How to hire a public health director

How to hire a public health director, step by step

Here's a step-by-step public health director hiring guide:

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

What does a public health director do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a public health director, 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

   A public health director's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, public health directors from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list shows salaries for various types of public health directors.

   Type of Public Health Director	Description	Hourly rate
   Public Health Director	Medical and health services managers, also called healthcare executives or healthcare administrators, plan, direct, and coordinate medical and health services. They might manage an entire facility, a specific clinical area or department, or a medical practice for a group of physicians... Show more	$26-62
   Nurse Manager	The primary role of nurse managers is to supervise the nursing staff in a clinical or hospital setting. They are the ones who are in charge of patient care, setting work schedules, and making budgetary and management decisions... Show more	$28-55
   Pharmacist Manager	A pharmacist manager is responsible for monitoring the daily operations of a pharmacy, ensuring that all pharmacy personnel provides the right medication to the customers based on the prescription. Pharmacist managers assist in advising the customers for the instructions of their medications, including its dosage and instructions of intake... Show more	$27-73

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Community Health
   • Public Health
   • Public Health Programs
   • Public Health Issues
   • Health Education
   • Medicaid
   • Technical Assistance
   • Health Promotion
   • Provide Technical Assistance
   • Immunization
   • HIPAA
   • Primary Care
   • State Health
   • Medical Care

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage multiple patients, assessing ability to continue living independently or moving to higher acuity care.
   • Provide continuing medical education with HIV and TB specialists on the prevention and control of HIV and TB.
   • Provide oversight for communicable disease surveillance, investigation and control, epidemiology, and emergency preparedness.
   • Position demand expertise in grant oversight, strategic project planning, program management, and stakeholder collaboration.
   • Provide clinical exercise physiology services and health/wellness counseling for family practice/sports medicine/orthopedics medical group effecting positive lifestyle changes in patients serve.
   • Conduct and implement group WIC orientation emphasizing WIC benefits.

   More public health director duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your public health director job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A public health director salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a public health director in Arkansas may be lower than in New Hampshire, and an entry-level public health director usually earns less than a senior-level public health director. Additionally, a public health director with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average public health director salary

   $85,569yearly

   $41.14 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level public health director salary

   $55,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 16, 2025

   Average public health director salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Massachusetts	$121,742	$59
   2	South Carolina	$100,783	$48
   3	Minnesota	$100,076	$48
   4	North Carolina	$98,657	$47
   5	Michigan	$89,609	$43
   6	Pennsylvania	$88,468	$43
   7	Maryland	$88,003	$42
   8	Colorado	$87,923	$42
   9	California	$87,730	$42
   10	District of Columbia	$85,772	$41
   11	Virginia	$85,619	$41
   12	Texas	$84,585	$41
   13	Oregon	$83,624	$40
   14	Indiana	$75,257	$36
   15	Florida	$73,632	$35

   Average public health director salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Jefferson County Health Center	$121,076	$58.21
   2	Bipartisan Policy Center	$120,979	$58.16
   3	Satanta District Hospital	$113,898	$54.76	1
   4	Amazon	$111,248	$53.48	50
   5	Abt Associates	$110,381	$53.07
   6	Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine	$106,088	$51.00	1
   7	UC Santa Barbara	$103,188	$49.61
   8	Icma-rc	$101,674	$48.88	10
   9	City of Detroit	$94,857	$45.60
   10	Lincoln Memorial University	$93,492	$44.95	5
   11	Ventura County Community Foundation	$93,274	$44.84
   12	The State of Oregon	$89,836	$43.19	5
   13	Ncpa	$88,480	$42.54
   14	Colorado State Express	$87,740	$42.18
   15	Guidehouse	$85,123	$40.92	1
   16	University of Virginia	$75,708	$36.40	26
   17	My Florida Regional Mls	$75,361	$36.23
   18	Hood College	$70,219	$33.76
   19	Bexar County	$68,587	$32.97
   20	Buncombe County Government	$67,634	$32.52	2

4. Writing a public health director job description

   A public health director 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. To help get you started, here's an example of a public health director job description:

   Public health director job description example

   An outpatient health clinic in Los Angeles County is looking to add a Public Health Physician to their team. This facility is located 19 minutes from Angeles National Forest and has year-round recreation. This position is perfect for someone who loves the outdoors and four-season living. Enjoy skiing, fishing, camping, hiking, white water rafting, golfing and much more in this beautiful paradise.
   Certification: MD/DO Title: Covid – 19 CFS Board Status : Board Certified or Board Eligible (Residency Complete) Residency Training: Infectious Disease, Family Medicine, Internal Medicine Setting : Outpatient Setting Experience Required : 2 year minimum
   
   Compensation & Logistics
   Position Type : Locum Tenens, 1099 Availability : Full- Time or Part-Time Scheduling : Monday thru Friday, 0800 – 1700 or 0900 - 1800 Compensation : $100 Hr. Pay Rate Benefits : Include full medical, dental vision, 401k, Malpractice coverage with tail, CME support, and PTO / Malpractice coverage with tail and in-house credentialing support
   
   KPG Provider Services is a West Coast Focused Company with offices in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. We are focused on offering the best, most rewarding opportunities while providing excellent compensation and support.
   
   Outstanding service is at the core of our culture. Our Medical Professionals will experience a service relationship characterized by respect, a sense of urgency, and attention to detail.
   
   Our team offers benefits like geographic expertise, understanding commuting times, and top market compensation rates.
   
   In short, we focus intently on the things that matter to you with a commitment to achieve exceptional outcomes. Call us and experience the difference!
   
   For a complete listing of our current openings visit www.kpgproviders.com!

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right public health director for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your public health director job on Zippia to find and recruit public health director 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 public health directors, 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.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates 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 public health director

   Once you've selected the best public health director 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.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new public health director. 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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How much does it cost to hire a public health director?