2586-Health Worker II

City and County of San Francisco; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 76,000 - 92,000; Full time

Job summary

The San Francisco Department of Public Health is seeking a Health Worker II to serve across the city’s health systems. Under supervision, you will provide paraprofessional support, counseling, and guidance to patients, while acting as a liaison between communities and healthcare staff.

Positions span multiple SFDPH sites including hospitals and clinics. This is a full-time civil service role with a citywide exam process; successful applicants join the eligible list and support health services

Qualifications

• EXPERIENCE: One year of verifiable experience within the last five years performing duties such as liaison between communities and healthcare agencies, health education, outreach, referral and follow up, counseling, escorting or transporting clients.
• Substitution: City College of San Francisco Community Health Worker Certificate can substitute for 6 months of experience.
• Note: Qualifications include potential bilingual proficiency and other department requirements as described in the posting.

Responsibilities

• Participates in health service training programs and provides information and resources to patients regarding health care and available facilities.
• Acts as liaison between professional staff and the community; may provide language interpretation services.
• Assists in data gathering for program evaluation and may perform light clerical duties; may transport patients and supplies.

Job description

Health Worker 2 (2586) - Citywide - H00195

Department: Public Health
Job class: 2586-Health Worker II
Salary range: $75,972.00 - $92,352.00
Role type: Permanent Civil Service What does this mean?
Hours: Full-time
Exam type:Continuous
Rule:Rule of the List
List type:Combined Promotive and Entrance

San Francisco Department of Public Health 252 subscribers

7/1/2026 - Minor revision. No need to reapply.

This is a Citywide Exam posting. Your application to this posting is an application to take a citywide exam.

The Mission of the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) is to protect and promote the health of all San Franciscans. Fulfilling this mission requires employees working across our hospitals, clinics, programs, and offices to deliver services and support the communities we serve. Individuals interested in joining SFDPH should expect to work in person across these settings.

The San Francisco Health Network, Population Health, Behavioral Health Services, and Administration are the core divisions of SFDPH. The San Francisco Health Network is the City’s only complete system of care and has locations throughout theCity, including Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center, and over 15 primary care health centers. The Population Health Division (PHD) provides core public health services for the City and County of San Francisco: health protection, health promotion, disease and injury prevention, and disaster preparedness and response. Behavioral Health Servicesoperatesin conjunction with SFHN andprovidesa range of mental health and substance use treatment services.

Positions may be located at the following locations,but not limited to: Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital (ZSFG), Laguna Honda Hospital (LHH), various clinics, the San Francisco Community College District (CCD), the San Francisco Unified School District (USD), the Human Services Agency (HSA) and the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (HOM).

Shift: Days, evenings, weekends, and/or holiday shifts may be required, depending on the position.

General Job Description
Under supervision, the Health Worker 2 performs a wide variety of paraprofessional duties in a service program of the Department of Public Health; functions as a liaison between community residents and program staff; provides counseling and advice to patients regarding health problems; may supervise Health Worker 1; may drive or accompany patients between their homes, hospitals or other social agencies. The essential duties include but are not limited to the following:

• Participates, but to a lesser degree than Health Worker I, in the health service training program;
• Provides information and resources to patients and others regarding health care and other facilities available to them; assists patients in utilizing such services; makes follow-up contacts when required;
• Serves as liaison between the professional staff and the community;
• May provide language interpretation services in contacts with non-English speaking clients;
• Assists in gathering and evaluating data concerning the program to which assigned;
• May perform incidental clerical duties such as keeping records, answering the telephone and arranging client appointments;
• May transport ambulatory patients between their homes and clinics, hospitals or other social agencies;
• May transport staff members to meetings with administration approval; reports malfunctions of the vehicle to supervisor; and
• May pick up and deliver supplies and equipment, including high-security pharmaceutical supplies, laboratory tests and mail.

The 2586 Health Worker 2 performs other related duties as assigned/required.

Working Conditions: Some positions may require employees to work directly with individuals within locked jails and psychiatric facilities; the homeless population and individuals who have or are carriers of infectious/communicable diseases. Some positions may also require exposure to inclement weather conditions, heavy lifting, frequent walking, standing, and/or pushing/pulling.

How to qualify

EXPERIENCE:One (1) year of verifiable experience within the last five (5) years*, performing a combination of at least two (2) of the following duties:

• Serving as a liaison between targeted communities and healthcare agencies
• Providing culturally appropriate health education/information and outreach to targeted populations
• Providing referral and follow up services or otherwise coordinating care
• Providing informal counseling, social support and advocacy to targeted populations
• Escorting and transporting clients
• Providing courier/dispatcher functions
• Performing pre-clinical examinations of vital statistics, such as measuring a patient's weight, height, temperature and blood pressure

Substitution: Possession of a Community Health Worker Certificate from City College of San Francisco can substitute for 6 months of experience.

*Required experience will be counted from the month and year you submit your application, going back the number of years specified in the recency requirement above.

