Salary : $73,611.21 - $106,736.26 Annually
Location : Adams County Government Center, 4430 S. Adams County Parkway, Brighton, CO
Job Type: Project-Designated Full-time
Job Number: 07683
Department: Public Health Department
Division: Health Equity and Strategic Initiatives
Opening Date: 10/07/2026
Closing Date: 10/28/2026 4:30 PM Mountain
Position classification: Hybrid -- Job duties and expectations allow for onsite and remote work scheduled every week. Employees in this classification are regularly scheduled onsite one (1) to four (4) days per week based on the County needs and as determined by Department Director. Hybrid classified roles can be onsite more than the set minimum based on employee preference.
What Success Looks Like In This Job The Food Access Specialist advances community health through improved access to and distribution of healthy foods as a means of preventing and addressing chronic disease. This position supports policy, systems, and environmental changes that increase availability of nutritious foods, reduce access barriers, strengthen local food systems, and enhance the utilization of food assistance benefits such as WIC and SNAP. The Specialist works closely with community members, local organizations, food retailers, farmers, and regional partners to build a more fair, sustainable, and health-supportive food environment, with a special focus on youth-centered initiatives.
Examples of Duties for Success Food Access: Support project management activities for the following:
- Conduct community-level assessments to identify transportation, logistical, or policy barriers to accessing healthy food retailers and markets;
- Support development and adoption of zoning, land use, and policy changes that promote local agricultural markets, healthy food retailers, farmers' markets, community gardens, urban agriculture, and other food access resources in underserved communities; and
- Other applicable food system resilience planning activities to create a more resilient, localized Adams County food system.
Food Benefit Utilization & Program Improvement: - Analyze nutrition assistance program data to identify trends; gaps; and underutilized benefits, foods, and eligible stores; and build partnerships to increase awareness, enrollment, and utilization of nutrition assistance benefits.
- Work with program staff, partners, and retailers to strengthen program delivery and increase acceptance and utilization where benefits are currently underused.
- Recommend program adjustments, outreach strategies, or community partnerships to improve service access and effectiveness.
- Partner with statewide organizations to increase Double Up Food Bucks providers in Adams County, provide education and awareness on SNAP, WIC, and Double Up Food Bucks vending to retailers, corner stores, farmers, and farm stands across the county.
Adams County Food Systems Coalition: - Support the facilitation of the Adams County Food System Coalition, providing community engagement, administrative, and logistics support.
- Support implementation of workgroups, policies, and initiatives prioritized by Adams County Food System Coalition.
- Increase youth engagement in Adams County Food Systems Coalition and other avenues with food resiliency and distribution planning; work closely with the Adams County Youth Engagement team to identify strategies to support youth food access.
- Conduct coalition outreach to unrepresented sectors, such as retailers, to promote awareness of the state of Adams County food access and identify opportunities to strengthen the food system.
Healthy Food Distribution: - Assist in actualizing community-initiated projects and efforts to strengthen local and regional food distribution and procurement systems to improve availability of healthy foods.
- Support Farm-to-Institution, and Farm-to-Community programs connecting local growers with schools, childcare centers, hospitals, and community organizations.
- Conduct emergency food response activities, including coordinating logistics for food access programs, convening emergency food response partners, and assessing, documenting, and communicating community and partner needs.
General/Administrative Responsibilities - Build and maintain strong community partnerships to advance food access and distribution initiatives.
- Assist with project planning, implementation, evaluation, and reporting.
- Facilitate and/or participate in community meetings, coalitions, and outreach events.
- Prepare written materials including assessments, reports, presentations, agendas, and educational resources.
- Support grant activities as assigned, including data collection and documentation.
Qualifications for Success - Knowledge in social determinants of health, their impact upon health, and strategies to address them within community settings.
- Strong communication, collaboration, and project coordination skills.
- Ability to analyze data, interpret findings, and develop actionable recommendations.
- Knowledge of techniques and best practices related to community engagement, coalition building, and developing community partnerships.
- Must be proficient in use of online meeting platforms and Microsoft Office tools including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
More Qualifications for Success Experience:- 3 years of related experience required, such as food pantry coordination, social work, community organizing, resource navigation, or a related field.
- Experience working with community organizations, food systems, or public health initiatives preferred.
- Familiarity with WIC, SNAP, Double Up Food Bucks, and/or local food system programs is preferred.
Education & Training:- Bachelor's degree in public health, nutrition, community development, public policy, or a related field.
- A master's degree may substitute 2 years' required professional experience.
