Environmental Epidemiologist

Thank you for your interest in career opportunities with the Florida Department of Health in Hillsborough County. If you are looking to establish a successful career in Public Health, you have come to the right place. Many of our innovative and successful health programs are recognized throughout Florida. We hope you decide to join our team! Applicants will be contacted directly if selected for an interview.

Join an amazing company culture that values employee growth and development at the Florida Department of Health. Professional development is highly encouraged and supported within our organization through opportunities for mentorships and educational and skills training. From the moment you are hired, you can begin to grow as a professional and a leader, through strategic planning, internal committees, and project engagement. There are also many opportunities for continuing education at no cost to the employee. If you are looking to further your education through a college degree, the Florida Department of Health can help with our tuition reimbursement program. We offer an inspiring and encouraging atmosphere to support you while you work with us.

The Florida Department of Health (DOH) is responsible for the health and safety of all citizens and visitors to the state. As a public health agency, the Florida Department of Health must monitor the health status of Floridians, diagnose, and investigate health problems, and mobilize local communities to address health-related issues. The Florida Department of Health develops policies and plans that support health goals, enforce laws and regulations that protect the health of all residents and visitors, and link people to needed health care services. The Florida Department of Health also provides specialized assistance to pregnant women, infants, and children with special health care needs, regulates health care practitioners, and provides medical disability determinations.

Environmental Epidemiologist

GENERAL: This is a professional position in an epidemiology program, this position provides technical assistance and epidemiologic consultation to all epidemiology staff members. The incumbent conducts special projects/epidemiologic studies and supports administrative and management activities. The Environmental Epidemiologist will lead the statistical and analytical functions within the Epidemiology Program as well as be the lead epidemiologist for the Data Surveillance Unit, which will work with all programs within the Florida Department of Health-Hillsborough on specific programmatic data requests. In-depth knowledge of communicable diseases, principles and methods of epidemiology, computer skills, and knowledge of collection and analysis of statistical data is needed. Plans and develops methods of collection of mortality and morbidity data. Collects, analyzes, and organizes data for communicable disease and research projects. Conducts and/or attends health related meetings, staff meetings, committees, and workgroups. Assists with outreach activities, health fairs and other community activities as needed. Plans and conducts surveillance programs to prevent disease transmission.

Responsibilities Include:

• Lead syndromic surveillance team and responsible for assuring syndromic surveillance data analysis occurs daily, acts as liaison with website developers, recommends improvement to the system, creates quality assurance reports, evaluates system, and leads the epidemiology staff in the production of daily and weekly reports, analysis, and follow-up.
• Performs descriptive and analytic epidemiologic investigations, research, and public health surveillance of disease outbreaks and other areas of public health importance, such as disasters and bioterrorism preparedness.
• Assists in the training of epidemiology staff to enhance the research side of the epidemiology program by applying statistical methodology to data for feedback to administration and the medical community, and identifies areas for research.
• Coordinates with Public Health Preparedness for any special projects, surveillance needs, or emergency response functions.

Lead Epidemiologist for Data Surveillance Unit

• This team will work with all other programs in the Florida Department of Health-Hillsborough to complete data analysis requests and reports brought forth to the data unit.
• Coordinates with senior leadership, program managers, supervisors, and data surveillance unit staff to ensure effective understanding of requests made to team for successful completion of tasks.
• Coordinates the analysis of data to measure effectiveness of other programs within the Florida Department of Health-Hillsborough and other related enhanced surveillance systems.
• Facilitates communication with senior leadership on findings by the data surveillance unit for the purposes of assisting in process improvements, technical assistance, consultation, and training to other divisions of the health department, local health providers, public and private organizations, and institutions.

Additional Responsibilities Include:

• Conducts data management during disease outbreaks.
• Develops, implements reporting and publication of special epidemiologic studies in peer reviewed journals, presents at professional meetings, and disseminates vital public health information to the media and the public.

Less Frequent Tasks Include:

• Assists the Epidemiology Program Manager with work related to the operation and management of the program.
• Assist the program manager with program planning, implementation and evaluation of guidelines, policies and procedures.
• Cooperates with the program manager and key epidemiology staff to Identify improvements and adjustments needed to insure program effectiveness and efficiency.
• Provides staff and community training as needed
• Attends training and conducts other public health related duties as required.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Knowledge of communicable diseases and public health surveillance
• Skills in extracting and preparing data and information into logical format for presentation in reports, documents, and other written materials that suit the needs of a variety of users
• Ability to design and conduct evaluation activities and statistical surveys
• Ability to communicate with multiple divisions and programs within the Florida Department of Health-Hillsborough as well as communicating with colleagues at the state level, and community partners as needed
• Ability to plan and present presentations, trainings, and other public speaking activities to educate staff and community partners on data findings and provide education on topics of interest
• Ability to work in a team environment while managing individual tasks and assignments

Minimum Qualifications:

• Two years of epidemiology experience
• Ability to perform basic descriptive analysis using basic data analysis software (MS Excel, Epi Info, etc.)

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Public Health, Natural Science or Social Work preferred
• Experience with statistical software (SAS, SPSS, R, etc.)

The Benefits of Working for the State of Florida:

Working for the State of Florida is more than a paycheck. The State’s total compensation package for employees features a highly competitive set of employee benefits including:

• Annual and Sick Leave benefits.
• Nine paid holidays and one Personal Holiday each year.
• State Group Insurance coverage options, including health, life, dental, vision, and other supplemental insurance options.
• Retirement plan options, including employer contributions.

• Flexible Spending Accounts.
• Public Health and Nursing Loan Forgiveness Program
• Tuition waivers for State Universities/Community Colleges.
• And more!

For more complete information on benefits, visit www.mybenefits.myflorida.com.

Please be advised: Your responses to qualifying questions for this position must be verifiable by documentation provided through the electronic application process. This position requires a security background check and/or drug screening and participation in direct deposit.