Rural Strategies Specialist - Term Limited

Rural Strategies Specialist – Term Limited

Join the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment as a Rural Strategies Specialist – Term Limited. This role is a term‑limited position ending 9/29/2026 and may be extended. It is only open to Colorado state residents.

Location: Northeast Colorado, Northwest Colorado, Southwest Colorado Regions (see map: ). The position is remote.

Salary Range: $80,000.00–$95,000.00 (appointments typically near the range minimum).

The Prevention Services Division works with partners across Colorado to improve public health. The Office of Suicide Prevention leads suicide prevention, intervention, and post‑vention efforts statewide.

This position leads suicide prevention initiatives related to rural, agricultural, and frontier communities across Colorado. It determines and designs appropriate processes and intervention strategies using complex data, providing technical assistance to grantees and stakeholders. The role builds and maintains multi‑level partnerships, supports the Colorado‑National Collaborative (CNC), outreaches to rural health systems, supports the Follow‑Up Project, provides technical assistance to the Gun Shop Project, and facilitates the OSP Rural Communities Workgroup.

The position develops and coordinates programs specific to rural communities, evaluates relevance of existing guidelines, and prepares tailored plans or individualized approaches to resolve management or program issues. The role builds and maintains relationships at the community and state level through strong organization and communication.

This position is only open to residents of the State of Colorado at the time of application. The position is remote and serves the following locations highlighted in yellow in Northeast Colorado, Northwest Colorado, and Southwest Colorado Regions (see map).

In one of two ways:

• Six (6) years of relevant experience in prevention and education program planning or evaluation, including technical assistance, facilitation, and guidance to partners or grantees within health prevention.
• Combination of related education (graduation from an accredited college/university in health, psychology, sociology, social work, public policy, public administration, public health, or a closely related field) and relevant experience equal to six (6) years, including technical assistance, facilitation, and guidance to partners or grantees within health prevention.

If using education to qualify, provide a copy of transcripts (unofficial acceptable) with the application.

• Experience with suicide prevention, intervention, and/or post‑vention programs.
• Experience leading equity programs, strategies, activities, and practices in rural communities.
• Personal and professional experience living in a rural community and participating in community‑driven efforts.
• Experience managing conflicts and diverse opinions of partners in rural communities.
• Experience understanding and synthesizing the needs of rural communities and communicating to partners the importance of supporting rural communities.
• Experience with project management including competitive grants, budgets, and contracts.
• Ability to demonstrate emotional intelligence when communicating to diverse audiences at varying technical levels.
• Experience synthesizing complex research, data, or evaluation measures into understandable and usable resources.
• Personal experience living in a rural Colorado community, including the regions listed in the residency requirement.

• Background check required for all positions (per CDPHE policy).
• Travel: 20% of time required for community visits, outreach, professional development, and grantee meetings once per month; may include overnight stays and out‑of‑state travel.

If you receive notice of elimination, you may file an appeal with the State Personnel Board or request a review by the State Personnel Director within 10 days. Appeals must be submitted using the official appeal form, signed by you or your representative, and sent to the Board and the Department. For…