Field Epidemiologist

State of Indiana•Indianapolis, IN

11d

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 role is stationed within Public Health Preparedness District 1 and supports public health professionals across Lake, Porter, LaPorte, Newton, and Jasper counties, as well as the City of Gary and East Chicago City Health Departments. The employee may live in counties adjacent to District 1. In-person travel is required, and the position is on call 24/7/365. The role conducts disease surveillance, investigations, applied studies, and data analysis; provides consultation and technical assistance; and communicates findings through reports, presentations, education, and outreach. It may include recruiting, onboarding, training, and evaluating employees, and may serve as a team lead for an assigned work group. The position’s essential functions require travel on most workdays to inspect, audit, examine, survey, or investigate clients, customers, or regulated entities, with reports written at those sites or the employee’s home. The employee reports to the agency office for occasional meetings or events. Work hours may vary daily or weekly to meet operational needs. This position is exempt from overtime compensation; additional hours may be required to complete essential functions or other assigned work. The employee must report at least 75 hours per pay period of work hours and/or paid leave to receive base biweekly salary.

Requirements

Knowledge of disease epidemiology and biology and public health topics.
Knowledge of state laws and regulations and federal public health guidance pertaining to diseases and public health topics.
Skill in identifying public health problems pertinent to Indiana residents.
Skill in conducting epidemiologic surveillance, 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 disease or public health topic 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, using risk communication principles where appropriate.
Ability to prioritize tasks efficiently and meet internal and external deadlines.
Ability to document work activities appropriately and maintain organized records.
A degree is not required; at least 10 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.
Internal promotion candidates should be high-performing Epidemiologist 1 employees or hold another internal role, based on demonstrated ability, competency attainment, and/or performance feedback.
Ability to perform essential functions with or without reasonable accommodation.

Responsibilities

Maintain current subject matter knowledge of disease epidemiology, biology, and public health topics.
Provide epidemiologic consultation and technical assistance to local health departments, health care providers, the public, and other partners.
Conduct routine epidemiologic surveillance for diseases and public health topics.
Lead or coordinate investigations of individual cases and disease or public health topic outbreaks.
Design and conduct applied epidemiologic studies.
Manage and analyze data from 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 an after-hours epidemiologist on call for approximately two to three weeks per year.
Recruit, select, onboard, and train employees; set expectations, monitor progress, provide feedback, and evaluate performance.
Ensure work meets quality standards, deadlines, and procedures.
Travel on most workdays to inspect, audit, examine, survey, or investigate clients, customers, or regulated entities, and prepare reports at the sites or the employee’s home.
Serve as a team lead for an assigned work group, if assigned.

Benefits

Three medical plan options, including prescription coverage, and vision and dental plans.
Wellness Rewards Program with gift card rewards for completing wellness activities.
Health savings account with bi-weekly 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 and up to eight weeks of paid Childbirth Recovery Leave for eligible mothers.
Up to 15 hours of paid community service leave.
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.