Advocacy Director

Outspoken individuals who wish to work in the advocacy field should consider a job as an advocacy director in public health. Like many other public health professionals, advocacy directors enjoy a stable job with a wide range of different career settings to choose from, as they also get to benefit from a high salary and plenty of room for professional growth.

The public health field is one that will continue to grow regardless of the actions of the job market, and this means that these jobs will remain available even in the toughest of economies. Public health careers, such as that of an advocacy director, are worthy of consideration due to the many perks they provide to professionals.

What Is An Advocacy Director?

Advocacy directors in the public health field provide a voice for the populations they serve when it comes to advocating for programs, funding, and proper legislation in order to maintain a positive level of overall public health. An advocacy director will typically work with other public health officials as well as policy makers, government officials, and community leaders to craft public health advocacy programs that shape the way people around the globe view health risks and healthy living habits.

Some of the things an advocacy director may do on any given day are:

  •   Helping local healthcare workers or healthcare facilities to implement practices that promote a good level of public health
  •   Educating policy makers or local legislators of any public health risks, problems, or hazards present within a population or community in order to create legislation or programs to promote positive health practices
  •   Directing or supervising and advocacy team in charge of public health advocacy
  •   Keeping government officials or policy makers up to date on all of the latest public health trends present throughout a community or given region
  •   Working with other public health officials such as environmental health scientists and epidemiologists to identify and research any public health risks that may be present within an area due to environmental and other affects.
  • FIND SCHOOLS
    Sponsored Content

Advocacy directors in the public health field carry out a very important role in terms of keeping up with good public health practices, and they provide a way for public health to improve on a governmental or regulatory front. A public health advocacy director, on top of running an advocacy group or team, will personally speak with important individuals in the decision making or law process to inform them of the need for public health improvement as they also make them aware of current trends.

Education And Training

A public health advocacy director will typically hold an MPH degree, or Master of Public Health degree, and this is earned through a master’s degree program. Before any master’s degree program can begin, an aspiring public advocacy director must first start at the bottom of the education ladder by working through an undergraduate program to earn a bachelor’s degree. The bachelor’s degree earned by these types of professionals should focus on public health with courses that may involve law or healthcare administration, and upon the completion of this degree track a person will be prepared to begin a master’s degree program.

A Master of Public Health program will take around 2 years to complete, and will result in a student earning a master’s degree in the public health field. Should any specialized areas of interest be considered a student will also investigate these through master’s level courses, and internships will be made available to allow prospective public health advocacy directors to gain real world experience working with professionals in the public health field.

FIND SCHOOLS
Sponsored Content

Some universities may offer post-graduate certificate programs to allow students and professionals alike to earn a certificate in advocacy, and the earning of this certificate will mean that one will become a certified advocacy director. This certification will typically need to be renewed once every few years by the taking of an exam or continued education for a person to remain certified.

The need for qualified advocacy directors within the public health field is expected to rise around 21% by the year 2022, and this level of demand is far greater than the national average of all occupations. The average salary for an advocacy director will be between $85,000 and $95,000, however this number will fluctuate with years of experience or chosen work settings.

