Unpaid Internship - Marketing & Communication Specialist Internship
State of Colorado· Sep 17, 2026 · 1mo ago
Denver Metro, CO
Hybrid
Internship
Intern
$52K–$79K est.
Job description
This posting is only open to current residents of the State of Colorado.
ABOUT CDPHE:
At the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, we are charged with protecting Colorado’s health and environment – a responsibility that affects every person and every community in the state. CDPHE is distinctive because we bring public health and environmental protection together under one agency, recognizing that healthy people depend on healthy places. Our teams prevent diseases and injury, respond to emergencies ranging from E.coli outbreaks to global pandemics, reduce air pollution, protect water quality, regulate health facilities, manage environmental hazards, perform advanced laboratory testing, provide birth and death records, and implement health promoting programs. We turn science and data into action, set statewide standards, and work alongside local public health agencies and community partners to meet Colorado’s most pressing health and environmental challenges. Working at CDPHE means applying your expertise to complex, consequential work that can improve lives across the state.
Our mission captures this broad portfolio of work: to advance Colorado’s health and protect the places we live, learn, work, and play. Our vision is a healthy and sustainable Colorado where current and future generations can thrive. Achieving the mission and vision takes bold action, talented people, broad partnerships, and a commitment to serving every Coloradan.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
• 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).
• The referral list generated by this position announcement may be used to fill multiple position vacancies and may be extended.
• Hybrid work options may be available at the supervisor’s discretion and based on business needs. The position will be based at 4300 Cherry Creek Drive South, Glendale, CO 80246.
• PART-TIME ONLY: This is a Part time Internship requiring 10 hours per week.
• TEMPORARY ONLY: This is a Temporary Internship for 5 months.
• This Internship is unpaid.
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 adequate
treatment; 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 care activities.
The Public Health Education and Promotion Services is a section of Capacity Building and Training Program (CBT) within OSHV.
What You Will Do: Marketing & Communication Specialist Internship
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.
Objective 1: By the end of the internship, the student will help develop, refine and post informational and "trendy" Instagram content to the CDPHE OSHV account.
Objective 2: 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.
K ey Responsibilities:
• 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.
Residency Requirement:
This posting is only open to residents of the State of Colorado at the time of submitting your application.
Minimum Qualifications:
Education: A applicant must be a current or recently graduated (within the past 3 calendar years) Bachelors or Masters student from an accredited college or university in Health Education and Promotion, with a focus on health communication or digital health and/or marketing. Student transcripts must show course work in social media advertising and STI/HIV/VH education.
No Substitutions
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
In addition to the minimum requirements, the successful candidate in this position will have the following highly desirable experience and competencies:
• A highly desired applicant has previous experience in one or more of the following fields: social media marketing, digital marketing, health education, sexual health, public health.
• Public Health experience: Basic understanding of inclusive language and reaching target populations.
• 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:
• Residency Requirement Options:
• This posting is only open to residents of the State of Colorado at the time of submitting your application
• A pre-employment background check will be conducted as part of the selection process.
• 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.
• SPECIAL QUALIFICATIONS: Must be willing and able to participate in the program for 5 months.
• This Internship is unpaid.
A complete application packet must include:
• Completed State of Colorado application.
• RESUME.
• COVER LETTER: describing how your educational experience aligns with the preferred qualifications of this position.
• If using education to qualify for this position a copy of your transcripts (unofficial acceptable) or diploma must be provided with application. Transcripts must be attached to your colorado.gov/jobs application.
• If you are a veteran, a copy of your DD214 must be attached to your colorado.gov/jobs application.
The Selection Process:
• All applications that are received by the closing of this announcement will be reviewed against the Minimum Qualifications in this announcement. Candidates who meet the minimum qualifications proceed to the next step.
• Comparative Analysis:
Part of, or all of, the comparative analysis for this position may be a structured application review, which involves a review of the information you submit in your application materials by Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) against the preferred qualifications.
• A top group, up to six candidates, will be invited to schedule an interview with the hiring manager.
E-Verify:
CDPHE uses e-Verify, an Internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities.
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 at cdphe_benefits@state.co.us or call 303-692-2060, option 5.
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