COVID-19 Epidemiologist - American Technology Consulting

Job Title: IN-DOH-COVID-19 EpidemiologistWorksite Address: 2 N Meridian Street 5K-99, Indianapolis, IN 46123Work Arrangement: Hybrid - Position is hybrid but must be able to attenddivisional and other meetings in Indianapolis, IN or designated areas. Thesemeetings will be at a minimum monthly.Essential Duties/Responsibilities: * Collaborate and coordinate between IDOH IDEPD, IDOH Laboratory, prisons/jails, academic partners, and local health departments to maintain, grow, and manage COVID 19 surveillance. Meetings and work may need to be completed on site at headquarters or designated areas; * Collaborate with and participate in national initiatives related to pan respiratory/COVID 19 surveillance; * Maintain current subject matter knowledge of the epidemiology and biology of pan respiratory diseases and public health topics, particularly as it relates to COVID-19 epidemiology; * Provide epidemiologic consultation and technical assistance to local health departments, health care providers, the general public, and other partners with respect to diseases and public health topics; * Manage and analyze trends and correlations in data collected through routine surveillance and applied epidemiologic studies; * Monitor data reporting and associated dashboards; * Partner with data analysts in the Office of Data & Analytics to manage and update and further develop dashboard and internal reports as needed; * Prepare and disseminate written and oral reports and presentations that communicate necessary information to internal and external partners; * Conduct educational presentations and/or trainings for a variety of audiences, including local health departments, health care providers, utility operators, and the general public; * Engage directly with members of the public at health fairs and other outreach events; * Participate in writing grants and other funding proposals; * Conduct routine epidemiologic surveillance for disease and public health topics; * Design and conduct applied epidemiologic studies of diseases or public health topics; * Serve as an agency spokesperson at the invitation and direction of the IDOH Office of Public Affairs; * Evaluate the impact of legislation or policy proposals at the invitation and direction of the IDOH Director of Legislative Affairs; * Serve as a backup to other staff, as needed; * Perform related duties as assigned.Job Requirements:· A master’s degree in a relevant field (e.g., public health, biologicalsciences, or social sciences)and≥ 2 years’ relevant public health experienceOR· A master’s degree in a non-relevant fieldand≥ 4 years’ public healthexperienceOR· A doctoral-level degree in epidemiology or other relevant fieldsOR· A graduate or professional degree in a health-related field (e.g., RN, MD/DO,DDS/DMD, DVM, PhD, RS) with specific epidemiology training (e.g., MPH degree,CDC Epidemic Intelligence Service, or CSTE Applied Epidemiology Fellowship)OR· A bachelor’s degree in a relevant fieldand≥ 4 years’ relevant public healthexperienceOR· A bachelor’s degree in a non-relevant fieldand≥ 6 years’ public healthexperience.· Current employee promotion requirement: Internal candidate should be ahigh-performing Epidemiologist 1 or other internal role based on demonstratedability, competency attainment, and/or performance feedback.Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities * Knowledge of the epidemiology and biology of diseases and public health topics; * Knowledge of state laws and regulations as well as federal public health guidance documents pertaining to diseases and public health topics; * Skill in identification of public health problems pertinent to Indiana residents; * Skill in conducting epidemiologic surveillance activities, including selection and use of appropriate field methods as well as use and evaluation of public health surveillance systems; * Skill in eliciting relevant information from patients in structured or unstructured telephone interviews; * Skill in conducting public health investigations of individual cases and/or outbreaks of diseases or public health topics * Skill in designing descriptive and analytical epidemiologic investigations, including hypothesis generation; * Skill in managing large datasets, performing complex data analyses, and identifying key findings; * Skill in recommending evidence-based interventions and control measures in response to epidemiologic findings; * Skill in preparing written and oral reports, presentations, and educational materials that communicate necessary information to internal and external partners; * Skill in applying principles of informatics, including data collection, processing, and analysis, in support of epidemiologic practice * Demonstrated skill in statistical, analytical, and/or geospatial software (e.g., EpiInfo, SAS, ArcGIS, SQL, SPSS, R, Python, Stata, etc.); * Ability to identify appropriate laboratory resources and use them appropriately; * Ability to provide prompt, courteous, and helpful customer service; * Ability to collaborate with others inside and outside the agency to identify public health problems and form recommendations; * Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, using principles of risk communication where appropriate; * Ability to prioritize tasks efficiently to meet internal and external deadlines; * Ability to appropriately document work activities and maintain organized records.Supervisory Responsibilities/Direct Reports:May be responsible for directing and coordinating the work of interns assignedto the program.Difficulty of Work:The employee must have or rapidly acquire expert knowledge of the epidemiologyof COVID-19, pan respiratory diseases and public health topics. They must usethis knowledge and their critical thinking skills to ascertain the existence ofpublic health threats, conduct public health investigations, and identifyappropriate interventions. The employee will routinely exercise independentjudgment to identify appropriate actions in complex situations that are notexplicitly described in state regulations and public health guidance documents.The employee must routinely reorganize their work activities to prioritizeemergent public health threats, often with little to no advance warning. Theyare expected to show initiative in independently identifying and executingprocess improvements and/or special projects that would benefit IDOH and Indianaresidents. Failure of the employee to properly execute their duties could havegrave consequences for Indiana residents.Responsibility:The employee is expected to support IDOH's vision, comply with agencyadministrative and fiscal policies, and practice cultural sensitivity in allwork activities. The employee must have knowledge of state and federal privacylaws and protect patient confidentiality at all times. The employee mustidentify possible ethical conflicts in work activities and request assistancefrom the supervisor in resolving them. The employee is expected to independentlyidentify opportunities for their professional development that would benefitIDOH and Indiana residents.The employee initially works under the close supervision of their supervisor,but works more independently with acquired experience. The supervisor sets theoverall objectives and determines what resources are available. The employee andthe supervisor will work together to develop guidelines, projects, and work tobe done. The employee plans, directs, monitors, evaluates and identifies needsand resolves most conflicts within assigned projects. The employee interpretsand applies policies in terms of established goals, objectives, and acceptedpractices. The employee is expected to bring controversial or complex issues tothe attention of the supervisor for more detailed direction and guidance. Theemployee is expected to keep the supervisor informed of progress and potentiallycritical items. Completed work is reviewed for feasibility, conformance toprogram policy and practices, and effectiveness in meeting specific goals andobjectives.Personal Work Relationships:The employee works closely with a variety of stakeholders, which may include theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention, the IDOH Laboratories, health careproviders, local health departments, and other state agencies. The employee isexpected to maintain good working relationships with these entities as well asother internal and external partners.Physical Effort:The employee must be physically able to type on a computer, to communicate viatelephone, and to sit and/or stand at a workstation for a 7.5-hour workdayWorking Conditions:Work is performed in an indoor office setting. Occasional field work and/orovernight travel may be required. The employee must be willing to receiveimmunizations for communicable diseases when necessary and appropriate. Work mayalso require driving long distances in inclement weather.