Program Specialist V

TX-HHSC-DSHS-DFPS • Austin, TX

3d • Hybrid

About The Position

The position is in the Congenital Syphilis (CS) Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit in the Community Health Improvement (CHI) Division. Performs highly complex (senior-level) consultative services and technical assistance work supporting local and regional health department Congenital syphilis Surveillance staff and programs. Exercises independent judgment and professional discretion with extensive latitude for the use of initiative and independent judgment to administrate, advise, plan, and coordinate duties. The Program Specialist V performs a variety of technical training, research, planning, policy, program assessment, and administrative activities tasks related to the reporting and case validation of congenital syphilis investigational data, including database maintenance, report tracking, data entry, and quality assurance. Provides support to and collaborates in the planning, development, implementation, analysis, and documentation of CS program. Serves as a liaison to staff, government agencies, community organizations and the public to assist in explaining CS program specifics and requirements for contracts and case reporting from assigned local and regional health department jurisdictions. Engages community and professional groups to encourage and improve interest in the CS program. This position will aid in development of short-term, mid-term and long-term goals and objectives, and the development of standards for monitoring achievement of strategic operational goals and ensure compliance with applicable requirements, laws, regulations, policies, and procedures. Performs other related work as assigned.  To perform these job duties, this position may require working extra hours needed to meet defined deadlines and support the agency’s mission critical reporting requirements.

Requirements

• Knowledge of local, state, and federal laws related to the program area; public administration techniques; training and marketing techniques; and program management processes and techniques.
• Knowledge of management techniques; statistical analysis processes; budget processes; and research techniques.
• Knowledge of word processing, database software applications, and spreadsheet software applications.
• Knowledge of infectious disease control or disease surveillance.
• Knowledge of Congenital Syphilis control and reporting.
• Knowledge of the principles and practices of public health administration and management.
• Knowledge of governmental budgeting processes and procedures.
• Knowledge of the major functions of public health, health care reform initiatives, and health care policy development.
• Skill in identifying measures or indicators of program performance and in the use of a computer and applicable software.
• Skill in organizing and interpreting data, preparing reports, delivering public health information in presentations.
• Skill in conducting planning activities including developing goals and objectives for strategic planning and evaluation.
• Skill in organizing and presenting complex information to a variety of diverse stakeholders.
• Skill in managing and prioritizing multiple and competing work activities.
• Skill in quality improvement implementation for program evaluation.
• Skill in meeting facilitation.
• Skill in using a public health prevention framework and ensuring it is incorporated and evaluated in program activities and initiatives.
• Skill in developing and evaluating administrative policies, procedures, and protocols.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Ability to gather, assemble, correlate, and analyze facts; to devise solutions to problems; to market programs; to prepare reports; to develop, evaluate, and interpret policies and procedures; and to communicate effectively.
• Ability to provide guidance to others.
• Ability to serve as a lead worker providing direction to others.
• Ability to work with others to resolve complex issues.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships.
• Ability to speak and write effectively, clearly, and concisely on a variety of complex subjects related to the program.
• Ability to plan, organize, and complete multiple activities in a timely fashion.
• Ability to handle a wide range of tasks in an effective manner along with planning, organizing, and completing multiple tasks and activities in a timely fashion.
• Ability to interpret guidelines, policies, procedures, and regulations on a state and national level
• Graduation from a four-year college or university with major course work in public health, health sciences or related field.
• A minimum of 2 years’ experience in program planning, development, administration, and evaluation.
• At least one year experience providing customer service to internal and external stakeholders and with a diverse group of professionals.
• At least one year experience in the coordination and tracking of assignments through completion.

Nice To Haves

• At least one year experience with public health, disease surveillance and infectious disease control preferred with a Texas state agency.

Responsibilities

• Work with the Congenital Syphilis (CS) epidemiology team to review congenital syphilis cases, CS data remediation and deduplications.
• Consults with public and private agencies involved in the CS programs to resolve problems, identify training needs, and discuss program effectiveness.
• Participates in the development of program policies, procedures, standards, and manuals in accordance with program objectives and goals.
• Provides guidance to surveillance sites regarding medical chart abstractions for CS.
• Supports regional and local health departments regarding reporting for congenital syphilis surveillance.
• Develops and provides line lists, data trackers and program reports to local and regional health departments partners on the processes and procedures for investigating and reporting congenital syphilis.
• Manages THISIS database workflows and provides guidance, training and technical assistance on the review and monitoring of workflows at surveillance sites, ensuring data are entered meeting federal and state requirements.
• Provides consultative services, technical assistance, and program information to regional and local health departments in accordance with state and national goals to ensure the accuracy, completeness, and timeliness of data gathered during congenital syphilis investigations.
• Analyzes program performance data to help ensure compliance with program policies and procedures, statutes, and rules; and recommend corrective actions as needed.
• Identifies and addresses training needs and aids in the evaluation of local and regional health department progress toward contractually required metrics.
• Provides consultation to assigned congenital syphilis surveillance jurisdictions in meeting short-term, mid-term and long-term goals, objectives and standards.
• Coordinates the instate and interstate communications, Out of State Record Searches (OOS), Cumulative Interstate Duplicate Review and Routine Interstate Duplicate Review, necessary to ensure the reporting and investigation of congenital syphilis cases which transverse state boundaries are complete, timely, accurately capture case history, and do not overcount the total number of congenital syphilis at a national level.
• Analyzes legislation to develop recommendations for policy in programmatic issues relating to the implementation, improvement, and expansion or reduction of CS program funding.
• Verifies entered CS data by reviewing, correcting, deleting, or reentering data collected from medical records and other sources; combining data from multiple systems and multiple data sources when reporting information is incomplete; purging files to eliminate duplication of data.
• Processes CS reports and provides occasional data entry support for CS case registry sites.
• Analyze the application of and variations within programs to develop action plans for improving or initiating new programs.
• Supports epidemiologists by researching and resolving aberrant data findings and records while understanding the reporting limitations of the data collection process.
• Participates in case reporting accuracy studies by reabstracting the medical records of previously reported cases.
• Participates in CDC site visits and training as appropriate.
• Prepares data and objectives for grant applications, annual progress reports, and interim progress reports.
• Performs other duties as assigned, including but not limited to actively participating in and serving in a supporting role to meet the agency’s obligations for disaster response and recovery or Continuity of Operations Planning (COOP) activities. Such participation may require an alternate shift pattern assignment and location.
• To perform these job duties, this position may require working extra hours needed to meet defined deadlines and support the agency’s mission critical reporting requirements.

Benefits

• DSHS offers insurance coverage and other benefits available through the State of Texas Group Benefits Plan administered by the Employee Retirement System of Texas (ERS).

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 1-10 employees