Viral Hepatitis Epidemiologist

Equal Opportunity Employer

The mission of the Health Federation of Philadelphia is to promote health equity for marginalized communities by advancing access to high-quality, integrated, and comprehensive health and human services.  Health equity is at the heart of all our work. We believe in and are firmly committed to equal employment opportunity for employees and applicants. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, age, religion, disability, sex or gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, military or veteran status.  This commitment applies to all aspects of the Health Federation of Philadelphia’s employment practices, including recruiting, hiring, training, and promotion.

JOB SUMMARY

The Viral Hepatitis Epidemiologist position involves high level staff work providing epidemiological support of hepatitis C virus (HCV) and hepatitis B (HBV) activities within the Division of Disease Control of the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. The person filling this role is responsible for a variety of activities that facilitate public health surveillance and data collection through electronic laboratory reporting mechanisms, patient and provider interviews and audits, and receipt of vital statistics and state data. These responsibilities will require close contact and collaboration with laboratories, providers, and the Pennsylvania Department of Health, along with PDPH Informatics and Epidemiology staff. The person filling this position is responsible for data management and analysis of data to support reports and public health investigations. These data will be used to improve surveillance and prevention activities in Philadelphia. The person filling this position must work very closely with Epidemiology staff, Viral Hepatitis Program staff, Division of Disease Control staff, Division of HIV Health staff, the Division Director, and with laboratories and service providers to ensure consistency of reported data. 

JOB SPECIFICATIONS

Responsibilities/Duties

  • Develop, refine and perform data cleaning/quality assurance routines for HBV and HCV surveillance and investigation data to identify reporting, workflow, and data quality issues.
  • Perform regular quality assessment and data cleaning processes of viral hepatitis surveillance data and processes.
  • Propose quality improvement and assurance activities to improve public health surveillance and programming outcomes and processes.
  • Maintain data collection tools and processes with surveillance assistants and investigators.
  • Coordinate data collection, cleaning and analysis from surveillance-based activities including patient and provider investigations.
  • Provide timely and regular data measurements for reporting to local and federal agencies.
  • Perform regular matches between viral hepatitis data and other data sources (births, deaths, cancer registry, and other notifiable conditions) and conduct analysis on matched data.
  • Develop, refine and oversee production of regular reports to monitor progress towards program goals.
  • Execute program evaluation, data cleaning/management, and matching activities for in a timely and constructive manner in alignment with CDC deliverables.
  • Perform regular Quality Assurance/Quality Control assessments of program data.
  • Summarize analytic findings for presentation at scientific conferences and publication in technical and scientific journals.
  • Assess and fulfill hepatitis data requests from outside (non-DDC) entities.
  • Develop and conduct ad-hoc, non-routine analysis including ensuring that all appropriate steps are completed (IRB, etc).
  • Support data coordination for project evaluations with external evaluating partners.
  • Execute the development of Viral Hepatitis Elimination project deliverables and programming including a needs assessment, program intervention support, reports, data analyses, and partner-site support.
  • Participate in emergency preparedness exercises and real response activities at the discretion of the Viral Hepatitis Manager and Division Director.

Education

1a.  Completion of a Master’s Degree program at an accredited college or university in Epidemiology or related field that includes a minimum of two graduate level courses in Epidemiology or two comparable graduate level classes in advanced research methodology AND Two (2) graduate level courses in statistics or biostatistics;

AND Two (2) years of work experience within the field of Public Health.

OR

2a. Completion of a Master’s Degree program at an accredited college or university; AND

2b. Two (2) years of work experience within the field of Epidemiology performing study design, evaluation or analysis.

 Skills/Experience

  • Knowledge of viral hepatitis medical terminology.
  • Knowledge of the principles and procedures of epidemiological research including study design or epidemiological surveys, theory and application of epidemiological methodologies, principles and methods of biostatistics, and preparation of scientific research reports.
  • Strong analytical abilities in utilizing statistical software; SAS preferred.
  • Ability to multi-task, prioritize projects and manage time effectively
  • Highly organized and detail-oriented
  • Flexibility and willingness to learn new tasks quickly
  • Excellent writing, communication, presentation, and organizational skills
  • Ability to work as part of a team, to prioritize and handle multiple tasks, and to work independently in a high-pressure environment.
  • Cultural competency and sensitivity regarding populations impacted by viral hepatitis including ethnic minorities, people who use drugs, and LGBTQ people
  • Skilled in Microsoft Office suite including Access, Word, Power Point, and Excel

Work Environment: Standard office setting or hybrid with at-home time, in accordance with City of Philadelphia guidelines. This position may also require some time in the field performing site audits.

Position Type and Work Schedule:  Full time position, typical hours are Monday through Friday 8:30 am to 5:00 pm.  Work location is the Philadelphia Department of Health Division of Disease Control office at 1101 Market St. in Philadelphia. Remote work may be integrated depending on City of Philadelphia/Health Department policy.

Travel:  Local travel to multiple sites several times per month, as needed.

Physical Demands: Ability to transport materials on occasion; walking to meetings in nearby offices.

Application: If interested, please send a resume/CV and a cover letter.  Applications without cover letters will not be considered.

Salary and Benefits:  Our employees are our most valuable resource, so we offer a competitive and comprehensive benefits package, which can include:

  • Medical with vision benefits
  • Dental insurance
  • Flexible spending accounts
  • Life, AD&D and long-term care insurance
  • Short- and long-term disability insurance
  • 403(b) Retirement Plan, with a company contribution
  • Paid time off including vacation, sick, personal and holiday
  • Employee Assistance Program

Eligibility and participation is handled consistent with the plan documents and HFP policy. 

DISCLAIMER

The Health Federation reserves the right to modify, interpret, or apply this job description in any way the Company desires. The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by an employee assigned to this position. This job description in no way implies that these are the only duties, including essential duties, responsibilities and/or skills to be performed by the employee occupying this position. This job description is not an employment contract, implied, or otherwise. The employment relationship remains “at will.” The aforementioned job requirements are subject to change to reasonably accommodate qualified disabled individuals.