Title: Breastfeeding Peer Counselor - Wage

State Role Title: Direct Service Associate II

Hiring Range: $15.00/hour - $18.07/hour

Pay Band: 2

Agency: Virginia Department of Health

Location: HENRICO-WEST WIC

Agency Website: www.henrico.gov/health

Recruitment Type: General Public - G

Job Duties

The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) is dedicated to protecting and promoting the health of Virginians. The VDH is made up of a statewide Central Office in Richmond and 35 local health districts. The Richmond & Henrico County Health Districts (RHHD) are on the forefront of Public Health and Population Health. Our mission is to protect health, champion equity, and partner to address local needs. We accomplish this by exposing and addressing the root causes of health disparities and protecting health through disease prevention and monitoring, providing clinical services, nutrition services, environmental health services, vital records, emergency planning, and building health equity by partnering with communities and working collaboratively across sectors. WE ARE PUBLIC HEALTH!

Breastfeeding Peer Counselors promote breastfeeding among WIC participants, health care workers and the community per USDA guidelines. They attend local, regional, or state breastfeeding promotion and support training when possible. They operate within the BFPC scope of practice as defined in the WIC Breastfeeding Curriculum. Participates in multidisciplinary team case conferencing to develop and implement WIC participant service plans. May represent Local Agency and WIC on interdisciplinary workgroups, taskforces, or coalitions.

To maintain and increase Breastfeeding rates in Henrico County WIC program, this position is critical for Breastfeeding support and Education. Henrico County WIC has a mission to promote Breastfeeding and provide education to pregnant and breastfeeding women to increase the number of mothers who initiate breastfeeding as well as to increase the duration of breastfeeding amongst the WIC population. USDA requires all States to have a breastfeeding plan within each district and therefore, a peer counselor is necessary to meet the plan’s goal and objectives. WIC advocates Breastfeeding as the norm due to the benefits of Breastfeeding for both maternal and child health. Peer counselors are an important component to strengthen strategies to support Breastfeeding in the health care system and in the community. Breastfeeding peer counseling represents a model of mother -to-mother support as a community – based resource to provide mothers with the support and assistance needed to establish and maintain Breastfeeding in the early weeks and months Postpartum. To meet this goal there is a need for a Breastfeeding Peer Counselor to assist the WIC community. This position requires an individual who has previously Breastfed an infant for at least 6 months.

This position is based out of the Henrico WIC Office: 7740 Shrader Road, Ste B, Henrico, VA 23228.

Wage employees are subject to the following conditions of employment:

• Wage employees serve at the will and pleasure of the appointing authority.
• Continuing employment is based on available funding and business need.
• Wage employees are not covered by the provisions of the Virginia Personnel Act. Therefore, they are not eligible for benefits which are provided to salaried employees, such as leave credits, holiday pay, insurance, access to the grievance procedure, etc.
• Wage employees are paid only for the hours they actually work.
• Virginia state law currently requires that agencies not permit wage employees to work in excess of 29 hours per week on average over the course of a year. Wage employees may not work for VDH beyond 1,500 hours during the period of May 1 – April 30 of the following year (the Standard Measurement Period).
• Once a wage employee works the maximum of 1,500 hours during the Standard Measurement Period, the employee may be rehired as a wage employee of VDH only after the next Standard Measurement Period has begun.
• Wage employees are eligible to apply for all classified positions for which recruitment has been initiated, including those limited to State Employees Only.
• If a wage employee becomes employed in a classified position, he/she will be eligible to purchase retirement credit for the time worked as a wage employee.
• Continuing employment is based on available funding and business need.

This is a restricted position which is funded by federal grants for a year period ending September 30, 2026. The availability of funding is scheduled for review annually and periodically thereafter. Continued employment is contingent on the continued availability of grant or non-general funds.

Minimum Qualifications

Demonstrate a Working Knowledge of:

• Basic human lactation.
• Breastfeeding practices
• Various positioning techniques.
• Basic breastfeeding management.
• Manual expression of breast milk.
• Collection and storage of human milk.
• Good communication skills.
• Personal breastfeeding experience required

Demonstrated Ability to:

• Instruct in a group and individual setting
• Recognize problems related to breastfeeding and make appropriate referrals/interventions.

Additional Considerations

Current or former WIC participants preferred

Special Instructions

You will be provided a confirmation of receipt when your application and/or résumé is submitted successfully. Please refer to “Your Application” in your account to check the status of your application for this position.

VDH accepts only on-line applications. Faxed, mailed, or e-mailed applications will not be considered. Applications are accepted until 11:55 p.m. on the job closing date. Applications and/or resumes should include relevant work history which indicates your qualifications for this position. Supplemental questions are encouraged to be answered in a comprehensive manner and reference any pertinent knowledge, skills, and abilities as well as any previous experience that relates to the position.

Employment is contingent upon satisfactory results of a state and federal criminal history background check and the Department of Social Service’s Child Abuse and Neglect Central Registry check, U.S. HHSIG Exclusion List check, employment reference check and E-Verify. Other financial, credit, driving, background checks or completion of Statement of Economic Interests may be required for certain positions.

It is the policy of the Commonwealth and VDH that all aspects of human resource management be conducted without regard to race (or traits historically associated with race including hair texture, hair type, and protective hairstyles such as braids, locks, and twists); sex; color; national origin; religion; sexual orientation; gender identity or expression; age; veteran status; political affiliation; disability; genetic information; and pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. VDH employees have a shared Code of Ethics, which can be found in the bottom banner of our website: www.vdh.virginia.gov.

If you have been affected by DHRM Policy 1.30 layoff and possess a valid Interagency Placement Screening Form (Yellow Card) or a Preferential Hiring Form (Blue Card), you must submit the card before the closing date for this position. The Card may be submitted with the state application as an attachment.

As a V3 (Virginia Values Veterans) employer VDH Welcomes Veterans to apply!

Contact Information

Name: Anita Sikka

Phone: 804-501-5057

Email: anita.sikka@vdh.virginia.gov

In support of the Commonwealth’s commitment to inclusion, we are encouraging individuals with disabilities to apply through the Commonwealth Alternative Hiring Process. To be considered for this opportunity, applicants will need to provide their AHP Letter (formerly COD) provided by the Department for Aging & Rehabilitative Services (DARS), or the Department for the Blind & Vision Impaired (DBVI). Service-Connected Veterans are encouraged to answer Veteran status questions and submit their disability documentation, if applicable, to DARS/DBVI to get their AHP Letter. Requesting an AHP Letter can be found at AHP Letter or by calling DARS at 800-552-5019.

Note: Applicants who received a Certificate of Disability from DARS or DBVI dated between April 1, 2022- February 29, 2024, can still use that COD as applicable documentation for the Alternative Hiring Process.