EPIDEMIOLOGIST I

Description

SIHB Core Competencies

Core Competencies are foundational commitments and skills that all SIHB staff are expected to develop. These competencies define common measures for performance that are applied to every role in the organization.

• Commitment to Indigenous and Organizational Values: Everything we do at SIHB is centered on Traditional Indian Medicine. It is our responsibility to maintain cultural integrity in all that we do.
• Accountability: All employees of SIHB effectively manage their own work and the work of their teams. We take ownership of our actions and decisions. We all strive to deliver the highest quality work and care, while respecting our teammates and relatives.
• Collaboration: SIHB is a team-oriented organization. As team members, we share the responsibility of working toward a common purpose. We collaborate with our colleagues across the organization to deliver the highest quality of care and results in alignment with our mission, vision, values, and Theory of Change.
• Communication: We practice effective and clear communication with staff, relatives, teams, and community. We demonstrate empathy among each other and with those we serve, and transparency in our decision making.
• Customer Service Orientation: All employees of SIHB recognize the needs of the diverse community we serve. We put the needs of our relatives first by delivering the highest quality, professional, responsive, and innovative care. Our relatives come first and deserve the best.

Organizational Responsibilities

• Hold Indigenous values and practices with respect and integrity.
• Hold yourself accountable to the highest standard by being resourceful, innovative, creative, and solutions oriented.
• Actively participate in organizational activities with the understanding that success is achieved through teamwork.
• Recognize that communication is central to the organization's success and actively champion your words and actions to maintain respect for others, encourage constructive feedback, be open to share laughter and acknowledge differences in skills and opinions, all while keeping others' best intentions in mind.
• At SIHB, we refer to our customers as Relatives. Our Relatives come first and deserve the best. Serve the needs of our Relatives first by delivering the highest quality, professional, responsive, and innovative care.

This position is responsible for providing a wide range of epidemiologic assistance to projects of the Urban Indian Health Institute (UIHI), a division of the Seattle Indian Health Board (SIHB). This work includes core epidemiologic functions such as conducting disease surveillance, primary data collection, secondary data analysis of a wide variety of national, state, and local date sets, linking datasets, and interpretation and presentation of data for a wide variety of technical and non-technical audiences. This position will work to gather information, assess data, and present findings on the national and local health status and well-being of the urban American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) population.
Duties & Responsibilities

• Analyze, interpret, and present health data, including data from national and local surveillance systems, surveys, and clinical data from the network of Urban Indian Organizations (UIOs).
• Identify, obtain, and evaluate new data sources for use to assess the health status of urban AI/AN.
• Support the Executive Leadership Team, Senior Epidemiologist, and Epidemiologist II in obtaining and maintaining surveillance datasets used to monitor the health of urban AI/AN.
• Independently design and conduct descriptive and advanced statistical analyses.
• Provide epidemiological consultation and technical assistance to various public, private, nonprofit, national, state, and local health agencies and organizations, with a focus on UIOs and other AI/AN-serving organizations.
• Prepare responses to requests for data and information.
• Effectively translate and disseminate findings to diverse audiences, including developing reports, manuscripts, and data briefs and making oral presentations.
• Participate in writing grants and other funding proposals.
• Engage in quality control/quality improvement processes to improve the quality of data findings and its dissemination.
• Develop project plans, timelines, and progress reports, and manage project deliverables.
• Coordinate work done by project team, provide leadership and technical guidance to project staff and interns.
• Disseminate and report progress to the funder and other stakeholders in local, state, and national settings.

Requirements

Education & Experience

• Master of Public Health (MPH) with experience in epidemiology, statistics, data analysis.
• MPH in Epidemiology or Biostatistics preferred.
• 2-3 years of experience in an applied epidemiology/statistics or research setting preferred.
• Experience working with AI/AN populations strongly preferred.
• Have knowledge and understanding of health and social issues facing the AI/AN population and a desire to promote the delivery of appropriate health services and public health interventions to this population.
• Training in epidemiological and biostatistical principles and methods.
• Applicants must demonstrate experience performing both analytical and project management work.
• Experience using standard statistical computer software, preferably Stata, SAS, R.
• Experience preparing data for analysis and conduction data analyses.
• Experience managing complex projects.

Qualifications

• Candidate must complete an exam assessing critical thinking skills, epidemiological principals, epidemiological methods, statistical analysis skills, data interpretation, and presentation.
• Provide a current writing sample of 5-10 pages where candidate is the primary author.
• Knowledge of processes needed in planning, implementing, and evaluating projects.
• Demonstrate program management, organizational, and coordination skills.
• Set priorities and monitor progress towards goals, and track details, data, information, and activities for reporting.
• Assess situations and make clear decisions which are timely and in the best interests of the organization.
• Demonstrate cultural competency in working collaboratively with AI/AN communities.
• Work independently or in a team environment-whichever is considered appropriate for the situation.
• Show initiative and work with minimal supervision.
• Operate effectively in a team-based environment and coordinate the work of multi-disciplinary staff.
• Have knowledge of epidemiology and research, evaluation theory and practice, and applied research methods and techniques.
• Proficient use of National, state, and local surveillance data and/or surveys.
• Proficiently use software programs such as Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access, and statistical analysis software (Stata, SAS, R).
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with supervisors, colleagues, public officials, representatives of other agencies and organizations, community members, and clients.
• Work well under pressure and stress, meet multiple and often competing deadlines.
• Communicate medical, statistical, and public health concepts to technical and community.
• Write and speak with clarity and precision about epidemiologic methods and research and assessment findings to both technical and lay audiences
• Valid Washington State driver's license, proof of car insurance and use of a personal vehicle.
• Candidates must complete an acceptable Background Check as part of the hiring process.

Work Environment:

• SIHB staff work four (4) ten (10) hour shifts per week on site. Standard hours are 7 am to 6 pm, 4 days a week, with occasional extra hours for events or to meet deadlines.
• Work varied hours, including evenings and weekends as required.
• Some travel may be required