- Comparable experience may count towards one (1) year of total experience requirement. Comparable experience is defined as experience navigating and/or advocating for yourself or others in the healthcare, social services, and/or public health systems.
- Additional professional experience may substitute the bachelor's degree on a year-for-year basis.
License or Certificate: Possession of, or the ability to obtain a valid Colorado Driver's License.
Other:- Bilingual in English and Spanish is preferred. An additional incentive may be provided based on proficiency and utilization.
- Flexibility in work hours may be required to accommodate community events, meeting, and outreach activities.
- Travel within the community and participation in evening, weekend and on-call duties may be required.
Adams County provides a comprehensive benefits package to employees that goes above and beyond what is offered at most organizations.
Benefits You Expect:
- AFLAC Supplemental Medical Insurance
- Basic Term Life & Optional Term Life Insurance
- Deferred Compensation Plan
- Dental/Vision/Medical Plans
- Generous Vacation/Sick leave
- Long-Term Disability
- Short-Term Disability
Plus some you might not expect:
- Employee Assistance Program
- Employee Fitness Center
- Employee Health Clinics
- Flexible Work Schedules
- Recreation Center Discounts
- Training & Tuition Reimbursement Programs
- Wellness programs
- Lactation friendly certified workplace
01
Please be aware that your cover letter and resume will not be accessed in the initial screening process, so you must complete your application and supplemental questions with as much detail as possible. Any personally identifiable information (PII) such as name and address will be redacted from applications that meet the minimum screening requirements and are forwarded to the hiring manager. If the hiring manager selects you to advance in the hiring process, your cover letter and resume will then be accessible to the hiring team. Information provided on the application is used to determine if a candidate meets minimum qualifications. Only information provided at the time of the application being completed will be considered and additional information that is not listed on the application will not be considered when deciding if a candidate meets or does not meet the qualifications. Applicants are STRONGLY encouraged to include all information and details on their application. I understand and agree that only information provided at the time of my application will be used to determine if I meet the minimum requirements for this position.
- Yes, I understand and agree
- Yes, I understand but disagree.
02
Please indicate how you meet the minimum requirements for this role.
- I have a Master's degree in public health, nutrition, community development, public policy, or a related field AND 1 year of related experience, such as food pantry coordination, social work, community organizing, resource navigation, or a related field.
- I have a Bachelor's degree in public health, nutrition, community development, public policy, or a related field AND 3 years of related experience, such as food pantry coordination, social work, community organizing, resource navigation, or a related field.
- I have an Associate's degree in public health, nutrition, community development, public policy, or a related field AND 5 years of related experience, such as food pantry coordination, social work, community organizing, resource navigation, or a related field
- I have a high school diploma and 7 years of related experience, such as food pantry coordination, social work, community organizing, resource navigation, or a related field
- I have a Master's degree in public health, nutrition, community development, public policy, or a related field AND 1 year of comparable experience
- I have a Bachelor's degree in public health, nutrition, community development, public policy, or a related field AND 2 years of related experience AND 1 year of comparable experience.
- I have an Associate's degree in public health, nutrition, community development, public policy, or a related field AND 4 years of related experience AND 1 year of comparable experience.
- I have a high school diploma or equivalent AND 6 years of related experience AND 1 year of comparable experience.
- None of the above.
03
Experience working with community organizations, food systems, or public health initiatives is preferred for this role. Do you meet this preference?
04
Familiarity with WIC, SNAP, Double Up Food Bucks, and/or local food system programs is preferred for this role Do you meet this preference?
05
Possession of, or the ability to obtain a valid Colorado Driver's License is required for this role. Do you meet this requirement?
06
Do you speak any languages in addition to English? If yes, please list the language(s) and proficiency level.
07
Would you like your comparable experience to be considered for service credit towards Qualifications for Success?
08
Please respond to the attestation below and complete prompts 1 & 2. I attest that I have read the comparable experience statement and that any information provided will only be used for service credit towards Qualifications for Success and not to rule out eligibility to hire.
- Yes, I understand and agree.
- Yes, I understand but disagree.
09
Prompt 1: How many years of comparable experience credit are you requesting?
- 1 year of comparable experience
- I am not requesting to use comparable experience
10
Prompt 2: Please list your comparable experience with justice involvement, poverty and homelessness, and/or behavioral health, including volunteer work and additional education. Include dates (month, year), and a brief description of what it was. If you are not using comparable experience as a qualification, you may write "N/A."a. (For example: 09/19 - 02/20 Treated for behavioral health condition.)
11
Please describe your academic, work, volunteer, or personal experience in food access.
12
Describe your experience in community engagement and public health work.
Required Question
