Epidemiologist, Public Health Surveillance

Vital Strategies is an international public health organization. Our programs strengthen public health systems and address the world’s leading causes of illness, injury and death. We currently work in 73 countries, supporting data-driven decision making in government, advancing evidence-based public health policies, and mounting strategic communication campaigns. Vital Strategies’ priorities are driven by the greatest potential to improve and save lives. They include non-communicable disease prevention, tobacco control, road safety, obesity prevention, overdose prevention, environmental health, and vital statistics systems building. Our programs are primarily concentrated in low- and middle-income countries in Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Pacific. Please visit our website at www.vitalstrategies.org to find out more about our work.

Vital Strategies believes our programs are strengthened when they are developed and supported by individuals with diverse life experiences, whose understanding of social and cultural issues can help make our work and workforce more inclusive. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion or creed, gender, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, veteran or military status or any other basis protected by local, state, or federal laws.

About the Lead Poisoning Prevention Program:

Vital Strategies is expanding our program that addresses the issue of lead poisoning in low- and middle-income countries. We plan to build upon existing efforts and interest by collaborating with governmental agencies in countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America to strengthen health systems and build local expertise in childhood lead exposure to enact sound, cost-effective policies to address exposures.

Job Purpose:

Vital Strategies seeks an experienced environmental epidemiologist to provide technical guidance as we work to strengthen national health systems’ capacity to assess and prevent lead poisoning. This role will provide technical guidance for the country team on the design, implementation, and evaluation of lead surveillance systems and the use of data to inform governments to plan, advocate for, and enact sound, cost-effective policies to address exposures.

This role may be based in the New York tri-state or District of Columbia areas. Vital is also open to qualified applicants from other global regions. The candidate must have authorization to work legally in the respective country at the time of hire. If based in the tri-state area, the candidate must follow Vital’s hybrid, 2-day in office work schedule. Vital Strategies offers highly competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits. The salary range for this position is $100,000 USD – $108,000 USD.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Support the design, implementation, and evaluation of lead exposure surveillance, including the development of the study protocol and survey instrument, standardizing procedures, obtaining IRB approval, conducting data quality assurance, analysis, and reporting;
• Design sampling strategies and weighting schemes to ensure representative sampling and appropriate analysis of data with complex sampling design
• Analyze and interpret surveillance data and findings using multivariate statistical methods and software;
• Draft technical reports and non-technical summaries of findings for different stakeholder audiences
• Lead a process for developing summary indicators, support data management, quality control, and visualization of indicator data in an integrated data store and visualization platform;
• Develop standardized tools and modules and ensure knowledge exchange within the team;
• Stay informed with the newest evidence and method development in the lead poisoning prevention area through routine literature reviews and knowledge sharing
• Assist with other duties as specified by the supervisor.

Qualifications:

Education and Degree -

• Master’s degree in epidemiology or related public health field (e.g., biostatistics, demography) or related. field Ph.D. degree is preferred.

Skills and Abilities -

• Professional oral and written proficiency in English with strong writing skills for policymaker and public audiences;
• Strong understanding of principles of public health surveillance, previous experience in designing and analyzing representative health surveys is a plus;
• Strong foundational understanding of public health principles, especially epidemiology, analysis, terminology, and exposure assessment;
• Excellent epidemiologic and data analytic skills; including demonstrated experience in using statistical software (e.g., R, Stata, SAS) to calculate weights and conduct multivariate analyses;
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including the ability to communicate effectively to technical and non-technical audiences, and contribute to an interdisciplinary international team;
• Outstanding organizational skills and ability to successfully manage competing priorities and meet deadlines;
• Demonstrated ability to take initiative, work independently, and make sound, informed decisions;
• Solid knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook) and data visualization software (e.g., Power BI, Tableau).
• Personal qualities of integrity, credibility, and dedication to the mission of Vital Strategies
• Ability to build strong, ongoing, impactful relationships at all organizational levels and across a diverse range of cultural, generational, ethnic, racial, educational, and social backgrounds;
• Demonstrated commitment to valuing diversity and contributing to an inclusive working and learning environment

Experience:

Required -

• Minimum of eight years of experience in epidemiology, environmental health, global health, and/or program implementation with prior work experience in environmental epidemiology, especially related to public health surveillance, national/representative health surveys, lead poisoning prevention, or environmental pollution;
• Experience managing complex data flows;
• Demonstrated experience in scientific writing and presentation.

Working Conditions and Physical Requirements:

• The position will be required to travel internationally up to 10% of the time to attend meetings;
• Willing to travel to in-person meetings with team partners and local stakeholders as required;
• The candidate must be willing to work and be flexible with colleagues across different time zones.

How to Apply:

Apply via the link below or directly through Vital Strategies' Careers page.

https://phg.tbe.taleo.net/phg01/ats/careers/v2/viewRequisition?org=VITASTRA&cws=37&rid=794