Chief Public Health Officer

East Central District Health Department/Good Neighbor Community Health Center•Columbus, NE

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Chief Public Health Officer (CPHO) serves as the senior executive responsible for the strategy, performance, compliance, financial stewardship, and development of East Central District Health Department’s public health programs and services. Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer and serving as a member of the executive leadership team, the CPHO translates community health needs, statutory responsibilities, grant requirements, and organizational priorities into measurable public health action. The CPHO leads East Central’s public health workforce, oversees departmental and grant performance, advances Public Health Accreditation Board standards, supports emergency preparedness and response, and maintains strong relationships with counties, state agencies, funders, healthcare providers, and community partners. The CPHO also collaborates with Good Neighbor Community Health Center, East Central’s co-applicant health center partner, to coordinate public health and clinical strategies where the organizations’ missions intersect, while maintaining appropriate governance, financial, grant, regulatory, and operational distinctions between the entities.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree in Public Health or related field required.
Five or more years of progressively responsible experience in public health, healthcare, government, nonprofit, or community-based programming.
Three or more years of formal leadership responsibility involving personnel, budgets, grants, or complex programs.
Executive judgment and the ability to make sound decisions involving competing priorities, incomplete information, public accountability, and organizational risk.
Commitment to the philosophy and mission of ECDHD
Ability to lead through influence, build trust, resolve conflict, and maintain accountability across departments and organizations.
Ability to organize complex work, meet deadlines, maintain documentation, and follow through on commitments.
Demonstrated experience with grant administration, performance management, community partnerships, regulatory compliance, and financial oversight.
Demonstrated ability to interpret data and translate findings into operational decisions and measurable action.
Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite or related software.
Ability to work well with individuals of diverse socioeconomic, cultural, and intellectual backgrounds.
Valid driver’s license and ability to meet organizational requirements for operating a personal or organization-owned vehicle.

Nice To Haves

Master’s Degree in Public Health or related field preferred.
Experience in a local, district, or state health department.
Experience with PHAB accreditation, emergency preparedness, governmental relations, community health assessments, and federally or state-funded programs.
Experience coordinating public health and healthcare delivery systems.
Bilingual English and Spanish capability.
Thorough knowledge of the 10 Essential Services of Public Health.

Responsibilities

Serve as a member of the executive leadership team and participate in organizational strategy, budgeting, workforce planning, risk management, resource allocation, and operational decision-making.
Translate East Central’s strategic plan, Community Health Improvement Plans, statutory responsibilities, and grant commitments into measurable departmental priorities and accountable work plans.
Advise the CEO and governing boards on public health trends, community risks, program performance, funding changes, and strategic opportunities.
Provide executive oversight of East Central’s public health programs and ensure compliance with applicable statutory duties, grant conditions, contracts, reporting requirements, and program standards.
Evaluate and guide the development, implementation, improvement, expansion, transition, or closure of programs based on community need, performance, funding, and organizational capacity.
Ensure public health programs operate as a coordinated system and provide accessible, respectful, culturally responsive, and health-literate services.
Directly supervise assigned directors, coordinators, managers, and other personnel in accordance with the approved organizational chart.
Provide leadership and accountability for the successful performance of all Public Health Division programs and staff, including teams and functions supervised through direct-report managers and supervisors.
As directed, provide functional leadership to cross-organizational workgroups without directly supervising every participating employee.
Identify and lead opportunities to align East Central public health programs with Good Neighbor services when coordination improves community health, access, outcomes, or organizational effectiveness.
Work with East Central / Good Neighbor leadership to develop coordinated strategies, referral pathways, outreach, education, and follow-up processes for shared community health priorities.
Ensure collaborative activities maintain appropriate governance, funding, compliance, and operational distinctions between East Central and Good Neighbor.
Develop and oversee departmental operating and grant budgets in collaboration with the CEO, finance leadership, and program leaders.
Monitor financial performance, grant deliverables, reporting deadlines, and funding requirements, and ensure timely corrective action when material variances or risks are identified.
Lead the evaluation and oversight of funding opportunities to ensure alignment with community needs, organizational priorities, operational capacity, and long-term sustainability.
Lead East Central’s Public Health Accreditation Board accreditation and reaccreditation efforts and maintain organizational readiness for applicable standards.
Establish meaningful departmental goals, scorecards, and performance measures that assess program outcomes, financial performance, preparedness, workforce stability, partnerships, and community impact.
Use performance data to identify risks, inequities, operational barriers, and opportunities for improvement, and report material findings to the CEO, boards, funders, and other stakeholders.
Ensure culturally and linguistically appropriate, accessible, and health-literate services, including completion of the biannual CLAS report.
Recruit, supervise, coach, evaluate, and develop assigned leaders and employees in partnership with Human Resources and consistent with organizational policy.
Build an accountable public health leadership structure with clear roles, decision making authority, communication expectations, and performance standards.
Align staffing structures and workforce capacity with program needs, funding, workload, statutory responsibilities, and community demand.
Provide executive oversight of public health emergency preparedness, response, recovery, and continuity-of-operations activities.
Ensure emergency preparedness requirements, exercises, training, corrective actions, and grant deliverables are completed and documented.
Integrate relevant safety, infection prevention, facility readiness, supply preparedness, and environment-of-care findings into emergency planning and improvement efforts.
Maintain productive relationships with county boards, elected officials, state agencies, healthcare organizations, schools, businesses, nonprofits, coalitions, and other community partners.
Prepare and present county-specific reports at least twice annually, or more frequently as requested, addressing community needs, public health activities, outcomes, financial stewardship, resource needs, and emerging risks.
Lead or participate in community health assessments, improvement planning, MAPP or successor processes, and other collaborative efforts that advance district priorities.
Ensure programs under the CPHO’s authority comply with applicable laws, regulations, grant conditions, accreditation standards, contracts, policies, professional requirements, and internal controls.
Identify, report, and respond to significant compliance concerns, control weaknesses, safety issues, and other material risks.
Lead corrective actions within the public health division and support audits, monitoring visits, accreditation reviews, and investigations.
Serve as an authorized public health subject-matter spokesperson when designated by the CEO.
Coordinate public information, risk communication, health education, and joint messaging with the CEO, communications personnel, and Good Neighbor leadership when appropriate.
Ensure public communications are accurate, timely, understandable, culturally responsive, and consistent with organizational policy.
Attend board, community, department, state, training, and professional development meetings as required.
Perform all other duties as assigned.