Salary : $96,829.20 - $130,489.20 Annually
Location : Los Angeles County, CA
Job Type: Full time
Job Number: Y1609B
Department: HEALTH SERVICES
Opening Date: 09/18/2026
Closing Date: Continuous

ABOUT THE POSITION:
The Senior Public Information Specialist initiates, plans, develops, maintains, evaluates, implements, and coordinates a more complex and sensitive public information and engagement program; serves in a lead capacity or may serve as a supervisor to public information staff engaged in the planning and dissemination of information through various media channels.
Essential Job Functions
What You'll Be Doing:

• Serves as the principal communications advisor to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center executive leadership, advising on media relations, crucial communications, procedures, and processes.
• Develops and implements comprehensive communication strategies supporting organizational priorities, operational initiatives, regulatory requirements, and enterprise-wide change management.
• Researches, drafts, edits, and coordinates executive speeches, presentations, talking points, briefing materials, correspondence and leadership messaging for internal and external audiences.
• Leads the development and implementation of external communications, including integrated branding, marketing, and reputation management strategy to strengthen public awareness, patient engagement, workforce recruitment, and organizational retention.
• Coordinates messaging among executive leadership, clinical departments, employees, community collaborators, academic partners, and County leadership to support organizational readiness, operational continuity, and successful implementation of critical initiatives.
• Collaborates with Central Office of Communications to develop creative storytelling and marketing materials - including videos, social media and website content and oversea brand governance, messaging standards, creative direction, and marketing initiatives supporting hospital service lines, community outreach, recruitment campaigns, and major institutional initiatives while ensuring alignment with enterprise branding and communication standards.
• Provides technical guidance or supervises a team of lower-level public information staff by organizing and assigning work, setting priorities, and following-up to ensure coordination and completion of assigned work.
• Develops procedures, standards, and guidelines for collection, review, and presentation of information intended for communication across various media channels and platforms.
• Serves as Harbor-UCLA Medical Center's executive communication liaison with the Central Communications Office and collaborates with County leadership, UCLA, community organizations, elected officials, healthcare partners and executive collaborators on crucial communication initiatives.
• Provides strategic crisis and emergency preparedness communications during LA County emergencies, hospital incidents, operational disruptions, patient safety events, regulatory issues, and other sensitive matters requiring executive level communications planning and coordination with hospital incident command, and executive leadership.

To acquire more details, please view the classification specification:

Requirements

REQUIREMENTS TO QUALIFY:

EDUCATION & TRAINING:
A bachelor's degree* from an accredited college or university with a major in Communications, Journalism, Public Administration, Public Relations, or English.

• * To receive credit for your education, include a legible copy of all relevant official documents, including your diploma, transcript, or letter/certificate from an accredited institution or email it to [email protected] within seven (7) days of filing your application. The document should show the date the degree was conferred and be in English. If not in English, then translation is required. International degrees must be evaluated for equivalency to U.S. standards if not listed in the International Handbook of Universities or World Higher Education Database. Documents marked as unofficial will not be accepted. For more information on our standards for educational documents, please visit: Accredited College Education Guidelines. NOTE: We do not accept password-protected documents. Ensure documents are unlocked before attaching to your application or sending to the exam analyst.

EXPERIENCE:
A total of four (4) years of experience in either:

• Initiating, planning, developing, maintaining, evaluating, implementing, and coordinating a public information program at the level of Los Angeles County's class of Public Information Specialist.**

- AND/OR -

• Professional experience*** as a journalist within a media organization.

** What does "At the Level of" mean?
You may still qualify even if your job title isn't exactly the same as the ones listed. What matters is that your experience is at a similar level - meaning your job involves similar responsibilities, requires comparable skills and knowledge, and takes place within a similar organizational structure. Please provide a clear explanation of your experience to demonstrate that it is at the appropriate level.