One-year full-time employment is equivalent to 2,000 hours (2,000 hours of qualifying work experience is based on a 40-hour work week).

Note:Special Conditions -Depending on the department’s needs, some positions may require applicants to meet additional special condition(s), which include, but are not limited to:

• Bilingual Proficiency in English and a target language. Applicants must indicate on the application form the language(s) in which they claim proficiency.
• Possession of a valid Alcohol and other Drugs Counseling Certification accredited by theNational Commission for Certifying Agencies

Verification of Education and Experience

Every application is reviewed to ensure that you meet the minimum qualifications as listed in the job ad. Review SF Careers Employment Applications for considerations taken when reviewing applications.

Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. If education verification is required, information on how to verify education requirements, including verifying foreign education credits or degree equivalency, can be found at https://careers.sf.gov/knowledge/experience-education/ .

Note: Falsifying one’s education, training, or work experience or attempted deception on the application may result in disqualification for this and future job opportunities with the City and County of San Francisco.

What else should I know?

Selection Procedures

After application submission, candidates deemed qualified must complete all subsequent steps to advance in this selection process, which includes the following.

Multiple-Choice Examination: (Weight: 100%)

Candidates that meet the minimum qualifications will be invited to participate in multiple choice exam that is designed to measure the knowledge, skills, and abilities in job related areas which may include but not be limited to:

• Ability to: build and maintain effective, cooperative, and collaborative relationships in diverse, multicultural environments; manage time and materials efficiently, maintain accurate records, file, code and schedule appointments and meetings; exercise sound judgment and make informed decisions; interview patients/clients; apply de-escalation or counseling techniques in sensitive or high stress situations; utilize technology and work with data using various software and systems; interpret and apply policies, laws, rules, regulations and procedures; orally communicate effectively and professionally with others in a clear and understandable manner; communicate written information in a clear, concise, and understandable manner; and/or read and understand information.
• Knowledge of: health and community services; and/or medical interpreting protocols and techniques.

Candidates must achieve a passing score on the multiple-choice exam in order to continue in the selection process and will be placed on the confidential eligible list in rank order according to their final score.

Additional selection processes may be conducted by the hiring department prior to making final hiring decisions.

Scores attained on the 2586 Health Worker 2 Exam will be “banked” for three years from the test date. During this period, candidates are not required to retest. If a candidate applies and qualifies for another job using the same 2586 Health Worker 2 Exam within one year of the 2586 Health Worker 2 Exam date, their score will be automatically applied to that announcement. After one year, a candidate has the option to either (a) apply their test score to the other announcement or (b) retest. Re-testing is allowed after one year from the date of the test only if a candidate applies and is qualified. The most recent score becomes the official score if a candidate chooses to retest.

If the examination undergoes significant changes in the future, the use of banked scores may change. Candidates with banked scores would be required to re-take the exam sooner than the three-year period if they apply to a job opportunity using the same modified exam.

Language Proficiency Exam: For positions requiring bilingual fluency, candidates deemed qualified who meet the special language condition must pass a departmentally approved language proficiency exam prior to appointment. Only those eligible candidates who pass the bilingual proficiency test will be considered for the bilingual position.

Certification
The certification rule for the eligible list resulting from this examination will be theRule of List.
Eligible List/Score Report:
A confidential eligible list of applicant names that have passed the civil service examination process will be created and used for certification purposes only. An examination score report will be established, so applicants can view the ranks, final scores and number of eligible candidates. Applicant information, including names of applicants on the eligible list, shall not be made public unless required by law. However, an eligible list shall be made available for public inspection, uponrequest, oncethe eligible list is exhausted or expired and referrals resolved. The eligible list/score report resulting from this civil service examination process is subject to change after adoption (e.g.,as a result of appeals), as directed by the Human Resources Director or the Civil Service Commission.
Candidate names will remain on the list for a maximum period of 12 months. Candidates that are not selected and expire off the list may re-apply.

Terms of Announcement and Appeal Rights: Applicants must be guided solely by the provisions of this announcement, including requirements, time period and other particulars, except when superseded by federal, state or local laws, rules or regulations. [Note: The correction of clerical errors in an announcement may be posted on the Department of Human Resources website at https://careers.sf.gov/
The terms of this announcement may be appealed under Civil Service Rule 110.4. Such appeals must be submitted in writing to the Department of Human Resources, 1 S Van Ness Avenue, 4th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94103-5413 by close of business on the 5th business day following the issuance date of this examination announcement. Information concerning other Civil Service Commission Rules involving announcements, applications and examination policies, including applicant appeal rights, can be found on the Civil Service Commission website at https://sf.gov/departments/civil-service-commission

Additional information regarding Employment with the City and County of San Francisco:

If you have any questionsregardingthis recruitment or application process, please contact the analyst, Elaine Adams at [e-mail] or [phone].

We may use text messaging to communicate with you on the phone number provided in your application. The first message will ask you to opt in to text messaging.

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.