Epidemiologist jobs in Yakima, WA

 Job titles: Regional Epidemiologist

Job location: East Wenatchee, WA 98802

Work week: Monday through Friday, would need to be able to work in-office. 8:00am to 5:00pm

Salary: $76,476 to $102,492

Benefits: Company pays for 100% of employee’s medical cost and 50% of any dependents, vision, dental, pension program that includes 401(k), PTO, 11 national holidays

Education / Certifications:  Master's Degree in Epidemiology, Biostatistics, or Public Health in a closely related field

Required Experience: 

• Minimum of 5 years of experience in epidemiology, biostatistics, or a relevant field.
• Demonstrated professional proficiency in statistical packages, including R, Stata, and SPSS.
• Proficiency with coding languages in R, Python, or other relevant coding languages
• Strong skills in GIS mapping and analysis.
• Excellent data visualization skills using tools such as Excel, Power BI, Tableau or similar.
• Experience with syndromic surveillance and outbreak modeling. 

Preferred Experience:

• Master's level work in Health Informatics and/or clinical research would be a plus.
• Experience within public health is strongly preferred.

Position Overview:

We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced person to join the Communicable Disease and Epidemiology Unit as a Regional Epidemiologist/Biostatistician. This position will play a crucial role in public health by employing their expertise in epidemiology, biostatistics, and data analysis to enhance the understanding and management of health-related issues within the region. This position will provide epidemiological and biostatistical management support to surrounding counties. This includes ensuring the development and routine testing of regional disease outbreak response plans and investigation activities as well as monitoring and evaluation of health programs to improve effectiveness, promote equity and reduce disparities in negative health outcomes.

This position also directly supports the North Central Washington (NCW) Epidemiology Consortium. The NCW Epi Consortium brings together epidemiologists, assessment coordinators and data leads and regional health partners to share knowledge and resources. This can include coordination and capacity building for outbreak investigations, ongoing disease surveillance, monitoring and evaluation, and reporting public health interventions within NCW. The NCW Epi Consortium will perform statistical analyses on regional data and provide interpretation of health data. They will also consult with regional leadership to develop priorities and guide policy making and the development of effective intervention programs for state and local stakeholders.

To ensure the highest level of services are provided, additional duties and responsibilities may be assigned as needed and may include cross-functional, or project team responsibilities.

Job Duties and Responsibilities (Essential Functions):

Epidemiological Surveillance:

• Design and implement improvements in the public health data systems and programs
• Conduct ongoing surveillance of health trends and diseases in the region.
• Develop and implement models for detecting, predicting, controlling, and managing disease outbreaks.
• Analyze and interpret epidemiological data to inform public health decision-making.
• Use epidemiologic analyses to help formulate public health policy and recommendations, guide program planning, and identify problems needing additional study.
• Provide support for standardization and implementation of monitoring and evaluation tools for local and regional public health systems and interventions. This includes analyzing internal programs as well as stakeholder programs.
• Ability to design primary data collection instruments and assist the Assessment Coordinator in collection of primary population health data.

Biostatistical and Data Analysis:

• Proactively work with senior management to ensure data projects accomplish public health objectives.
• Provide statistical support for research studies and public health programs.
• Develop and implement appropriate analytic resources, including a suitable database, a statistics package, and data visualization tools.
• Develop, maintain, and manage databases to produce necessary reports.
• Investigate new technology applications for public health programming and disease surveillance.
• Assists with grant writing, particularly related to studies of an investigational nature.

Data Visualization:

• Develop clear and impactful data visualizations and maps to communicate epidemiological findings effectively for various stakeholders.
• Communicate complex epidemiological information in a visually accessible manner.
• Provide technical assistance and support to staff in data visualization, including community health assessment and community health improvement plan reporting cycles.

NCW Epi Consortium Support

• Develop and implement active and passive disease surveillance systems for chronic and communicable diseases in collaboration with the NCW Epi Consortium.
• In collaboration with other epidemiologists, coordinate local and regional health research projects on emerging issues.
• Prepare critical topical reports to document current health status, identify trends, magnitude, and disparities in the population, and identify emerging concerns.
• Work with NCW Epi Consortium in developing and maintaining databases, report writing, and presentations that guide decision-making, portfolio construction, and evaluation.
• Supports NCW Epi Consortium and Washington Department of Health in development of multiagency databases that include both population and clinical data.
• Identifies and proposes health policies and/or corrective action(s) to environmental and/or social conditions resulting in adverse health outcomes, e.g. social determinants of health, health inequity issues.
• Support Community Health Assessment (CHA) work with the NCW Epi Consortium and contribute to the design and analysis of regional community health assessments.
• Support outbreak investigations in coordination with the NCW Epi Consortium, and Washington Department of Health.
• Work with partners to identify opportunities for developing new and shared data sources, including developing surveys and other data-collection instruments.
• Work with partners to develop appropriate infrastructure for data storage and maintenance, ensuring appropriate security.

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities:

• Strong familiarity with the principles of data management and data analysis, including demonstrated skill in planning and interpreting analyses.
• Ability to present information and data in effective, engaging ways, both in-person and via digital media.
• Capacity to work effectively with qualitative data, including unstructured stories and other non­ traditional data sources.
• Capacity for high-level strategic thinking and the ability to collaborate with Public Health leaders in developing and executing plans.
• Strong analytical skills, with an ability to troubleshoot, problem-solve and effectively and efficiently make decisions. 
• Strong communication skills with external and internal personnel.
• Able to be effective in a wide range of cultural groups and cross-cultural relationships and have the ability to communicate clearly.
• Strong organizational, time management and project management skills. Ability to manage multiple and varied tasks in a fast-paced, high-volume regulated environment, highly proficient organizational skills and keen attention to detail.
• Excels at working within a team. Patient and objective in difficult situations with different types of people. Able to influence others to get "onboard" with public health initiatives. Must be sensitive to public health needs as well as colleagues and other internal personnel.