to decrease infant mortality, improve birth outcomes and improve the health of children 0-5. The health educator will also assist in collaboration between the PN-5 and MCH teams. The incumbent will work throughout Mecklenburg County in professional, clinical and community settings to provide education and consultation for maternal support systems, men and women of child-bearing age, pregnant women, and new mothers who are currently breastfeeding.
This position will receive required training in Mothers & Babies, Triple P, and Ready, Set, Baby.
Essential Functions
- Assist the Sr Health Manager and PN5 Initiative team in projects and activities related to maternal child health outcomes, such as leading county efforts to reducing infant mortality through Safe Sleep programming.
- Provide administration support to the PN5 team when needed, such as helping schedule and convene community meetings and community engagement events
- Attend community meetings and engagement events as a representative of the PN5 Initiative/MCH team
- Research best practices related to breastfeeding and other MCH metrics nationally and seeking out ways to adapt those to Mecklenburg County's population
- Gain an understanding of the PN-5 landscape and facilitate place-based initiatives/projects where data shows the highest needs.
- Gather data regarding impact of work and utilize evidence-based quality improvement methodologies to guide work and inform processes.
- Provide breastfeeding education – both at the individual and community level. breastfeeding myths and increase knowledge on the benefits of breastfeeding
- Conduct outreach and education to the business community (inclusive of Childcare facilities) using the Making It Work toolkit
- Promote and assist with the establishment of lactation rooms in County buildings and community businesses
- Leads or assists with Mothers and Babies group curriculum
- Facilitates seminars and discussion groups for positive parenting
- Leads and/or assists with listening circles
- Promote health equity and engage impacted communities in solution finding
- Makes referrals to other agencies as needed and keeps accurate records of all contacts with mothers and their families
- Assist with marketing and social media promotion ideas and asset creation to increase reach to women and men of color of child-bearing age
- Performs other departmental duties as needed; ensures compliance with required training to include attending conferences and meetings
- Must be available to work in the community outside usual business hours.Evenings and weekends are sometime necessary to meet the needs of our impacted population.
- Respond in cases of urgent and/or emergent events that require public health interventions. Employees may be trained for and assigned duties unrelated to their regular work; work outside normal business hours and workdays and/or in a different work location may be required. Emergency events include, but are not limited to, communicable disease outbreaks, severe weather situations (e.g. snow or ice storms, tornados, hurricanes), natural disasters (e.g. earthquakes), fire, or power outages, and acts of terrorism.
Minimum Qualifications
Experience:
- Minimum of two years of experience in health education or related field
Education:
- Bachelor’s degree in Health Education or health-related field required
Combination of relevant education and relevant experience accepted?: Yes
Licenses and Certifications
- Requires a valid North Carolina or South Carolina Driver's License
- Requires County Driving Privileges
- Annual Motor Vehicle Record (MVR) check required
Preferred Qualifications
- 2 years experience with lactation supports, Maternal and Child Health, and services to the 0-5 year old population, collective impact and community-driven work.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
Knowledge of
- Principles and practices of public health
- Local resources and services
- Person-centered planning
Skills
- Ability to effectively implement communication and marketing strategies
- Excellent oral and written communication skills
- Ability to design, develop, and adapt presentations on a variety of health topics targeted toward a diverse audience
- Good presentation and interpersonal relationship skills
Abilities
- Applied Learning: Assimilating and applying new job-related information in a timely manner
- Collaboration: Working effectively and cooperatively with others; establishing and maintaining good working relationships
- Communication: Clearly conveying information and ideas through a variety of media to individuals or groups in a manner that engages the audience and helps them understand and retain the information provided
- Leveraging Diversity: Working effectively with individuals of diverse cultures, interpersonal styles, abilities, motivations, or backgrounds; making the most effective use of the capabilities, insights and ideas of all individuals
- Patient Education/Health Promotion: Supporting, explaining, and instructing patient and patient’s family in understanding the clinical procedures and equipment used to facilitate optimum health status; promoting the lifestyle changes required of the patient and the patient’s family to achieve optimum health status
- Patient Relations: Meeting patient and patient family needs; taking responsibility for a patient’s safety, satisfaction, and clinical outcomes; using appropriate interpersonal techniques to resolve difficult patient situations and regain patient confidence
- Safety Intervention: Having knowledge of conditions that affect patient, self, and/or employee safety under normal conditions and conditions that occur in crisis situations; skilled in identifying conditions that might cause health or safety hazards and takes action to remove such hazards; understands all aspects of providing a safe environment for patient, self, and/or others in crisis
Computer Skills
- Proficient in various computer applications including Microsoft Office Suite
Compensation and Benefits
In addition to a competitive salary, Mecklenburg County offers a generous benefits package which greatly increases your total compensation. Benefits include medical, dental, vision, life, short term disability, long term disability, accident, cancer, critical illness, medical bridge, and pet insurance; dependent care, healthcare, and commuter flexible spending accounts; health savings account; paid holiday, vacation, and sick days; near-site clinics for preventive care and illnesses; an employee discount program which provides discounts for retail, dining, shopping, travel, tickets and more; an employee assistance program including financial and legal counseling; access to Mecklenburg County fitness and aquatic facilities; paid family leave; tuition reimbursement; a 5% employer match on retirement savings plan contributions and a defined benefit plan for retirement.
Work Environment
Works in an office setting with moderate noise. May work irregular hours. May be subject to outdoor weather conditions.
Reasonable Accommodations Statement
To accomplish this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform, with or without reasonable accommodation, each essential function satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to help enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
Disclaimer Statement
This is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of job-related responsibilities, duties, skills, requirements or working conditions. Other duties may be assigned based on business need and the supervisor’s request. Mecklenburg County reserves the right to revise the job description at any time. Designated positions may be required to assist in emergency and/or disaster situations.
