Field Epidemiologist

State of Indiana•Indianapolis, IN

11d•Onsite

About The Position

The Field Epidemiologist prepares, implements, analyzes, and reports infectious disease epidemiologic investigations through the Indiana State Department of Health’s Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Prevention Division. The position is stationed within Public Health Preparedness District 2, serving St. Joseph, Elkhart, Starke, Marshall, Pulaski, Fulton, and Kosciusko counties. The employee may live in any county adjacent to District 2. In-person field travel is required, and the role is on-call 24/7/365. The role provides epidemiologic support and technical assistance to local health departments, health care providers, the public, and other partners; conducts surveillance, investigations, studies, and data analysis; and communicates findings through reports, presentations, trainings, and outreach. The position may also support grants and funding proposals and serve as backup to other staff. Depending on the program area, the employee may serve as an after-hours on-call epidemiologist for approximately two to three weeks per year. The position may recruit, select, onboard, train, and evaluate employees, set expectations and provide feedback, and ensure work meets quality standards, deadlines, and procedures. It may serve as team lead for an assigned work group. Essential functions require travel on most workdays to inspect, audit, examine, survey, or investigate clients, customers, or other regulated entities, and to write reports at those sites or the employee’s home. The employee reports to the agency office for occasional meetings or events. Work hours may vary to meet operational needs. This is an exempt position; additional hours required to complete essential functions or assigned work are not compensated with overtime.

Requirements

Knowledge of the epidemiology and biology of diseases and public health topics.
Knowledge of state laws and regulations and federal public health guidance pertaining to diseases and public health topics.
Ability to identify public health problems pertinent to Indiana residents.
Skill in epidemiologic surveillance, including selecting and using field methods and using and evaluating surveillance systems.
Skill in eliciting relevant information from patients in structured or unstructured telephone interviews.
Skill in investigating individual cases and outbreaks.
Skill in designing descriptive and analytical epidemiologic investigations, including hypothesis generation.
Skill in managing large datasets, conducting complex data analyses, and identifying key findings.
Skill in recommending evidence-based interventions and control measures based on epidemiologic findings.
Skill in preparing written and oral reports, presentations, and educational materials for internal and external partners.
Skill in applying informatics principles, including data collection, processing, and analysis, to epidemiologic practice.
Demonstrated skill with statistical, analytical, and/or geospatial software such as EpiInfo, SAS, ArcGIS, SQL, SPSS, R, Python, or Stata.
Ability to identify and appropriately use laboratory resources.
Ability to provide prompt, courteous, and helpful customer service.
Ability to collaborate within and outside the agency to identify public health problems and form recommendations.
Ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing, applying risk communication principles where appropriate.
Ability to prioritize tasks efficiently to meet internal and external deadlines.
Ability to document work activities appropriately and maintain organized records.
A degree is not required; at least 10 or more years of public health experience applying the outlined knowledge, skills, and abilities in a similar role may be considered. Relevant education degrees may substitute for equivalent years of experience.
Ability to perform essential functions with or without reasonable accommodation.
For internal candidates seeking promotion: must be a high-performing Epidemiologist 1 or hold another internal role based on demonstrated ability, competency attainment, and/or performance feedback.

Responsibilities

Maintain current subject matter knowledge of the epidemiology and biology of diseases and public health topics.
Provide epidemiologic consultation and technical assistance to local health departments, health care providers, the general public, and other partners.
Conduct routine epidemiologic surveillance for diseases and public health topics.
Lead or coordinate epidemiologic investigations of individual cases and outbreaks.
Design and conduct applied epidemiologic studies.
Manage and analyze data collected through surveillance, investigations, and applied studies.
Prepare and disseminate written and oral reports and presentations for internal and external partners.
Conduct educational presentations and trainings for local health departments, health care providers, veterinarians, and the public.
Engage with the public at health fairs and other outreach events.
Participate in writing grants and other funding proposals.
Serve as backup to other staff as needed.
If applicable to the program area, serve as the after-hours on-call epidemiologist for approximately two to three weeks per year.
Recruit, select, onboard, and train employees; set expectations, measure progress, provide feedback, and evaluate employee performance.
Ensure work adheres to quality standards, deadlines, and proper procedures.
Travel to sites to inspect, audit, examine, survey, or investigate regulated entities and prepare reports.

Benefits

Three medical plan options, including prescription coverage, as well as vision and dental plans.
Wellness Rewards Program with gift card rewards for completing wellness activities.
Health savings account with biweekly state contributions.
Deferred compensation 457(b) account with employer match.
Two fully funded pension plan options.
Leave policies including 150 hours of paid New Parent Leave, up to eight weeks of paid Childbirth Recovery Leave for eligible mothers, up to 15 hours of paid community service leave, and a combined 180 hours of paid vacation, personal, and sick leave.
12 paid holidays, or 14 in election years.
Education Reimbursement Program.
Group life insurance.
Referral Bonus program.
Employee assistance program with covered behavioral health visits.
Eligibility as a qualified employer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.
Free parking for most positions.
Free LinkedIn Learning access.