How to hire a community health advocate

How to hire a community health advocate, step by step

Here's a step-by-step community health advocate hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a community health advocate job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new community health advocate
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a community health advocate, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a community health advocate to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a community health advocate that fits the bill.

   Here's a comparison of community health advocate salaries for various roles:

   Type of Community Health Advocate	Description	Hourly rate
   Community Health Advocate	Health educators teach people about behaviors that promote wellness. They develop and implement strategies to improve the health of individuals and communities... Show more	$12-20
   Health Outreach Worker	Community health workers are health care professionals who are responsible for assisting individuals and communities in adopting health behaviors by outreaching health organizations to implement health programs. These health workers are required to provide basic health care services and perform basic diagnostic procedures such as screening of blood pressure, breast cancer, or communicable disease... Show more	$12-19
   Advocate	An advocate is a voice for the voiceless. It is their responsibility to speak on behalf of an individual or a particular cause... Show more	$12-27

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Community Health
   • Community Resources
   • PowerPoint
   • Primary Care
   • Community Organizations
   • Social Services
   • Community Outreach
   • Community Agencies
   • Data Collection
   • Health Plan
   • Medical Care
   • PCP
   • Community Events

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage large databases, analyze records, perform literature reviews, prepare PowerPoint presentations, and interpret data for publication.
   • Report on CHP program activities as required by funding sources.
   • Provide support to counterpart NGOs in activities to build health portfolios.
   • Monitor and submit all incident reports for the CHP via establish protocols.
   • Encourage the community to practice early detection of colon, breast, and cervical cancer.
   • Compile best practices and resources to help volunteers work to change gender dynamics in Malawi.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your community health advocate job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A community health advocate can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, community health advocates' average salary in kentucky is 35% less than in rhode island.
   • Seniority. Entry-level community health advocates 37% less than senior-level community health advocates.
   • Certifications. A community health advocate with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a community health advocate's salary.

   Average community health advocate salary

   $16.72hourly

   $34,784 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level community health advocate salary

   $27,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 17, 2025

4. Writing a community health advocate job description

   A community health advocate job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a community health advocate job description:

   Community health advocate job description example

   -Assure successful implementation of our enterprise-wide health equity strategy.-Work with internal and external stakeholders to execute a strategy to address the social determinants of health for our members, clients, and the communities that we serve.-Work to integrate social determinants of health strategies into contracts, proposals, benefit designs, and initiatives that advance the enterprise health equity strategy -Work across teams to advance investments that are data-driven, outcomes-focused, and responsive to identified community needs -Partner to advance health equity data infrastructure development including collection, sharing, and analysis of social determinants of health data and development and implementation of plans to reduce or eliminate disparities.-Represent enterprise with CBOs, local and state public health leaders, faith based institutions, non-profit organizations, and others .-Propose, evaluate, negotiate, and execute large size/scope initiatives.-Develop and manage effective internal working relationships and build trust across stakeholders and senior leaders.
   Pay Range
   
   The typical pay range for this role is:
   
   Minimum: 75,400
   
   Maximum: 158,300
   
   Please keep in mind that this range represents the pay range for all positions in the job grade within which this position falls. The actual salary offer will take into account a wide range of factors, including location.
   
   Required Qualifications
   
   • Bachelor's Degree in Public Health, Public Policy, Communications, or related degree• At least 5 years of demonstrated experience engaging underserved communities to develop programs • Demonstrated deep knowledge of health equity and community health • At least 3 years experience managing complex projects• Demonstrated experience successfully writing and/or administering grants and proposals related to community health and health equity • Ability to travel up to 25%
   
   COVID Requirements
   
   COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement
   
   CVS Health requires certain colleagues to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 (including any booster shots if required), where allowable under the law, unless they are approved for a reasonable accommodation based on disability, medical condition, religious belief, or other legally recognized reasons that prevents them from being vaccinated.
   
   You are required to have received at least one COVID-19 shot prior to your first day of employment and to provide proof of your vaccination status or apply for a reasonable accommodation within the first 10 days of your employment. Please note that in some states and roles, you may be required to provide proof of full vaccination or an approved reasonable accommodation before you can begin to actively work.
   
   Preferred Qualifications
   
   Master's Degree in public health, public policy, social work, or related field.
   
   Education
   
   -Bachelor's degree-5 to 8 years of professional experience
   
   Business Overview
   
   Bring your heart to CVS HealthEvery one of us at CVS Health shares a single, clear purpose: Bringing our heart to every moment of your health. This purpose guides our commitment to deliver enhanced human-centric health care for a rapidly changing world. Anchored in our brand - with heart at its center - our purpose sends a personal message that how we deliver our services is just as important as what we deliver.Our Heart At Work Behaviors™ support this purpose. We want everyone who works at CVS Health to feel empowered by the role they play in transforming our culture and accelerating our ability to innovate and deliver solutions to make health care more personal, convenient and affordable. We strive to promote and sustain a culture of diversity, inclusion and belonging every day. CVS Health is an affirmative action employer, and is an equal opportunity employer, as are the physician-owned businesses for which CVS Health provides management services. We do not discriminate in recruiting, hiring, promotion, or any other personnel action based on race, ethnicity, color, national origin, sex/gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, age, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find community health advocates for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any community health advocates they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level community health advocates with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your community health advocate job on Zippia to find and recruit community health advocate candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit community health advocates, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new community health advocate

   Once you've selected the best community health advocate candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new community health advocate. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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