PHIG Communications Intern

King County, WA; Seattle (WA); Hybrid; USD 22,000 - 28,000; Full time

Job summary

The Public Health – Seattle & King County (PHSKC) Health Sciences Division seeks a graduate student intern (up to 19 hours/week) to assist the Lead Evaluator with communications for a CDC PHIG grant. The internship starts in October 2026 and runs for 12 months, with on-site collaboration required once per week in Seattle.

Responsibilities include designing communications plans, creating internal newsletters, and developing success stories while coordinating with program staff and community

Qualifications

• Enrolled in a Graduate Program.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with Lead Evaluator to implement a communications plan for the PHIG final year.
• Communicate with diverse audiences in written, visual, and oral formats.
• Document and share PHIG project progress and successes with internal and external partners.
• Support design of internal newsletters, success stories, and SharePoint resources.
• Draft messaging about PHIG activities for various audiences.
• Create data visuals and presentations using Canva.
• Engage in professional development as guided by the Lead Evaluator.

Skills

Writing skills

Graphic design tools

Audience communication

Public health interest

Education

Graduate student enrollment

Tools

Canva

Job description

The Health Sciences Division provides robust assessment and evaluation work and population health strategies to influence public health with a focus on community conditions through data, evidence, and emerging best practices in partnership with the community. The duties of the Health Sciences Division include working with community partners to address the root cause of health disparities and improve population health outcomes; providing the functions of assessment, epidemiology, and program evaluation; and advancing health equity in the community through strategies at the individual and environmental levels that promote protective factors and reduce risk for chronic disease, injury, and violence.

This position is based in the Assessment, Policy Development, and Evaluation (APDE) unit of the Health Sciences Division. APDE is a nationally recognized leader in community health assessment, providing health assessment data and analysis to inform planning, policies, and actions; and developing innovative interventions to improve the health of King County residents. More information about the work of the APDE unit can be found at http://www.kingcounty.gov/depts/health/data.aspx.

The purpose of the job application is to provide us, as the employer, with an accurate representation of you and the skills you have, as related to the position. It is our expectation that our applicants will not use gen-AI in creating their application, or any related materials, or in response to the Supplemental Questions. The Assessment, Policy Development, and Evaluation Unit (APDE) of Public Health – Seattle & King County (PHSKC) is looking for a graduate student intern (up to 19 hours per week) for a professional and practice-based internship to work with the Lead Evaluator on communications for a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) grant. The internship is anticipated to start in October 2026 and will continue for 12 months.

The Public Health Infrastructure Grant (PHIG) is a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) grant to support state and local health departments to diversify their workforces and strengthen their foundational services. PHSKC is receiving $23 million over 5 years to work towards these goals. Examples of PHSKC’s 28+ PHIG activities include improving onboarding for new employees, developing surge plans for emergency preparedness, and streamlining data for care and resource planning for PHSKC’s clinics.

This position is for a professional communications internship and reports to the PHIG Lead Evaluator. The intern will work with the Lead Evaluator and Program team to engage in a range of communications activities, such as designing and implementing a communications plan; creating an internal PHIG newsletter; writing success stories; maintaining the PHIG SharePoint resources site; co-designing evaluation presentations with the Lead Evaluator; coordinating and facilitating peer learning sessions.

Job Duties

• Work with Lead Evaluator to create, coordinate, and implement a communications plan for the final year of the Public Health Infrastructure Grant (PHIG).
• Communicate with a variety of audiences in written, visual, and oral formats.
• Collaborate with PHIG leads and staff to document and disseminate PHIG project progress and successes.
• Engage community and internal PHSKC partners on communications strategy on qualitative data.
• Design communications strategies for presentations and dissemination products for a variety of audiences, including but not limited to: internal PHIG newsletters; success stories; SharePoint resources site; evaluation presentations; peer learning sessions.
• Draft key messaging about PHSKC’s PHIG activities.
• Utilize graphic design software, such as Canva, to create data visualizations, presentations, and other communications products.
• Engage in professional development activities as determined in collaboration with the Lead Evaluator.