CareerSalary RankAverage Salary *
Advocacy Director124 $ 55,215.00
Assistant Environmental Scientist49 $ 72,196.00
Assistant Inspector General158 $ 49,862.00
Assistant Professor Epidemiology4 $ 101,725.00
Assistant Public Health Professor149 $ 51,705.00
Associate Biostatistics21 $ 79,400.00
Associate Epidemiologist20 $ 79,215.00
Behavioral Health Administrator74 $ 65,294.00
Behavioral Scientist16 $ 80,176.00
Biosecurity Specialist Salary201 $ 25,549.00
Biostatistical Data Technician193 $ 37,313.00
Biostatistician Bioinformatics17 $ 79,882.00
Biostatisticians22 $ 79,705.00
Bioterrorism Researcher59 $ 57,156.00
Chief Medical Officer8 $ 94,431.00
Child Health Specialist156 $ 49,333.00
Childbirth Health Educator62 $ 70,380.00
Chronic Disease Health Educator12 $ 83,647.00
Chronic Disease Management Coordinator94 $ 61,392.00
Chronic Disease Medical Epidemiologist23 $ 79,104.00
Clinical Epidemiologist67 $ 69,411.00
Clinical Infectious Disease Specialist3 $ 114,333.00
Clinical Research Director29 $ 76,921.00
Communicable Disease Analyst125 $ 54,921.00
Communications Director90 $ 63,176.00
Community Activist199 $ 27,019.00
Community Counselor194 $ 36,862.00
Community Health Educator97 $ 60,588.00
Community Health Nursing Consultant44 $ 72,686.00
Community Health Worker168 $ 48,313.00
Community Outreach Specialist192 $ 39,941.00
Consumer Safety Officer109 $ 57,411.00
Consumer Safety Officer, FDA30 $ 77,489.00
Continuing Education Coordinator151 $ 51,941.00
Corporate Medical Director11 $ 87,039.00
Correctional Medicine Physician2 $ 149,843.00
Deputy Director65 $ 67,901.00
Development Director35 $ 76,163.00
Director of Applied Research82 $ 64,333.00
Director of Emergency Medical Services78 $ 66,120.00
Disaster Preparedness Coordinator127 $ 55,196.00
Disaster Preparedness Researcher141 $ 53,340.00
Disease Ecologist184 $ 43,470.00
Emergency Preparedness Specialist144 $ 53,098.00
Emergency Response Specialist126 $ 55,156.00
Employee Health Nurse72 $ 68,080.00
Entomologist198 $ 31,080.00
Enviornmental Health Supervisor181 $ 46,196.00
Environmental Engineer18 $ 78,843.00
Environmental Health Director76 $ 66,700.00
Environmental Health Emergency Response Specialist143 $ 53,224.00
Environmental Health Engineer31 $ 77,470.00
Environmental Health Executive45 $ 73,860.00
Environmental Health Nurse89 $ 61,360.00
Environmental Health Safety Engineer37 $ 76,274.00
Environmental Health Technician191 $ 40,313.00
Environmental Specialist173 $ 48,098.00
Epidemiologist Technician164 $ 49,666.00
Epidemiologists148 $ 51,588.00
Epidemiology Investigator79 $ 63,215.00
Epidemiology Surveillance Coordinator104 $ 58,862.00
Federal Agency Director83 $ 64,720.00
Food Inspector190 $ 39,843.00
Food Scientist60 $ 70,140.00
Food Service Sanitarian162 $ 48,640.00
Forensic Pathologist169 $ 47,941.00
Genetic Engineer43 $ 73,882.00
Geographer86 $ 62,980.00
Grant Writer182 $ 45,549.00
Hazardous Waste Inspector113 $ 54,745.00
Health Administrator92 $ 61,960.00
Health and Wellness Manager70 $ 66,294.00
Health Commissioner110 $ 58,039.00
Health Communications Specialist172 $ 48,294.00
Health Education Health Promotion106 $ 56,764.00
Health Educators189 $ 40,686.00
Health Facilities Surveyor105 $ 57,431.00
Health Facility Surveyor107 $ 57,549.00
Health Legislative Assistant178 $ 47,117.00
Health Physicist15 $ 81,117.00
Health Science Kinesiology121 $ 54,882.00
Health Scientist88 $ 62,450.00
Health Supervisor175 $ 47,019.00
Health Teacher96 $ 61,078.00
Health Unit Coordinator159 $ 49,588.00
Home Visit Nurse73 $ 66,020.00
Homeless Services Educator147 $ 50,660.00
Hospital Administrator77 $ 65,333.00
Human Capital138 $ 54,509.00
Hydrologist81 $ 64,400.00
Industrial Hygienist55 $ 71,352.00
Infection Control Manager80 $ 64,960.00
Infection Control Practitioner34 $ 75,705.00
Infection Prevention Nurse71 $ 64,607.00
Infection Preventionist24 $ 82,764.00
Infection Surveillance Officer66 $ 68,901.00
Infectious Disease Epidemiology28 $ 78,294.00
Infectious Disease Public Health Advisor39 $ 74,294.00
Informatics Specialist48 $ 74,420.00
Injury Prevention Specialist108 $ 57,580.00
International HIV Specialist115 $ 51,215.00
