Epidemiologist

 
Working at the County of Sonoma offers expansive opportunities for growth and development, the ability to be a part of a challenging and rewarding work environment, and the satisfaction of knowing you're working to better our communities. You can also look forward to flexible work arrangements and excellent benefits* including:

• A hybrid telework schedule that meets the needs of our staff, department operations, and the communities we serve may be available depending on the assignment
• Eligibility for a salary increase after 1,040 hours (6 months when working full-time) for good work performance; eligibility for a salary increase for good performance every year thereafter, until reaching the top of the salary range
• Competitive vacation and sick leave accruals, 12 paid holidays, and an additional 8 floating holiday hours per year
• County paid 100% premium contribution for the majority of employee-only and employee + family health plan options
• An annual Staff Development/Wellness Benefit allowance of up to $500/650 etc. and ongoing education/training opportunities
• County contribution to a Health Reimbursement Arrangement to help fund post-retirement employee health insurance/benefits
• Retirement fully integrated with Social Security
• May be eligible for up to 8 weeks (320 hours) of Paid Parental Leave after 12 months of County employment

The County of Sonoma is seeking qualified individuals to fill a full-time Epidemiologist position within the Health Data and Epidemiology Unit in the Department of Health Services. Reporting to the Health Program Manager of the Health Data and Epidemiology Unit, the epidemiologist in this position will perform tasks such as, but not limited to:

• Supporting infectious and chronic disease surveillance
• Tracking and reporting on COVID-19 wastewater surveillance, variants, hospitalization, death, and case data
• Providing epidemiological support to Public Health programs
• Utilizing State infectious disease and immunization databases
• Populating and maintaining County data dashboards
• Mapping and visualizing data as needed to inform planning
• Analyzing case clusters and outbreaks
• Making presentations to disease control staff, community groups, and public health leadership
• Producing weekly surveillance reports
• Compiling, interpreting, and reporting on data for the Community Health Assessment and Community Health Improvement Plan every three years

Although some of the work may be done remotely, current residency in or relocation to California is required for these positions.

The ideal candidate for this position will possess:

• A Master's Degree in Public Health
• Advanced knowledge of epidemiology (infectious disease background desirable)
• Advanced statistical and coding skills, preferably with R 
• Training in and experience utilizing Tableau
• Training in and experience utilizing ArcGIS
• One or more year(s) experience working within a public health department.
• Thorough knowledge and understanding of public health sciences and practices
• The ability to interpret findings and prepare materials (such as briefs, reports, etc.), and communicate results to department staff, the general public, and other partners
• Intermediate to advanced Microsoft Office skills
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• The ability to present and explain data to a wide variety of audiences
• The ability to provide epidemiological and evaluation input into planning and program processes, automate processes, and improve efficiencies 
• A proven ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships

This recruitment is being conducted to fill a full-time Epidemiologist position in the Department of Health Services. This employment list may also be used to fill future full-time, part-time, or extra-help (temporary) positions as they occur during the active status of the list. Qualified County employees who wish to be considered for future positions should consider applying to this recruitment. The Civil Service title for this position is Biostatistician.  

APPLICATION SUBMISSIONS REQUIRE THE SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONNAIRE BE COMPLETED.

Minimum Qualifications

The knowledge and abilities listed may be acquired through various types of training, education, and/or experience. A typical way to acquire the required knowledge and abilities would be:

Education: Possession of a Bachelors Degree from an accredited college or university with major coursework in mathematics and statistics, epidemiology, or a closely related field. A Masters Degree would be desirable.

Experience: Two (2) years of working experience at a technical/professional level of statistical analysis.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Knowledge of: standard and accepted mathematical and statistical methods and techniques; accepted research and data collection methods and techniques; basic epidemiological research and reporting methods and techniques; designated health services programs, funding sources, and mandates of assigned area of specialization; designated community needs and resources as they relate to assigned area of specialization and research.

Ability to: understand and carry out a variety of complex directives in an independent manner; understand and interpret a variety of programmatic directives, operational policies and procedures, and legislative guidelines and regulations as they relate to assigned areas of specialization; collect, interpret, and evaluate a variety of complex and diverse statistical and narrative data; identify problems and central issues, research and evaluate alternatives, project the consequences of proposed actions, and make recommendations with accompanying justifications; operate designated and specialized databases, graphic programs, and other software programs; compute complex mathematical calculations in support of statistical analyses methods and techniques; communicate effectively and understandably in both oral and written forms; establish and maintain effective schedules and priorities for self and others in the timely completion of assigned tasks and functions; establish and maintain effective work relationships with those contacted in the performance of required duties.

Selection Procedure & Some Helpful Tips When Applying

• Your application information and your responses to the supplemental questions are evaluated and taken into consideration throughout the entire selection process.
• You should list all employers and positions held within the last ten years in the work history section of your application. Be as thorough as possible when responding to the supplemental questions.
• You may include history beyond ten years if related to the position for which you are applying. If you held multiple positions with one employer, list out each position separately.
• Failure to follow these instructions may impact your competitiveness in this process or may result in disqualification.