IN-DOH-COVID-19 Epidemiologist - Spark Tek Inc

Short Description:
Minimize morbidity and mortality associated with
pan respiratory diseases among Indiana residents by conducting a broad and
complex range of investigative and analytical epidemiologic activities, collaborate and perform surveillance of COVID-19.

Complete Description:
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, biological sciences, or social
sciences) and e 2 years relevant public health experience OR


A master s degree
in a non-relevant field and e 4 years public health experience OR


A doctoral-level
degree in epidemiology or other relevant fields OR


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 field and e 4 years relevant public health
experience OR



A bachelor s degree in a non-relevant field and
e 6 years public health experience.



Current employee promotion requirement:
Internal candidate should be a high-performing Epidemiologist 1 or other
internal role based on demonstrated ability, 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 assigned to the program.





Difficulty of Work:


The employee must have or rapidly acquire expert knowledge of the
epidemiology of COVID-19, pan respiratory diseases and public health topics.
They must use this knowledge and their critical thinking skills to ascertain
the existence of public health threats, conduct public health investigations,
and identify appropriate interventions. The employee will routinely exercise
independent judgment to identify appropriate actions in complex situations that
are not explicitly described in state regulations and public health guidance
documents. The employee must routinely reorganize their work activities to
prioritize emergent public health threats, often with little to no advance
warning. They are expected to show initiative in independently identifying and
executing process improvements and/or special projects that would benefit IDOH and
Indiana residents. Failure of the employee to properly execute their duties
could have grave consequences for Indiana residents.





Responsibility:


The employee is expected to support IDOH's vision, comply with agency
administrative and fiscal policies, and practice cultural sensitivity in all
work activities. The employee must have knowledge of state and federal privacy
laws and protect patient confidentiality at all times.
The employee must identify possible ethical conflicts in work activities and
request assistance from the supervisor in resolving them. The employee is
expected to independently identify opportunities for their professional
development that would benefit IDOH and Indiana residents.





The employee initially works under the close supervision of
their supervisor, but works more independently with acquired experience. The
supervisor sets the overall objectives and determines what resources are
available. The employee and the supervisor will work together to develop
guidelines, projects, and work to be done. The employee plans, directs,
monitors, evaluates and identifies needs and resolves most conflicts within
assigned projects. The employee interprets and applies policies in terms of
established goals, objectives, and accepted practices. The employee is expected
to bring controversial or complex issues to the attention of the supervisor for
more detailed direction and guidance. The employee is expected to keep the
supervisor informed of progress and potentially critical items. Completed work
is reviewed for feasibility, conformance to program policy and practices, and
effectiveness in meeting specific goals and objectives.





Personal Work Relationships:


The employee works closely with a variety of stakeholders, which may
include the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the IDOH Laboratories, health
care providers, local health departments, and other state agencies. The employee
is expected to maintain good working relationships with these entities as well
as other internal and external partners.





Physical Effort:


The employee must be physically able to
type on a computer, to communicate via telephone, and to sit and/or stand at a
workstation for a 7.5-hour workday


Working Conditions:


Work is performed in an indoor office
setting. Occasional field work and/or overnight travel may be required. The
employee must be willing to receive immunizations for communicable diseases
when necessary and appropriate. Work may also require driving long
distances in inclement weather.





This job
description was dveloped on February 19, 2024.