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Program Evaluation Postdoctoral Associate

Employer
Pima County Government
Location
Tucson, Arizona, US
Salary
Competitive
Closing date
Jan 31, 2022

View more

Sector
Academic / Research
Field
Conservation science
Discipline
Climate Change
Salary Type
Salary
Employment Type
Full time
7020 - SPECIAL STAFF ASSISTANT - UNCLASSIFIED (PROGRAM EVALUATION POSTDOCTORAL ASSOCIATE)

Position Description

This grant-funded position, with occasional weekend and evening shifts, is located in the COVID-19 Disparities section, in the Community Outreach and Prevention Education Division, within the Health Department.

OPEN UNTIL FILLED


Salary $15.75 Hourly

Salary Grade: U1


The Postdoctoral Associate provides quantitative and qualitative analytic expertise in evaluating COVID-19 testing programs supported by the Pima County Health Department (PCHD) National Initiative to Address COVID-19 Health Disparities Grant. The purpose of the initiative is to address COVID-19 related health disparities and advance health equity by expanding local capacity and services to prevent and control COVID-19 infection among populations at higher risk and that are underserved, including racial and ethnic minority groups and people living in rural communities. This postdoctoral associate will work closely with internal and external stakeholders, partners, community members and Senior Leadership.

The Pima County Health Department has an excellent opportunity for a doctoral level scientist to join the department to work on applied epidemiology in public health practice in collaboration with faculty from the University of Arizona, College of Public Health. Research and evaluation projects will focus on leveraging health department data to understand and inform health equity in Pima County. This position will work on projects related to access to health resources, potential bias in testing and surveillance and innovations in outbreak case investigation and contact tracing, pandemic preparedness and response. We are interested in recruiting someone who has interest and expertise in at least one of the following areas: health equity and social justice, infectious disease epidemiology methods, climate change adaptation and resilience, public health data integration and analysis, and public health systems research and research/evaluation collaboration. Through this position the candidate will have opportunities to work directly with our public health agency on applied research projects, increase their understanding of public health systems and engage in research and evaluation that directly impacts public health practice and population health. This position will have joint mentoring from PCHD staff and University of Arizona College of Public Health faculty and will work to further build the academic - applied public health partnership between the two institutions. As an academic scholar in the Pima County Health Department you will take a leading role contributing to project design and training and mentoring student interns.

The Pima County Health Department is committed to a diverse and inclusive academic community. It views equity, justice, and anti-racism as essential to its mission of building health excellence. The successful applicant will be expected to embody these values into their teaching, mentoring, research, practice, and service experiences.

The appointment is initially for 12-months with opportunities to renew. Cumulative appointment length may not exceed 5 years, including postdoctoral experience(s) at other institutions

This position is appointed, unclassified and exempt from the Pima County Merit System Rules.

Please note: Successful candidates offered employment with Pima County, including current employees who have applied for new positions, are required to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination prior to their scheduled start date. If you are unable to become fully vaccinated due to a medical disability or religious observance/practice, you must request an accommodation - accommodation forms are located online.

Duties/Responsibilities
  • Evaluate COVID-19 testing and prevention programs implemented through a national health disparities initiative, including pooled COVID-19 testing at elementary schools, home test kit distribution initiatives, care coordination programs, and medical-legal assistance programs.
  • Independently carry out quantitative and/or mixed-methods analyses and participate on a team working on applied epidemiology research and evaluation projects, including public health pandemic surveillance and emergency response.
  • Work with various stakeholders in diverse populations to identify key health priority research.
  • Examine data through a health equity lens.
  • Interpret and vet results from collaborators, formulate conclusions and disseminate results.
  • Conduct literature reviews and synthesis papers.
  • Manage and analyze complex public health data sets.
  • Conduct data collection, management and integration activities using data from various sources including surveys, public health surveillance, and publicly available data sets.
  • Create, test, and use relevant computer code for analytics.
  • Contribute to drafting of presentations, manuscripts, and grant proposals. Lead and co-author scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals.
  • Work with student interns placed at the health department.
  • Other duties as assigned that fall within reasonable scope of the team's needs.


KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS:

Knowledge of:

  • public sector organization and functions;
  • public administration principles and practices;
  • basic managerial techniques and practices;
  • study and research methodology.


Skill in:
  • representing the department or division;
  • communicating effectively, both orally and in writing;
  • assisting in management and supervision;
  • reviewing functional and operational procedures.


Minimum Qualifications

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

Ph.D. or foreign equivalent in public health, epidemiology, health services, quantitative social sciences or related discipline (must be conferred by the appointment start date but not at time of application).

Excellent analytic, critical thinking, and quantitative skills.

Results and detail-oriented individual that can initiate and complete tasks under tight deadlines and changing priorities both independently and in a team environment. Flexibility with hours and workload is key.

Experience devising and executing statistical modeling techniques.

Demonstrated ability to quickly recognize problems in results and identify root causes in data, methods, and code.

Demonstrated ability in designing, executing, and troubleshooting code in one or more languages.

Excellent written and oral communication skills required, including track record of success in co-authorship on scientific papers, presenting results, and representing research at meetings.

Ability to work both independently and in collaboration with a team.

(Additional relevant experience/education from an accredited college or university as defined by the appointing authority at the time of recruitment may substitute for a portion of the aforementioned education/experience.)

Qualifying education and experience must be clearly documented in the "Education" and Work Experience" sections of the application. Do not substitute a resume for your application or write "see resume" on your application.

Preferred Qualifications: (Be specific in describing your experience in your application. Ensure the descriptions provided illustrate your competencies, specifically addressing the required and preferred qualifications.):
  • Experience with epidemiologic and data science methods and analytic techniques.
  • Experience mentoring and developing students on soft and technical skills.
  • Experience with project management methods.
  • Peer-reviewed publication record.
  • Ph.D. or foreign equivalent in public health, epidemiology, health services, quantitative social sciences or related discipline (must be conferred by the appointment start date but not at time of application).
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