International Programs Manager54 $ 70,901.00
Journalist186 $ 43,244.00
Lead Health Scientist57 $ 70,941.00
Lecturer Public Health112 $ 43,840.00
Maternal Child Health75 $ 65,784.00
Medical Expert165 $ 47,437.00
Medical Officer195 $ 37,784.00
Medical Technologist154 $ 50,588.00
Medical Writer180 $ 46,274.00
Mental Health Researcher7 $ 95,477.00
MPH Biostatistics146 $ 51,117.00
MPH Epidemiologist111 $ 56,509.00
NGO Manager14 $ 79,215.00
Nuclear Facility Design6 $ 97,254.00
Nurse Epidemiologist63 $ 70,098.00
Nurse Practitioner10 $ 91,000.00
Nutrition Consultant129 $ 55,803.00
Occupational Health Specialist98 $ 59,509.00
Occupational Medical Physician40 $ 73,254.00
Occupational Medicine Physician1 $ 133,411.00
Outcomes Researcher19 $ 79,411.00
Outreach Education176 $ 46,803.00
Patient Navigator100 $ 60,294.00
Patient Safety Specialist157 $ 49,500.00
Pharmaceutical Epidemiology58 $ 70,823.00
PhD Biostatistics9 $ 90,901.00
PhD Epidemiologist119 $ 56,580.00
Phlebotomist200 $ 26,627.00
Poisoning Prevention Coordinator133 $ 44,820.00
Political Scientist69 $ 67,156.00
Population Health Management84 $ 64,120.00
Procurement Manager46 $ 73,080.00
Professor of Environmental Health163 $ 49,039.00
Program Evaluator122 $ 56,420.00
Program Officer134 $ 54,568.00
Public Health Administrator131 $ 55,039.00
Public Health Attorney130 $ 55,882.00
Public Health Biologist116 $ 56,470.00
Public Health Communications153 $ 52,540.00
Public Health Consultant56 $ 72,098.00
Public Health Data Analyst68 $ 66,450.00
Public Health Dentist41 $ 72,000.00
Public Health Dietician140 $ 54,078.00
Public Health Director99 $ 60,823.00
Public Health Doctor51 $ 70,607.00
Public Health Educator139 $ 53,860.00
Public Health Engineer52 $ 70,960.00
Public Health Informatics36 $ 75,803.00
Public Health Information Officer137 $ 53,980.00
Public Health Inspector174 $ 48,352.00
Public Health Institute155 $ 50,588.00
Public Health Investigator167 $ 48,901.00
Public Health Journalist103 $ 59,352.00
Public Health Lab Director142 $ 53,392.00
Public Health Lab Scientist102 $ 59,882.00
Public Health Librarian161 $ 49,800.00
Public Health Lobbyist50 $ 72,666.00
Public Health Management118 $ 56,460.00
Public Health Microbiologist145 $ 53,137.00
Public Health Nurse114 $ 56,627.00
Public Health Nutritionist188 $ 41,921.00
Public Health Officer135 $ 54,235.00
Public Health Physician27 $ 77,372.00
Public Health Policy Analyst117 $ 56,196.00
Public Health Project Manager13 $ 82,220.00
Public Health Psychologist61 $ 71,000.00
Public Health Research120 $ 54,320.00
Public Health School Dean152 $ 51,666.00
Public Health Social Worker160 $ 49,647.00
Public Health Teacher132 $ 55,470.00
Public Health Technician185 $ 42,941.00
Public Health Veterinarian32 $ 75,627.00
Public Information Officer166 $ 49,392.00
Quality Improvement Specialist101 $ 58,803.00
Regulatory Affairs Specialist53 $ 70,156.00
Regulatory Coordinator93 $ 61,078.00
Reproductive Health Assistant197 $ 32,647.00
Research Analyst85 $ 65,294.00
Research Assistant Professor Epidemiology5 $ 101,078.00
Research Associate177 $ 46,540.00
Research Biostatistician25 $ 77,588.00
Research Data Analyst64 $ 69,300.00
Research Scientist33 $ 74,941.00
Sanitarian171 $ 48,196.00
Senior Health Educator26 $ 78,333.00
Social Marketer38 $ 74,803.00
State Epidemiologist91 $ 62,803.00
Statistical Research Analyst95 $ 60,882.00
Study Coordinator183 $ 45,078.00
Supervisory Epidemiologist47 $ 73,078.00
Survey Researchers123 $ 54,705.00
Toxicologist42 $ 75,120.00
Tropical Disease Specialist179 $ 53,019.00
Urban Planner87 $ 63,647.00
Vaccine Researcher170 $ 48,058.00
Vector Control Surveillance187 $ 42,734.00
Virology Trainer128 $ 55,450.00
Volunteer Coordinator196 $ 32,980.00
Water Resource Specialist150 $ 52,274.00
Worksite Wellness Manager136 $ 54,893.00
* Average salary calculated by taking the average of each state's average salary for each career

About This Site

CareersinPublicHealth.net proudly features 173 career & salary comparisons, 188 schools & programs with 734 masters, 147 doctorate's, 148 certificates and 128 distance learning options. Salary profiles for all public health careers total a whopping $536,083,000.