Administrative Specialist II - Communicable Disease Epidemiology and Immunization

This position will support the Communicable Disease Epidemiology and Immunization (CD-lmms) Section. The position will provide administrative support by providing customer service and support in a fast-paced work environment. The position will be responsible for triaging multi-line calls from healthcare providers, laboratories, and the public, intake of communicable disease cases reports over the phone requesting and reviewing lab reports from medical facilities, coordinating and transporting specimens throughout King County, performing high-volume data entry into multiple databases, and other administrative duties as assigned. This position reports to the Public Health Administrative Support Supervisor.

The Communicable Disease Epidemiology and Immunization (CD-Imms) section resides within the Prevention Division here in Public Health – Seattle & King County. The CD-Imms section focuses on three major functions: Disease Surveillance, Case Investigation and Intervention. The section is led by the Chief and the Deputy Chief and is composed of 4 teams: Investigations, Analytics and Informatics, Immunization and Administration. We are a large, skilled, passionate team of ~100 FTEs that oversees the 65+ reportable diseases and conditions (excluding TB, STD and HIV) from healthcare professionals and laboratories in King County. Some of our work includes investigating cases and identifying other exposed persons requiring follow up; analyze disease report data and trends to identity opportunities for disease prevention; monitor emergency department visits for indications of outbreaks or biological terrorism; conduct influenza surveillance year-round. We also lead immunization strategies to increase vaccine uptake especially among school age children and high-risk groups. Cross-collaboration across teams is central to our workflow and each team supports one another to achieve the objectives of the section.

Commitment To Equity and Social Justice

Named after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., one of the most influential civil rights leaders in our nation's history, King County is a vibrant international community with residents that represent countries from around the world. It is a region with increasing diversity that cherishes the traditions of many cultures.

The county government has a deep commitment to equity and social justice and advancing practices, strategies, and policies that promote fairness, justice, and opportunity for all – in our workplaces and our communities. With this commitment, King County has adopted a pro-equity agenda to advance regional change and ensure that residents from all communities are incorporated into our emergency planning and public outreach efforts.

We recognize that structural racism consists of principles and practices that cause and justify an inequitable distribution of rights, opportunities, and experiences across racial groups. Since declaring Racism is a Public Health Crisis in June 2020, King County and Public Health committed to being intentionally anti-racist and accountable to Black, Indigenous and People of Color communities.

To learn more, please visit http://www.kingcounty.gov/elected/executive/equity-social-justice.aspx

Healthcare Administrative Support

• Contact health care providers, laboratories, and hospitals to obtain patient demographic and confidential information. 
• Route communicable disease reports received by email/fax to internal and external partners, including other local health jurisdictions and the Washington State Department of Health. 
• Provide sensitive communicable disease information to the public and health care providers through various channels (telephone, email, mail).
  Maintain electronic records of disease case report files, request older case reports from the record center as needed, and send records to the archives.
• Arrange for specimens to be picked up from various locations (including private residences) throughout King County and be delivered to local or state laboratories for testing, including on evenings, weekends and after hours, either by driving the specimens or arranging for a courier service. 
• Provide direct customer service and support over the phone to healthcare providers, laboratories, and the general public in a fast-paced work environment.
  

• Process high-volume communicable disease reports submitted over the phone, via electronic fax, US mail, and the disease report line and perform daily intake by entering information in a timely and accurate way into multiple databases and triaging calls to staff. 
• Maintain case reports received in various secure email mailboxes in Microsoft Outlook.
• Maintain the disease hotline and record new messages as needed.
  

• Sort and distribute incoming mail, and process outgoing mail by creating labels, updating mailing lists, and assisting with bulk mailing projects. 
• Perform data entry corrections in the local and state surveillance databases and participate in annual data reconciliation. 
• Coordinate and schedule meetings, reserve conference rooms via MS Teams and Outlook and set up audiovisual equipment, record meeting minutes, and attend meetings as a representative of the administrative team as requested. 
• Manage the distribution and collection of equipment to staff, including computers and peripherals; provide instructions for use of computers, projector screens, phones/headset, scanners, faxes, printers, and copiers and facilitate resolution of technical issues by calling maintenance service or repair if needed.
• Prepare and maintain documents, packets, manuals, and forms, spreadsheets, and mailing lists. 
• Update inventory for the section. 
• Maintain and update loaner laptops. 
• Maintain and create personal protective equipment (PPE) kits for employees. 
• Fax, copy, conduct word processing, create transparencies, and provide support with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint presentations, Publisher, and Access as needed; provide file management support in Teams and SharePoint. 
• Perform other duties as assigned. 

Required:

• Demonstrated experience of providing administrative support full time in a healthcare related setting or government agency working directly with medical providers and laboratories. 
• Two (2) consecutive years of demonstrated experience working in a busy office setting with high volume calls, triaging multi line phones. 
• Skill in establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with others, including working as part of a multidisciplinary team. 
• Experience conducting high-volume and accurate data entry and documentation. 
• Ability to handle confidential information with tact and discretion. 
• Knowledge of equity and social justice principles and practices, and understanding of the effects of place, race and policy, systems and environment-based inequities on marginalized communities and populations. 
• Demonstrated effective communication skills that are culturally appropriate, respectful, and non-judgmental. 
• Demonstrated experience providing customer service with diverse populations, under varying degrees of stress, with discretion, patience, etiquette, and professionalism, in person and over the phone in a fast-paced, high-volume work environment. 
• Documented experience working with electronic health records and disease surveillance systems. 
• Skilled at problem-solving, troubleshooting, organizing, prioritizing, and completing multiple tasks simultaneously, with the ability to adapt to changes in workload demands and meet strict deadlines. 
• Experience gathering, organizing, and evaluating data, utilizing intermediate skills to track, evaluate and report quantitative information. 
• Knowledge of medical terminology related to communicable diseases. 
• Demonstrated ability to lift up to 20 pounds to move boxes, retrieve health records, replenish office supplies with or without reasonable accommodation. 
• This may involve intermittent lifting, standing, stooping, bending, reaching and extensive walking during the course of the workday. 
• Proficiency with software applications and word processing applications, including Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, Outlook, Word, Excel, Adobe Acrobat.
• Valid Washington State Driver's license required. (Must be willing to drive to collect/distribute specimens within King County locations during and after business hours - including weekends and nights).

