STATE OF CONNECTICUT EXECUTIVE BRANCH JOBS

Epidemiologist 2 (Infectious/Chronic Diseases) (35 Hour)

Hybrid

Recruitment #240415-0287HC-001

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Introduction

Are you looking to make a difference in the public sector? Read below and apply today!

THE POSITION

The State of Connecticut, Department of Public Health (DPH) is seeking an experienced and qualified individual for the position of Epidemiologist 2 (Infectious/Chronic Diseases) to support the Chronic Diseases and Injury Prevention Section.  As Cannabis Data Coordinator, you will maintain the cannabis public health surveillance system.  Main duties will include collecting, abstracting, analyzing, and interpreting timely public health information on cannabis associated illness and adverse events, nonfatal and fatal injuries, and cannabis use poisoning data, from state and national data sources.  You will communicate findings in various formats to inform policy makers and citizens on the impact of cannabis legalization. 

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Section: Chronic Diseases and Injury Prevention Section
  • Unit: Epidemiology Unit
  • Location: 410 Capitol Ave, Hartford, CT
  • Work Hours: Full time, 35 hours per week 
  • Schedule: Monday – Friday, first shift.  There may be opportunities for an alternate work schedule and working remotely in accordance with State policies.
This Epidemiologist 2 position will work in the Chronic Diseases and Injury Prevention Section’s Epidemiology Unit and will work with a dynamic team of chronic disease and injury surveillance epidemiologists to maintain and enhance the cannabis surveillance system. 

The duties of the Epidemiologist 2 will include the following: 
  • Obtain, manage, analyze and report cannabis data and statistics for cannabis use, illness, adverse events, injury, pregnancy outcomes, childhood poisoning, adult and youth use, cannabis-related emergency room visits and urgent care episodic mental health visits;
  • Perform epidemiologic analysis on cannabis use, morbidity and mortality data and to identify disparity, risk factors and changes in trends;
  • Generate cannabis data fact sheets, reports and data tables;
  • Provide guidance to lower-level Epidemiologist;
  • Coordinate response to all cannabis statistics inquiries and data requests;
  • Present surveillance findings to various audiences; 
  • Maintain current cannabis use associated morbidity and mortality statistics on DPH website to inform policy makers and citizens on the impact of cannabis legalization; and
  • Assist in the development and/or modification of cannabis data management and dissemination plans.

WHAT WE CAN OFFER YOU
  • The opportunity to work for a Forbes top company: 'Forbes' State of Connecticut Ranked One of the Best Employers of 2023 - State of CT Receives National Recognition for Offering Job Growth, Competitive Benefits, and Flexible Schedule.
  • NEW: A Platinum Healthcare Plan, the nation’s best for state employees and dependents, according to a report by Georgetown’s Center on Health Insurance Reform and article by Ellen Andrews, Ph.D., along with comprehensive benefit offerings.
  • Extensive pension plan and supplemental retirement offerings.
  • State of Connecticut is an eligible Public Service Loan Forgiveness employer, meaning you may be eligible to have qualifying student loans forgiven after 10 years of service. Click here for more information.
  • Generous paid time off, including 13 paid holidays per calendar year.
  • Professional growth and development opportunities.
  • A healthy work/life balance
    MORE ABOUT US

    The Mission of DPH is to protect and improve the health and safety of the people of Connecticut by assuring:

    • The conditions in which people can be healthy;
    • Preventing disease, injury, and disability; and
    • Promoting the equal enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health, which is a human right and a priority of the state.

    DPH accomplishes this through the implementation of its Strategic Plan which outlines the actions that DPH is taking to accomplish its Mission.

    START WITH US. STAY WITH US. GROW WITH US.

    Selection Plan

    FOR ASSISTANCE IN APPLYING:

    Please read or watch our Applicant Tips on How to Apply!

    Please Note:
    In order to receive educational credits toward qualification for this job posting, the institution must be accredited. If the institution of higher learning is located outside of the U.S., you are responsible for providing documentation from a recognized USA accrediting service which specializes in determining foreign education equivalencies to the recruiter listed on this job posting.

    Please Note:
    For current state employees, salary calculations are not necessarily comparable from one of the three branches of state government (i.e., Executive, Legislative, Judicial) to the other.