*** Professional experience as a journalist is defined as: collecting, recording, writing, editing, reporting, or publishing news on behalf of a news organization.

LICENSE:
A valid California Class C Driver License or the ability to utilize an alternative method of transportation when needed to carry out job-related essential functions.
Withhold Information
No withhold will be allowed for this examination. Required education and experience must be fully met at the time of filing and clearly indicated on the application.

Out-of-Class Information
If you performed work that differs from the duties described in your class specification and you believe you qualify for this opportunity, please describe the out-of-class duties in detail in the Work Experience and Supplemental Questions sections of your application.

Physical Class
II - Light: This class includes administrative and clerical positions requiring light physical effort that may include occasional light lifting to a 10-pound limit and some bending, stooping, or squatting. Considerable ambulation may be involved.

DESIREABLE QUALIFICATION(S):
Additional credit will be given to applicants who possess the following desirable qualification:

• Experience performing public information work initiating, planning, developing, maintaining, evaluating, implementing, and coordinating a public information program for a government or healthcare agency, beyond the requirement.
• Experience using various social media platforms, digital marketing programs, and computer software to communicate internally and externally and create multimedia content for an organization's website.
• Experience providing technical guidance and supervision over other public information staff.
• Experience working with the community, news media, press, or other broadcast media to write scripts and communicate an organization's message to the public in support of its goals and purpose.

Additional Information
EXAMINATION CONTENT:

Training & Experience (T&E) EvaluationThis assessment type will evaluate the education, training, experience, and desirable qualification(s) you list on your application and supplemental questionnaire and assign a score based on a standardized scoring system. This assessment is worth 100% of your total score. Applicants must receive a passing score of 70% or higher on the assessment to be added to the list.

ELIGIBILITY AND VACANCY INFORMATION:
Applicants who passed the assessment(s) are placed on a list in the order of their score group for a period of twelve (12) months. Applications will be processed as they are received and added to the list accordingly. We will use this list to fill vacancies in the Department of Health Services as they occur.

SPECIAL INFORMATION:

Available Shift
Appointees may be required to work any shift, including evenings, nights, weekends, and holidays.

APPLICATION AND FILING INFORMATION:
We only accept applications filed online. Applications submitted by U.S. mail, fax, or in person are not accepted. Apply online by clicking on the "Apply" green button at the top right of this posting. This website can also be used to get application status updates.

Please fill out the application completely! The acceptance of your application depends on whether you have clearly shown that you meet the Requirements. Provide relevant job experience including employer's name and address, job title, beginning and ending dates, number of hours worked per week, and description of work performed.

We may verify information included in the application at any point during the examination and hiring process, including after an appointment has been made. Falsification of information could result in refusal of application or rescission of appointment. Copying verbiage from the Requirements or class specification as your work experience will not be sufficient to demonstrate meeting the requirements. Doing so may result in an incomplete application and may lead to disqualification.

Email Verification Information
We will send notifications to the email address provided on the application, so it is important that you provide a valid email address. If you choose to unsubscribe or opt out from receiving our emails, it is possible to view notices by logging into governmentjobs.com and checking the profile inbox. It is every applicant's responsibility to take steps to view correspondence, and we will not consider claims of missing notices to be a valid reason for re-scheduling an exam part. Register the below domains as approved senders to prevent email notifications from being filtered as spam/junk mail.

New email addresses need to be verified. This only needs to be done once per email address and can be done at any time by logging in to governmentjobs.com and following the prompts. This is to enhance the security of the online application and to prevent incorrectly entered email addresses.

Social Security
Federal law requires that all employed persons have a Social Security Number, so include yours when applying.

No Sharing of User ID, e-mail and Password
All applicants must file their application using their own user ID and password. Using a family member or friend's user ID and password may erase a candidate's original application record

Computer and Internet Access at Public Libraries
For candidates who may not have regular access to a computer or the internet, applications can be completed on computers at public libraries throughout Los Angeles County.