Senior Epidemiologist, Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Use

City of New York • Long Island City, NY

5h

About The Position

The Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Use (BADU) works to close gaps and reduce overall morbidity and mortality related to alcohol and substance use among New Yorkers. BADU develops, implements, and evaluates interventions and prevention strategies through contracting of treatment, recovery and support services; policy analysis and development; epidemiology and surveillance; dissemination of treatment and management guidelines; harm reduction initiatives; public and provider outreach and education; and community involvement and interagency collaboration. The Bureau amplifies the voices of those most impacted and focuses on inequitable structural, social, service, and communication factors that drive disparities. Duties will include but not be limited to:

Requirements

• For Assignment Level I (only physical, biological and environmental sciences and public health) A master's degree from an accredited college or university with a specialization in an appropriate field of physical, biological or environmental science or in public health.
• To be appointed to Assignment Level II and above, candidates must have:
• A doctorate degree from an accredited college or university with specialization in an appropriate field of physical, biological, environmental or social science and one year of full-time experience in a responsible supervisory, administrative or research capacity in the appropriate field of specialization; or
• A master's degree from an accredited college or university with specialization in an appropriate field of physical, biological, environmental or social science and three years of responsible full-time research experience in the appropriate field of specialization; or
• Education and/or experience which is equivalent to "1" or "2" above. However, all candidates must have at least a master's degree in an appropriate field of specialization and at least two years of experience described in "2" above.
• Two years as a City Research Scientist Level I can be substituted for the experience required in "1" and "2" above.

Nice To Haves

• Demonstrated experience in applying complex research methods to public health data
• Experience in applying epidemiology methods to real-time health data sources to identify emerging issues and inform public health responses
• Strong understanding of alcohol and substance use epidemiology and demonstrated ability to describe population-level trends in health outcomes
• Excellent written, oral, and verbal communication skills, demonstrated by the ability to describe complex data to lay audiences and create a range of written products to convey key findings
• Experience cleaning and analyzing large health-related datasets using R or SAS
• Commitment to advancing racial and social equity through public health.

Responsibilities

• Serve as data steward for real-time substance use morbidity and mortality surveillance
• Oversee real-time surveillance work products from various data sources including, but not limited to, syndromic surveillance, emergency medical services, and mortality
• Manage large datasets involving multiple years of data, including the creation of protocols, thorough documentation of methods, standardization of variables and preparation of datasets for analysis.
• Enhance and update surveillance data systems and lead analysis of complex datasets, including emergency medical service encounters
• Supervise and mentor the work of other analysts working on real-time alcohol and drug-related data sources, including syndromic surveillance and overdose mortality data.
• Summarize and synthesize analytic findings with clear direction and application to public health and health of people who use drugs in NYC.
• Lead preparation and dissemination of data reports, briefs, presentations, and scientific manuscripts to clearly communicate findings and recommendations to a variety of audiences including the public, agency and bureau leadership, other government agencies, and health care providers
• Represent bureau in collaborations with internal and external partners, and collaborate to align data collection and reporting with bureau monitoring and policy needs
• Perform all other responsibilities and projects as assigned by supervisors

Benefits

• Loan Forgiveness: As a prospective employee of the City of New York, you may be eligible for federal/state loan forgiveness and repayment assistance programs that lessen your payments or even fully forgive your full balance. For more information, please visit the U.S. Department of Education’s website (https://studentaid.gov/pslf/)
• Benefits: City employees are entitled to unmatched benefits such as:
• a premium-free health insurance plan that saves employees over $10K annually, per a 2024 assessment.
• additional health, fitness, and financial benefits may be available based on the position’s associated union/benefit fund.
• a public sector defined benefit pension plan with steady monthly payments in retirement.
• a tax-deferred savings program and
• a robust Worksite Wellness Program that offers resources and opportunities to keep you healthy while serving New Yorkers.
• Work From Home Policy: Depending on your position, you may be able to work up to two days during the week from home.
• Job Security - you could enjoy more job security compared to private sector employment and be able to contribute to making NYC a healthy place to live and work.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level