OPS BIOLOGICAL SCIENTIST III - 64853398

State of Florida • FL

88d • $21

About The Position

This is an OPS (Other Personal Service) position with the Florida Department of Health in Walton County. OPS employment is a temporary employer/employee relationship used for accomplishing short term or intermittent tasks. OPS employees do not fill established positions and may not be assigned the duties of vacant authorized positions. They are at-will employees and are subject to actions such as pay changes, changes to work assignment, and terminations at the pleasure of the agency head or designee. OPS employees do not serve probationary periods or become permanent in their positions. Additionally, OPS employees are only eligible for state employee benefits where specifically provided by law.

Requirements

• A bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with a major in one of the biological sciences.
• Maintains current and unencumbered Driver's License.

Nice To Haves

• 2 or more years of experience conducting communicable disease surveillance and investigations in a public health setting.
• Spanish interpretation in a professional capacity.

Responsibilities

• Requests and/or receives animal bite reports from medical facilities, animal control, and/or the general public.
• Reviews animal bite report information.
• Conducts interviews with victims and animal owners to determine necessary actions to prevent and stop Rabies transmission.
• Completes and/or adds missing information to the report when necessary.
• Follows up with victims when Rabies Post Exposure Vaccine is indicated to encourage timely completion.
• Forwards complete Animal Bite report to Walton County Animal Control and documents actions taken for each case.
• Responsible for confinement/quarantine follow up with animal owners.
• Refers to the State of Florida Rabies Guide to determine and carry out necessary steps for animal confinement, Rabies Post Exposure Prophylaxis, and animal testing.
• Collects animals from Walton County Animal Control for rabies testing when confinement cannot be completed per guidance.
• Arranges, with local veterinarian, decapitation of animals to be tested for Rabies.
• Arranges Rabies testing with Florida Bureau of Public Health Laboratories (BPHL).
• Packages and ships animal head to BPHL.
• Arranges for disposal of animal post testing.
• Communicates with victims and owners about rabies testing outcomes.
• Provides local and internal education on Rabies Prevention in Walton County.
• May participate in community Rabies Vaccination Programs and community outreach.
• Collects food and waterborne complaint and interview data for foodborne illnesses and enters data into Merlin and FL CORS for Environmental Public Health investigation.
• May participate in Epidemiology and TB investigations as needed.

Benefits

• State of Florida 401(a) FICA Alternative Plan (mandatory)
• Participation in state group insurance (upon meeting eligibility requirements)
• Workers’ Compensation (mandatory, if needed)
• Reemployment Assistance (Unemployment Compensation) (mandatory, if needed)
• Deferred Compensation (voluntary)
• Employee Assistance Program (voluntary)

What This Job Offers

• Education Level: Bachelor's degree
• Number of Employees: 1,001-5,000 employees