    To Apply:
    • In order to be considered for this job opening, you must meet the Minimum Qualifications as listed on the job opening. The minimum experience and training requirements must be met by the close date on the job opening, unless otherwise specified.
    • You must specify your qualifications on your application. You will be unable to make revisions once you submit your application for this posting to the JobAps system.
    • In order to comply with Public Act 21-69, the State of Connecticut is no longer asking for resumes during the initial application process.
    • All application materials must be received by the recruiting agency by the time specified on the job opening for the position for which you are applying. Late applications may not be submitted and will not be considered. Exceptions are rare and limited to documented events that incapacitate a candidate during the entire duration of the job posting time period. It is the candidate’s obligation and responsibility to request an exception and provide a legally recognized justification to accommodate such exception. Requests should be made to DAS.SHRM@ct.gov.
    • This position will be filled in accordance with contractual language, reemployment, SEBAC, transfer, promotion and merit employment rules.
    Important Next Step Information for After You Apply:
    • Although applicants will receive correspondence via email, as a backup they are also encouraged to sign on to their Personal Status Board on a daily basis to monitor their status, view all emailed notices and complete tasks required in the recruitment process.
    • This posting may require completion of additional referral questions (RQs). You can access these RQs via an email that will be sent to you after the posting's closing date or by visiting your JobAps Personal Status Board (Certification Questionnaires section). Your responses to these RQs must be submitted by the question's expiration date. Please regularly check your email and JobAps Personal Status Board for notifications. Please check your SPAM and/or Junk folders on a daily basis in the event an email provider places auto-notification emails in a user's spam.
    • Note: At any point during the recruitment process, applicants may be required to submit additional documentation which support their qualification(s) for this position. These documents may include: a cover letter, resume, transcripts, diplomas, performance reviews, attendance records, supervisory references, licensure, etc., at the discretion of the hiring agency.
    • The immediate vacancy is listed above, however, applications to this recruitment may be used for future vacancies in this job class.
    • Interviews will be limited to candidates whose experience and training most closely meet the requirements of the position. Read through this helpful link to prepare for your interview.
    • Candidates who are offered and accept a position with the State of Connecticut are bound by the State Code of Ethics for Public Officials and State Employees which is available at www.ct.gov/ethics.
    Connect With Us:
    • Due to the large volume of applications received, we are unable to provide confirmation of receipt or status during the recruitment process.
    • Updates will be available through your JobAps portal account. If you have any questions pertaining to this recruitment please contact Pamela Rochette via email at Pamela.Rochette@ct.gov.

    PURPOSE OF JOB CLASS (NATURE OF WORK)

    In the Department of Public Health this class is accountable for performing the full range of tasks in investigating infectious, chronic and non-infectious diseases and implementing disease prevention methods.

    EXAMPLES OF DUTIES

    • Leads and participates in routine epidemiologic investigations to identify risk factors and implements and evaluates resulting intervention measures; 
    • Collect and collates data including performing interviews; 
    • Performs data analysis and summarizes relevant epidemiologic investigation data into tables, charts and written reports; 
    • Provides technical information to the professional and lay public including local health departments; 
    • Collaborates in the preparation and presentation of workshops; 
    • May respond to media inquiries; 
    • Maintains an orderly surveillance system capable of detecting risk factors and changes in disease patterns; 
    • May administer biologics or collect specimens such as blood and urine samples, throat and rectal swabs under the supervision of a physician.
    • Performs related duties as required.

    KNOWLEDGE, SKILL AND ABILITY

    • Considerable knowledge of
      • infectious and/or chronic disease processes; 
      • relevant disease processes which affect humans and animals; 
      • epidemiological methods and techniques;
    • Knowledge of
      • basic biological processes; 
    • Skills
      • oral and written communications skills; 
      • interpersonal skills; 
      • computer skills; 
    • Ability to
      • independently perform epidemiological investigations; 
      • independently collect, analyze and interpret epidemiological data.

    MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS - GENERAL EXPERIENCE

    Six (6) years of experience in conducting epidemiological investigations in a responsible technical or professional capacity.

    MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS - SPECIAL EXPERIENCE

    One (1) year of the General Experience must have involved interviewing and performing trend analyses at the level of an Epidemiologist 1.

    MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS - SUBSTITUTIONS ALLOWED

    • College training may be substituted for the General Experience on the basis of fifteen (15) semester hours equalling one-half (1/2) year of experience to a maximum of four (4) years for a Bachelor's degree.
    • A Master's degree in public health, community medicine or a related health science may be substituted for one (1) additional year of the General Experience.
    • A Doctorate in a related discipline such as public health, medicine or a natural or behavioral science may be substituted for the General Experience.

    PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

    • Experience developing or maintaining a cannabis public health surveillance system, including defining cannabis hospitalizations using ICD-10-CM codes and developing cannabis-related survey questions.
    • Experience conducting basic descriptive epidemiologic analyses of data from large public health datasets, specifically, generating counts, crude rates, and age-adjusted rates of disease by demographic groups and over time.
    • Experience developing SAS code, or code for other equivalent software, to manage and statistically analyze large public health datasets, specifically Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, hospital discharge, and death data.
    • Experience organizing descriptive epidemiologic data into tables, graphs, charts, or other visual presentations.
    • Experience presenting public health data and information to various audiences (in person or virtual).
    • Experience compiling and summarizing public health statistics as part of a written narrative, specifically legislatively mandated reports or peer-reviewed manuscripts.
    • Experience providing technical guidance and coordinating work with other epidemiologists, data analysts or public health professional staff.

    SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

    • Incumbents in this class must be willing to be immunized for communicable diseases as necessary and appropriate.
    • Incumbents in this class may be required to travel.

    WORKING CONDITIONS

    Incumbents in this class may be exposed to communicable diseases and hazardous substance.

    Conclusion

    AN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

    The State of Connecticut is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and strongly encourages the applications of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities.

    ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

    As defined by Sec. 5-196 of the Connecticut General Statutes, a job class is a position or group of positions that share general characteristics and are categorized under a single title for administrative purposes. As such, a job class is not meant to be all-inclusive of every task and/or responsibility.


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