Internship - Marketing and Communication Specialist

Full Job Description

This internship is a temporary part-time (minimum 10 hours/week), hybrid Internship within Colorado and will exist for 5 months or less. Applicants must be located in Colorado.

This is a non-employee internship position. No benefits are available. This position is not covered by the Partnership Agreement between the State of Colorado and Colorado Workers for Innovative and New Solutions (COWins)

Make a real difference . .Do you have a passion and drive to apply your talent to create a better Colorado?

Are you looking for an internship that provides you with opportunities to learn how to improve the world around you?

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) is seeking diverse individuals from all backgrounds to apply for a fantastic unpaid internship position that provides experiential learning about improving the lives of Colorado citizens.

Our mission is to protect and improve the health of Colorado's people and the quality of its environment.

If your goal is to pursue a career upon graduation that makes a difference, consider an internship with the dedicated people of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

Our tobacco-free campus offers free parking and is conveniently located near RTD bus lines, the Cherry Creek Shopping Center, Glendale City Set, and the Cherry Creek bike path.

We are committed to increasing the diversity of our staff and providing culturally responsive programs and services. Therefore, we encourage responses from people of diverse backgrounds and abilities.

Requirements

Tentative Start Date:
Spring 2026 Internship
Desired start date is 2/23/2026 to 6/26/2026

About the Work Unit:

The Office of STI/HIV/VH (OSHV) leads the public health practice for the control of sexually transmitted infections (STI), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and viral hepatitis (VH) in Colorado.

The OSHV works to reduce disease transmission and to ensure that all people in Colorado access quality and medically accurate STI/HIV/VH related prevention, care, and treatment services.

The OSVH fulfills multiple functions to serve the public, including:- Public education and health promotion:- Training for workforce competencies;- Epidemiologic surveillance of STI/HIV/VH;- Follow-up and guidance to people newly diagnosed with a STI/HIV to ensure adequatetreatment; Referrals and partner notification;- Access to treatment and care as appropriate;- Partnerships with local communities across the state to implement comprehensive prevention interventions; and- Evaluation of STI/HIV/VH epidemic in Colorado including the direct prevention and careactivities.

The Public Health Education and Promotion Services is a section of Capacity Building and Training Program (CBT) within OSHV.

Internship Description:

Project Title: Marketing and Communication Specialist Internship

Salary: This internship is unpaid.
Project Description:

This position will participate in the OSHV social media/marketing efforts to support communication with minority youth and all young people ages 12-22 years old in the state.

They will assist with tapping into existing online youth communities to increase visibility to the educational campaigns promoted by the OSHV.

The position will assist with collecting feedback from target audiences to inform future media efforts and campaign themes, as well as channel feedback from focus groups to create educational messages and topics each month.

Objectives:

• By the end of the internship, the student will help develop, refine and post informational and "trendy" Instagram content to the CDPHE OSHV account.

• The student will assist with synthesizing content performance, focus group feedback, and leadership feedback to continue to improve STI/HIV/VH education to Colorado youth.

Deliverables or outcomes:

• A survey to collect the thoughts of youth and young adults in CO about existing Instagram content as displayed on the CDPHE_OSHV account.

• A detailed analysis of the results.

• Presentation for leadership with a proposal for future material.

• Strategic plan for how to move forward based on the results collected.
  
  

Which Public Health Core Competencies skills does the project develop?

1) Data Analytics and Assessment Skills;
2) Evidence informed planning and service improvement;
3) Communication skills;
4) Understanding the role of mass media in shaping public education, normative health practices and influencing behavior.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications:
Qualified candidates must be either:

Bachelors or Masters student enrolled in an accredited college or university seeking a degree program in Health Education and Promotion, with a focus on health communication or digital health and/or marketing or closely related fields.

OR

A recent bachelors or masters graduate with a completed degree in Health Education and Promotion, with a focus on health communication or digital health and/or marketing. Recently graduated means the individual should have attended an accredited college or university and have graduated with a bachelors or masters degree in Health Education and Promotion, with a focus on health communication or digital health and/or marketing within three calendar years (include transcripts).

College Transcripts:
You must be using education to qualify, a legible copy of your official or unofficial college transcript(s) or a foreign credential evaluation report must be submitted with your application. Transcripts must show the name of the school and that a degree was conferred. Transcripts from colleges or universities outside of the United States must be assessed for U.S. equivalency by a NACES educational credential evaluation service. Failure to provide a transcript or foreign credential evaluation report may result in your application being rejected and you will not be able to continue in the selection process for this position.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Social media analytics: Understanding how to measure the reach and impact of social media campaigns.

• Content creation for social media: Designing engaging and informative content for various platforms.

• Community engagement strategies: Building and interacting with online communities related to health topics.

• Health communication theory: Applying communication principles to effectively convey health information in different languages including English, Spanish and

• Digital marketing techniques: Utilizing social media advertising and targeting options to reach specific audiences.

Conditions of employment:

• Pursuant to CDPHE policy, a background check is required for all positions at CDPHE.
• Signed Non-Employee Confidentiality Agreement is required
• If you will be using this internship for academic credit, a Signed Affiliation Agreement is required between CDPHE and your University.

Additional Information

Supplemental Information:

A complete application packet must include:

• A completed State of Colorado application.
• A resume.
• If you are using education to qualify, a copy of your official or unofficial transcript showing that your degree has been conferred and the name of your school, or your NACES accreditation. Please submit this as an attachment to your online application.

The Selection Process

1. All applications that are received by the closing of this announcement will be reviewed. Candidates who are selected for further consideration will proceed to the next step and all applicants will be notified by email of their status at each step of the process.

ADAAA Accommodations:

The State of Colorado believes that equity, diversity, and inclusion drive our success, and we encourage candidates from all identities, backgrounds, and abilities to apply.

The State of Colorado is an equal opportunity employer committed to building inclusive, innovative work environments with employees who reflect our communities and enthusiastically serve them.

Therefore, in all aspects of the employment process, we provide employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, medical condition related to pregnancy, creed, ancestry, national origin, marital status, genetic information, or military status (with preference given to military veterans), or any other protected status in accordance with applicable law.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals.

As part of this commitment, our agency will assist individuals who have a disability with any reasonable accommodation requests related to employment, including completing the application process, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, participating in the employee selection process, and/or to perform essential job functions where the requested accommodation does not impose an undue hardship.

If you have a disability and require reasonable accommodation to ensure you have a positive experience applying or interviewing for this position, please direct your inquiries to our ADAAA Coordinator, Dan McKenna, at daniel.mckenna@state.co.usor call 303-692-2060, option 5.