• Ability to work well under pressure and time constraints. 
• HIPAA training/certifications.  
• Demonstrated ability to identify and prioritize time-sensitive matters and respond with a sense of urgency while adapting to changes in workload demands. 
• Two (2) consecutive years of experience in general administrative office duties, such as sorting and distributing mail, faxing, scanning, photocopying, setting up printers and copiers, filing a high volume of documents, sending confidential documents via secure email, scheduling meetings and interviews (via MS Teams/Microsoft Outlook), and taking meeting minutes. 
• Two (2) consecutive years of demonstrated experience performing high-volume data entry (experience in using 10 key). 
• Within the last 5 years a minimum of two (2) consecutive years of demonstrated experience in a health care field or setting working directly with medical providers and laboratories.
• Demonstrated knowledge and experience using surveillance databases, such as the Washington Disease Reporting System (WDRS) database, REDCap, and the Washington State Immunization Information System (WAIIS). 
• Strong interpersonal skills, including healthy conflict resolution. 
• Knowledge of medical terminology related to COVID-19, vaccine-preventable and enteric/foodborne related communicable diseases. 
• Demonstrated ability to reliably attend work and meet obligations. 
• Experience managing public records requests. 
• Demonstrated ability to learn and comprehend new and complex bodies of knowledge efficiently.
  

Forbes named King County as one of Washington State's best employers.

King County is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Employer

No person is unlawfully excluded from employment opportunities based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation and pregnancy), age, genetic information, disability, veteran status, or other protected class. Our EEO policy applies to all employment actions, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, selection for training, promotion, transfer, demotion, layoff, termination, rates of pay or other forms of compensation.

To Apply

If you are interested in pursuing this position, please follow the application instructions carefully. If you need this announcement in an alternate language or format, would like to request accommodation or assistance in the application or assessment process or if you have questions please contact the recruiter listed on this job announcement.

The following items are required to be considered for this vacancy:

• NeoGov Job Application (The responses on your job application should be thorough and complete and will be used in the screening process)
• Supplemental Questions (The responses to the supplemental questions should be thorough and complete and will be used in the screening process)
• Resume

Please note: Cover letters and additional attachments will not be reviewed as part of the evaluation process if not outlined as a required application material as outlined above.

Your application may be rejected as incomplete if you do not include the relevant information in the application. Cover letters and/or resumes are not accepted in lieu of a completed application. Applications and/or Supplemental Questionnaires that state "see my resume" or "see my personnel file" are considered incomplete and will not be accepted.

Necessary Special Requirements

• The selection process may include evaluation of application materials and supplemental questions, interviewing, and testing. You must completely fill out the application with your relevant education and work experience.
• The selected candidate must be able to pass a thorough background investigation, but findings may not necessarily disqualify an applicant for employment. 
• For more information on our selection process, please refer to www.kingcounty.gov/depts/health/jobs/hiring. For tips on interviewing, please visit https://www.kingcounty.gov/~/media/audience/employees/learning-and-development/Interview_Tips.ashx?la=en. 
• Employees are required to protect the privacy and security of protected health information as defined in State and Federal Law.
• Public Health relies on office automation (Microsoft Office) and web-based enabled tools, therefore candidates must be proficient and comfortable with computer use to perform functions associated with on-going work.
• Employees are required to adhere to OSHA/WISHA guidelines including but not limited to completing their mandatory trainings on time and obtaining required immunizations.
• Regular and reliable attendance, effective communication skills, and development of effective working relationships are requirements of all Public Health positions.
• When Public Health responds to an emergency, and in accordance with relevant CBA language and/or KC policy and procedures, we may assign duties outside your regular job description. This may involve responding at any time, including nights and weekends, with possible deployment to locations other than the department. 
• If you need this announcement in an alternate language or format, would like to request accommodation or assistance in the application or assessment process or if you have questions please contact your recruiter listed on this job announcement.

This position is Monday-Friday, 8:00am-5:00pm with occasional nights and weekends. This position is non-exempt and eligible for overtime. 

Work Location

The Prevention team works in a hybrid model, with days in the office as well as telecommuting. The ratio of remote to onsite work will be dependent on business needs and is subject to change. The primary onsite location is the Chinook Building, 401 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98104.  

Employees must reside in Washington state and within a reasonable distance to their King County worksite to respond to workplace reporting requirements.

King County has a robust collection of tools and resources to support working remotely. The individual selected for this opportunity will join an innovative and progressive team that is redefining how we work as we transition to the department's hybrid environment. Employees will be provided with a County-issued laptop and must maintain a home workspace with an internet connection where they can reliably perform work and remain available and responsive during scheduled work hours.

Union Membership

This position is represented by PROTEC 17 Labor Union. 

Contact

For questions about this recruitment, contact sdunkinson@kingcounty.gov.