Data Modernization Senior Advisor

CDC Foundation

2d•$135,000 - $166,050•Remote

About The Position

The Data Modernization Senior Advisor will serve as a subject matter expert, guiding public health agencies through the development and delivery of technical projects that improve the use of public health data to inform decision making. This role is aligned to the Workforce Acceleration Initiative (WAI). WAI is a federally funded CDC Foundation program with the goal of helping the nation’s public health agencies by providing them with the technology and data experts they need to accelerate their information system improvements. The Data Modernization Senior Advisor will be hired by the CDC Foundation and assigned the Great Plains Tribal Epidemiology Center (GPTEC), a department of the Great Plains Tribal Leaders Health Board. GPTEC supports the public health needs of the 17 Tribal Nations within the Great Plains Area and serves as a central hub for tribally governed public health data and analytics. The advisor will support GPTEC’s ongoing development and expansion of Winter Count, a tribally owned cloud-based public health data ecosystem that provides secure access to dashboards, raw datasets, and a production-ready Electronic Disease Surveillance System (EDSS) supporting more than 60 reportable conditions across Tribal Public Health Authorities. This role will guide the strategic evolution of the Winter Count ecosystem through expanded data integrations, enhanced analytics capabilities, improvements to system usability, and strengthened governance structures that support Tribal data sovereignty. The advisor will work closely with GPTEC leadership, WAI placements, and Tribal Public Health Authorities to ensure that modernization investments are aligned with long-term sustainability, interoperability standards, and Tribal priorities. The Data Modernization Senior Advisor will develop and implement the organization’s strategy for increasingly effective use of data and information through improvements in information systems, policy, workforce, and work processes. This position will strategically direct the organization’s data modernization effort identifying and addressing needs, gaps, and opportunities in the organization’s data ecosystem. The data ecosystem includes both the technical data infrastructure and the workforce that relies on and works with the data infrastructure and the data itself, including systems and data of external partners. This position will combine deep expertise in public health operations with expertise in the development, maintenance, operation, enhancement, and configuration of information systems, and with knowledge of advanced information technology, tools, and processes. The ideal candidate will have deep knowledge of the public health informatics landscape, modern data infrastructure, and experience working with public health organizations to design and implement data systems improvements. The role requires strong communication and partnership skills, as well as the ability to collaborate effectively with Tribal partners, technical teams, and public health leadership. This position is eligible for a fully remote work arrangement for U.S. based candidates.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in public health, computer information systems, health informatics, epidemiology or other related field from an accredited college or university. Master’s degree preferred.
Minimum of 10 years of relevant professional experience with direct experience in epidemiology, informatics, data science, or information systems development related to public health. Including a minimum of 5 years of experience leading or collaborating with partners in the development of technical data strategies and infrastructure.
Demonstrated experience supporting the development or implementation of modern public health data ecosystems, surveillance systems, or analytics platforms.
Knowledge of modern data architectures, including cloud-based infrastructure, automated data pipelines, and scalable analytics environments.
Experience working with public health agencies, Tribal organizations, or multi-jurisdictional public health partnerships.
Understanding of data governance, data stewardship, and policies that support responsible data sharing and data sovereignty.
Familiarity with national public health data modernization efforts, interoperability standards, and public health data exchange environments
Understanding of information systems development and use, data and system life cycles, requirements development and good practices for developing information systems and processes.
Understanding of data use within public health, including the advantages and challenges associated with common data sources, systems and work processes.
Familiarity with successful and failed efforts to improve data exchange and use within public health.
Strong project management skills, ability to meet deadlines, and ability to adapt to changing priorities.
Ability to engage with, listen to and learn from a broad range of stakeholders, encouraging their meaningful participation.
Ability to communicate in a clear, positive manner with internal staff, leadership, and external partners, as well as clearly communicate to non-technical audiences.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.
Superior organizational skills and attention to detail.
Excellent interpersonal skills, ability to listen well and effectively represent the organization and its mission.
Creativity, problem solving, demonstrated ability to effectively collaborate with others.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree preferred.

Responsibilities

Collaborate with GPTEC leadership and Tribal Public Health Authorities to assess data needs and identify opportunities to strengthen the Winter Count data ecosystem and related public health information systems within available resources.
Lead the development and implementation of GPTEC’s long-term data modernization strategy, including a strategic plan outlining one-, three-, five-, and ten-year priorities for strengthening the organization’s data ecosystem.
Provide strategic guidance on the continued development and expansion of the Winter Count data hub, including scalable cloud infrastructure, automated data pipelines, and advanced analytics capabilities.
Support the enhancement and deployment of the Electronic Disease Surveillance System (EDSS), including development of condition models, case management workflows, and a Master Person Index.
Advise on the integration of Tribal, state, federal, and programmatic data sources to strengthen interoperability and support comprehensive public health analytics.
Guide the development and implementation of data governance structures, stewardship practices, and policies that support Tribal data sovereignty, responsible data sharing, and appropriate data access.
Lead efforts to modernize GPTEC’s data infrastructure, including data pipelines, transformation processes, analytics environments, and visualization tools.
Assess and modernize GPTEC’s data visualization and analytics environment, including evaluation of platforms such as Tableau, Power BI, and other modern analytics solutions.
Conduct organizational data and system assessments to identify gaps, integration opportunities, and priorities for modernization and improved interoperability.
Support Tribal needs assessments and stakeholder engagement to ensure data systems and analytic products meet the operational needs of Tribal Public Health Authorities.
Provide strategic guidance on change management, workforce readiness, and adoption strategies to support effective use of new data systems, tools, and analytic products.
Support development of training resources, technical documentation, and knowledge transfer processes to ensure long-term sustainability of GPTEC’s data systems.
Advise GPTEC leadership on sustainability planning, including strategies for maintaining and expanding the Winter Count ecosystem beyond the WAI project period.
Facilitate coordination among GPTEC leadership, WAI placements, Tribal Public Health Authorities, and partner organizations to align modernization priorities and technical efforts.
Participate in project meetings, milestone reviews, and reporting activities with GPTEC leadership and CDC Foundation program staff.
Perform other related duties as assigned.
Up to 10% domestic travel may be required.