Health Specialist Jobs

About The Position

Requirements

• Knowledge of basic epidemiology and disease processes; Tuberculosis epidemiology, transmission, and surveillance, including screening of high-risk populations.
• Knowledge of budgeting, public accounting principles, purchasing, storage, and inventory control.
• Knowledge of current social, economic, and public health issues, laws, agency rules, and regulations, with the capability to interpret them accurately.
• Skill in using personal computers, modern web browsers, Adobe Acrobat Pro DC (including creating fillable PDF forms), and Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, Access) to perform data entry, maintain files, create complex spreadsheets, and generate reports.
• Skill in the organization, gathering, and maintenance of public health records and data files.
• Skill in establishing and maintaining professional, collaborative relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Skill in developing and delivering educational or training materials to groups and individuals.
• Ability to maintain strict confidentiality and adhere to rigorous data security and HIPAA standards.
• Ability to prepare, submit, and track vendor invoices for payment accurately and within established deadlines.
• Ability to maintain accurate inventory records for supplies and equipment.
• Ability to analyze regional public health needs.
• Ability to communicate effectively (written and oral) with people of all ages, backgrounds, and disciplines, and coordinate work activities of program staff.
• Ability to work in a team setting in close collaboration with others.
• Ability to work under limited supervision, exercise independent judgment, implement time-management strategies, and successfully meet project deadlines.
• Must possess a valid Class C Texas driver's license or equivalent license from another state.
• Two years’ experience in communicable disease surveillance, tuberculosis prevention and control activities, public health program operations, or public health data management.

Nice To Haves

• Experience providing training, technical assistance, education, or team leadership preferred.
• Willing to travel 20% of the work week; the travel for this position typically occurs within the normal workday. Overnight travel is infrequent.
• Up to two days of telework may be available after six-month probation period.

Responsibilities

• Reconciles internal program financial spreadsheets with agency accounting systems.
• Maintains the TB Program Expenditures log and manages all financial records related to program spending.
• Prepares quarterly, semiannual, and annual budget reports for the TB Program Manager, and actively assists with fiscal planning and forecasting.
• Supports the recruitment and establishment of vendor contracts for professional services—including medical evaluations, radiography, and laboratory testing—for patients being evaluated or treated for TB infection and disease.
• Develops, updates, and monitors contract expenditure tracking logs at least monthly.
• Processes vendor invoices and tracks them through to final payment.
• Establishes and maintains strong working relationships with contracted service providers, local budget analysts, and agency accounts payable and contract management teams.
• Provides technical assistance to vendors regarding contract status, referrals, billing reports, and outstanding invoices, conducting routine monthly follow-ups and assisting with annual contract renewals.
• Responsible for the oversight, receipt, and comprehensive follow-up tracking of high-risk immigrant and refugee referrals received through CDC's EDN system.
• Manages quality assurance monitoring to ensure timely clinical evaluation of arrivals.
• Performs precise data entry, status updates, and closures within the EDN system and the National Electronic Disease Surveillance System (NEDSS).
• Collaborates closely with regional public health staff, local health departments, and external healthcare providers to coordinate continuity of care.
• Maintains highly organized electronic tracking logs using Microsoft Excel and specialized public health databases.
• Provides technical, non-clinical assistance and workflow training to internal and external partners regarding EDN and NEDSS protocols.
• Responsible for the procurement, tracking, receipt, and delivery of supplies and equipment used for regional tuberculosis services.
• Maintains accurate inventory logs and coordinates the distribution of assets to the regional nursing program.
• Participates in planning and developing TB educational initiatives for internal and external stakeholders, which includes securing venues, staging training environments, and managing all required event supplies.
• Assists as needed with the regional Respiratory Protection Program, TB contact investigations, community mass screenings, and the physical transportation of clients to the Texas Center for Infectious Disease (TCID).
• Prepares correspondences and reports and updates TB related clinical forms and contact lists using Microsoft Office and Adobe Acrobat software.
• Assists the TB Program Manager in formulating regional TB processes and procedures, updating manuals, reports, in-services, workshops and conferences, and communicating with internal and external entities.
• Organizes office functions such as filing systems, security and confidentiality, TB computer systems and databases, supply inventory logs, training logs, web-based employee access logs, and records disposition.
• Actively participating and/or serving in a supporting role to meet the agency's obligations for disaster response and/or recovery or Continuity of Operations (COOP) activation.

Benefits

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