Introduction
Are you interested in joining an outstanding team and making a difference in our State? We encourage you to apply today!
The State of Connecticut, Department of Public Health (DPH) is seeking a qualified individual for the position of Epidemiologist 2 to support the Survey Unit within the Health Statistics and Surveillance Branch. The Survey Unit is responsible for the management of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is a crucial tool for public health, as it collects data on health-related behaviors, chronic conditions, and preventive service use. This information allows public health officials to monitor health trends, identify emerging issues, and guide the development of targeted health policies and programs. BRFSS data also helps assess the effectiveness of public health interventions and identify health disparities among different demographic groups, enabling more equitable health strategies by providing reliable, evidence-based information, BRFSS supports informed decision-making and promotes healthier communities.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Branch: Health Statistics and Surveillance Branch
- Unit: Survey Unit
- Location: Hartford, CT
- Work Hours: Full time, 35 hours per week
- Schedule: First shift, Monday through Friday
- Work Environment: Hybrid in accordance with State of Connecticut policies.
Under the direction of the BRFSS coordinator, you will assist in:
- Maintaining and analyzing BRFSS data.
- Generating summary report tables.
- Producing prevalence estimates by demographics (age, race/ethnicity, gender, disability status, education, income, insurance status).
- Writing BRFSS report narratives.
- Conducting biostatistical significance testing.
- Extracting state-added questions.
- Collaborating within the department and with external partners.
- Serving as a liaison with local health departments.
- Creating fact sheets and data briefs of descriptive statistics.
- Exploring new dissemination methods (such as dashboards and online query systems).
- Performing trend analysis of health indicators.
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.
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Selection Plan
FOR ASSISTANCE IN APPLYING:
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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.
- 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.
- 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.
AFTER YOU APPLY
- Although applicants will receive correspondence via email and/or phone, 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 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 with the management of data from such sources as public health or epidemiologic surveys, surveillance systems, registries, or population-based datasets.
- Experience performing analyses of data from such sources as public health or epidemiologic surveys, surveillance systems, registries, or population-based datasets using SAS;
- Experience applying statistical methods to generate descriptive and inferential statistics and examine trends over time from such sources as public health or epidemiologic surveys, surveillance systems, registries, or population-based datasets;
- Experience reporting on epidemiological data and analyses in such formats as written reports, data books, fact sheets, scientific journal articles, or other written materials, and giving verbal presentations.
- Experience working in public health or biostatistics.
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.