Analyze data and maintain surveillance on illnesses that may relate to factors of the environment, including air, water, soil, chemical, biological, or other hazards. Prioritize data analysis and surveillance based on pertinent public health preparedness needs.

Provide health outcome data evaluation (incidence and prevalence rates), cancer data analysis (standardized incidence rates, standardized mortality rates), and provide technical assistance on epidemiological methods and investigations to other programs within the division and in cooperation with federal, state, and local agencies. Work with other program staff in modelling environmental data to assist with environmental health assessments.

Explore funding opportunities for new environmental and occupational health projects (e.g. BRACE, CBRNE, biomonitoring, etc.) and develop corresponding grant applications. Support other program staff in preparing materials for existing grants such as renewal applications, workplans, etc.

Develop and implement surveillance programs for environmental and occupational health conditions such as silicosis, heavy metal exposures, pesticide poisoning, etc.

Initiate epidemiologic investigations using syndromic surveillance data to improve divisional capability to characterize, prevent, and respond to environmental exposures. Produce and refine datasets, reports, and data visualizations to show trends in environmental exposure-related activity using syndromic surveillance data.

Develop protocols to assist with environmental investigations, conducts data analysis and creates comprehensive reports on environmentally and/or occupationally linked diseases including those associated with emerging contaminants such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances PFAS.

Design and conduct population level assessments on exposure and health effects and analyze data using advanced statistical procedures using statistical software (SAS, SPSS, STATA, R, etc.) in order to generate reports and/or public education materials to meet the general program requirements (example baseline health assessment for diseases in terms of crude rates, age adjusted rates, standard incidence rates, etc.).

Demonstrate proficiency in GIS to support epidemiologic investigations and educational/outreach interventions.

Direct staff and provide substantial technical input to health education and community outreach materials developed by staff, including site-specific fact sheets and chemical-specific fact sheets on exposure and health effects as needed.

Provide expert consultation to Department field staff, county/municipal health departments, and healthcare providers and facilities via phone or email to guide prevention and control of environmentally/occupationally linked diseases/conditions.

Synthesize available literature and data to develop and publish technical guidance documents on environmental health threats; write reviews and recommendations where published guidance does not exist, such as reviewing and commenting on environmental legislation, to create policy and guidance at the state level for mitigation and control of environmental health threats.

Present, publish, and report epidemiologic findings and professional experiences via professional journals, national and regional conferences, and other means as appropriate, to disseminate information and advance scientific knowledge. Participate in workgroups, conference calls, conferences, etc. to build awareness of Pennsylvania environmental/occupational epidemiology programs and contribute to the public health infrastructure.

Develop and present information via webinars, written publications, and presentations. Address and respond to enquiries from elected officials, public, schools, reporters, etc., to provide environmental health data and reports on a broad variety of environmental issues such as mercury spill at home, lead in drinking water, mold issues in schools, odor complaints from landfills, heavy metals in private well waters, or PFCs in drinking water.

Produce and update epidemiological procedural manuals as assigned to ensure clarity and compliance with commonwealth, DOH and public health regulations, laws and procedures.

Work requires occasional statewide travel and irregular/flexible work hours including overnights, weekends and holidays in accordance with policy. Employee may travel using public transportation, private transportation or carpooling with other epidemiology investigation team members as assigned.

Public Health Emergency Response This position may be assigned to an emergency assignment to support the public health emergency response mission of the Department of Health. Emergency assignments could at times be received with little or no advance notice and may continue for any period of time – ranging from a few hours to several weeks, depending upon the nature of the circumstance. The emergency assignments may at times be performed under adverse conditions and may require travel to another site other than the employee’s assigned headquarters for periods of time.

Demonstrate awareness of the vulnerable populations the organization serves by identifying, providing, and advocating for resources, services, communication methods, and policies that would help those populations achieve health equity.

Perform other duties as assigned.

Part-time Telework-eligible: Under the current Administration, this position may have the opportunity to work from home (telework). In order to telework, you must have a securely configured high-speed internet connection. If you are unable to telework, you will have the option to report to the headquarters office in Harrisburg.

Competencies and tasks: From the CDC/CSTE Competencies for Applied Epidemiologists in Governmental Public Health Agencies.

Assessment and Analysis Skills - Identify public health issues pertinent to the population - Conduct surveillance activities - Investigate acute and chronic conditions or other adverse outcomes in the population - Apply principles of good ethical/legal practice as they relate to study design and data collection, dissemination, and use - Manage data from surveillance, investigations, or other sources - Analyze data from an epidemiologic investigation or study - Summarize results of the analysis and draw conclusions - Recommend evidence-based interventions and control measures in response to epidemiologic findings - Evaluate programs

Basic Public Health Sciences Skills - Use current knowledge of causes of disease to guide epidemiologic practice - Use laboratory resources to support epidemiologic activities - Apply principles of informatics, including data collection, processing, and analysis, in support of epidemiologic practice

Communication Skills - Prepare written and oral reports and presentations that communicate necessary information to professional audiences, policy makers, and the general public - Demonstrate the basic principles of risk communication - Incorporate interpersonal skills in communication with agency personnel, colleagues, and the public - Use effective communication strategies

Community Dimensions of Practice - Provide epidemiologic input into epidemiologic studies, public health programs, and community public health planning processes at the state, local, or tribal level - Participate in development of community partnerships to support epidemiologic investigations

Cultural Competency - Describe population by race; ethnicity; culture; societal, educational , and professional backgrounds; age; gender; religion; disability; and sexual orientation - Establish relationships with groups of special concern (e.g., disadvantaged or minority groups, groups subject to health disparities, historically underrepresented groups) - Design surveillance systems to include groups subject to health disparities or other potentially underrepresented groups (using standard categories where available) - Conduct investigations using languages and approaches tailored to the population - Use standard population categories or subcategories when performing data analysis - Use knowledge of specific sociocultural factors in the population to interpret findings - Recommend public health actions that would be relevant to the affected community

Financial and Operational Planning and Management Skills - Conduct epidemiological activities within the financial and operational plan of the agency - Assist in developing a fiscally sound budget that will support the activities defined in the operational plan and is consistent with the financial rules of the agency - Implement operational and financial plans - Assist in preparation of proposals for extramural funding - Use management skills - Use skills that foster collaborations, strong partnerships, and team building to accomplish epidemiology program objectives

Leadership and Systems Thinking - Support the epidemiologic perspective in the agency strategic planning process - Promote the organization’s vision in all programs and activities - Use performance measures to evaluate and improve epidemiology program effectiveness - Promote ethical conduct in epidemiologic practice - Promote workforce development - Prepare for emergency response Policy Development

(Technology Skills) - Maintain office calendar and email communications using Microsoft Office/Outlook. - Prepare and synthesize surveillance data using appropriate spreadsheet application such as Excel. - Prepare correspondence and epidemiological reports using Microsoft Word. - Prepare presentations using presentation software such as Microsoft PowerPoint. - Use SAS, SPSS and other statistical programs to organize, analyze and report on data - Access data in commonwealth or DOH systems such as NEDSS or LIMS - Be willing to learn epidemiology specific applications such as Epi Info - Be willing to learn new surveillance software - Evaluate surveillance systems and recommend improvements - Be willing to learn ArcGIS - Be willing to learn to map data

Behaviors: - Initiative/Self Starting - Continuous Learner/Self Learner - Independent, directs own work - Interpersonal - Empathy - Critical thinking/common sense