Field Epidemiologist

Equal Opportunity Employer

The mission of the Health Federation of Philadelphia is to promote health equity for marginalized communities by advancing access to high-quality, integrated, and comprehensive health and human services.  Health equity is at the heart of all our work. We believe in and are firmly committed to equal employment opportunity for employees and applicants. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, age, religion, disability, sex or gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, military or veteran status.  This commitment applies to all aspects of the Health Federation of Philadelphia’s employment practices, including recruiting, hiring, training, and promotion.

Cover Letter Required

JOB SUMMARY

This position collects and coordinates field epidemiology data for the Division of Substance Use Prevention and Harm Reduction (SUPHR) at the Philadelphia Department of Public Health (PDPH) and supports analysis of field epidemiology data. The person filing this position is responsible for monitoring all SUPHR’s field epidemiology activities and initiating field epidemiology data collection as needed to better inform PDPH’s substance use prevention and harm reduction activities. This will include conducting surveys among people who use drugs in Philadelphia, as well as conducting focus groups, key informant interviews, and street intercept surveys with people who use drugs and community members. Under the supervision of the Harm Reduction Manager, the Field Epidemiologist will support SUPHR’s Surveillance Drug Checking Program, including the development and implementation of drug checking protocols and the dissemination of drug checking results. In addition, under the supervision of the Harm Reduction Manager, the Field Epidemiologist will support urgent field responses to adverse drug events in Philadelphia. The Field Epidemiologist will also support the harm reduction and overdose trainings provided by SUPHR.

JOB SPECIFICATIONS

Under the supervision of the Harm Reduction Manager, the Field Epidemiologist will perform the following job functions:

• Train field outreach staff in data collection, including, but not limited to, surveys, focus groups, interviews, drug checking, and urgent responses.
• Engage in outreach efforts to complete field surveys, interviews, and focus groups with people who use drugs and other community stakeholders.
• Design survey tools, interview guides, and focus group protocols including developing questionnaires and establishing recruitment methods.
• Engage with PWUD, sharing education about new drug threats (e.g. xylazine) and distributes naloxone and drug testing strips.
• Assist in writing field data collection protocols.
• Assist in developing and conducting surveys, focus groups and key stakeholder interviews.
• Obtain and manage Institutional Review Board (IRB) approvals when required.
• Develop and maintain relationships with community-based organizations and community members.
• Coordinate with partners organizations to allocate space for projects.
• Support surveillance drug checking and urgent response efforts.
• Serve as a representative for grantee teleconference/meetings.
• Manage field data collection operations; review, tabulate and reconcile forms used in the field.
• Summarize analytic findings for presentation at scientific conferences, publication in peer-reviewed journals, dissemination using the PDPH Health Information Portal, and lay-communications.
• Support the coordination and distribution of harm reduction resources as part of field work.
• Other duties as assigned.

Education

Eligibility and participation is handled consistent with the plan documents and HFP policy. 

DISCLAIMER

The Health Federation reserves the right to modify, interpret, or apply this job description in any way the Company desires. The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by an employee assigned to this position. This job description in no way implies that these are the only duties, including essential duties, responsibilities and/or skills to be performed by the employee occupying this position. This job description is not an employment contract, implied, or otherwise. The employment relationship remains “at will.” The aforementioned job requirements are subject to change to reasonably accommodate qualified disabled individuals.

The Health Federation of Philadelphia (HFP) is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation or preference, marital status or any classification protected by federal, state or local law.