Epidemiologist

Overview

In the United States, more than 4,500 people on average die from unintentional drowning each year. Drowning prevention strategies can prevent these tragedies from occurring, but knowledge gaps exist in fatal and nonfatal drowning data and understanding how to effectively implement interventions. The CDC Foundation is working in partnership with the State of Hawai’i Department of Public Health (HSDOH) to provide a position within the HSDOH Emergency Medical Services & Injury Prevention Systems Branch to identify opportunities to strengthen drowning data collection and surveillance and describe burden and circumstances of drowning in Hawai’i.

The Epidemiologist will support the independent design, development and implementation of epidemiological surveillance, research, evaluation, and dissemination to support drowning prevention activities. Specifically, the Epidemiologist will support Hawai’i’s comprehensive drowning surveillance system to capture detailed and relevant data on fatal and nonfatal drowning injuries among Hawaiians of all ages. 

The Epidemiologist will work under the general direction of the State of Hawai’i Department of Public Health and work closely with the CDC Foundation.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with participating counties to collect detailed data on drowning and develop recommendations for an ongoing statewide system for collecting relevant drowning data. 
• Provide authoritative scientific guidance or consultation to other scientists and staff contributing to research, surveillance, and prevention of injuries.   
• Conduct and may lead analyses on the burden and circumstance of drowning 
• Disseminate results through presentations and reports, including reports to the state legislature 
• Work effectively with partners from other agencies, multi-disciplinary professionals, lay organizations, individuals, and other water safety stakeholders.
• Minimal travel (5%) may be required within the state to contribute to pilot project goals, as necessary, and may include overnight stays.

Minimum Qualifications

• Master’s degree from an accredited college or university with a background in epidemiology, biostatistics, public health or closely related disciplines is required. 
• A minimum of one year of experience leading the analysis of both qualitative and quantitative data. 
• Experience in data management and analysis with programs such as SAS, R , STATA or MS Power BI

• Experience conducting public health surveillance, including design and implementation of surveillance data systems.
• Understanding of drowning or other injury prevention epidemiology.  
• Experience working collaboratively with diverse partners and stakeholders, including government agencies at various levels, advocacy groups, and public health practitioners. 
• Experience disseminating and translating data/research findings for diverse audiences utilizing various tools and methods (e.g., creation of reports/presentations/fact sheets).  

• Demonstrates a high degree of initiative and flexibility to adapt to shifting priorities, able to communicate effectively in a positive and professional manner and able to prioritize activities when under tight deadlines. 
• Sound judgment and maturity exemplified by consistent professionalism in dealing with individuals at all levels both internally and externally.