Experience, Qualifications, Knowledge, Skills

Our ideal candidate will demonstrate the following (Minimum)

• Enrolled in Graduate Program
• Ability to be on site once a week
• Exceptional writing skills without the use of gen-AI.
• Experience using graphic design tools such as Canva, with a foundational understanding of design principles.
• Experience communicating to a variety of audiences.
• Interest in how a local public health department functions and serves the public.
• Considering a career in public health communications, evaluation, program implementation, public health administration, or another related field in public health.

The most competitive applicants will have the following experiences and qualifications

• Interest in communicating about data to a variety of audiences.
• Communicating about and telling stories with qualitative and quantitative data to a broader audience in multiple formats.
• Ability to take and marshal constructive feedback from multiple sources to improve and finalize a communications product.
• Experience working collaboratively with a variety of partners, including community-based organizations and internal partners.
• Ability to manage competing projects and deadlines.
• Has experience with and/or completed coursework in public health communications and/or evaluation.
• Has experience with and/or completed coursework in data visualization.
• Familiarity with universal design principles.
• Familiarity with the Public Health field, whether through coursework, internships, work experience, or other.
• Experience leading projects with supervision. For example, you led the writing of a newsletter article for publication in the department newsletter. You worked with a supervisor to brainstorm staff to interview, set a timeline, create an outline of the article, troubleshoot roadblocks, and review drafts for the final product.

King County's Vision, Mission, and ACTIVATE Values unite us.

King County serves residents with a relentless sense of urgency, delivering on commitments with transparency and accountability. We are action-oriented, creative problem solvers who collaborate across roles, engage directly with communities, and challenge the status quo to achieve meaningful impact. As a unified team, we uphold high ethical and stewardship standards, embrace change, stay curious, and continuously improve. Across all interactions, we listen first, act quickly, and stay aligned as a team to earn and sustain public trust. Learn more about our Vision, Mission, and ACTIVATE Values here and visit our Why work at King County page here.

King County is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Employer

No person is unlawfully excluded from employment opportunities based on sex, race, color, national origin, ethnicity, religious affiliation, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age except by minimum age and retirement provisions, pregnancy, status as a family caregiver, parental status, marital status, military status or status as a veteran who was honorably discharged or who was discharged solely as a result of the person's sexual orientation or gender identity or expression, citizenship or immigration status, genetic information, or other protected class. However, to the extent that distinction or differential treatment on the basis of citizenship or immigration status is authorized by either federal or state law, regulation, or government contract, it is not an unfair practice.

Our EEO policy applies to all employment actions, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, selection for training, promotion, transfer, demotion, layoff, termination, rates of pay or other forms of compensation.

Who May Apply

• Be enrolled as a graduate student for the entire duration of the internship. Proof of enrollment may be required.
• Reside and work in Washington state for the entire duration of the internship.
• Meet once a week in‑office requirement.

Work Schedule

The work schedule will be during regular business hours (8am – 5pm) Monday – Friday for up to 19 hours per week. The intern and supervisor will determine a schedule together that fits both academic schedules and business needs. The internship is anticipated to start in October 2026 and will continue for 12 months.

This position is FLSA non-exempt and overtime eligible.

This is a hybrid position with a once‑a‑week in‑office requirement. The in‑office location will be:

King County Chinook Building

401 5th Avenue

Seattle, WA 98104

The intern will be required to work in‑office once a week to attend team meetings at the Chinook Building in downtown Seattle or in‑person community engagements throughout King County. The weekly schedule is to be determined between the intern and supervisor.

Union Membership

This is not a represented position.

This position is not eligible for King County leave, holiday, insured, or other benefits. Please contact the recruiter on the posting for any additional questions regarding associated benefits.