Public Health Informatics Specialist

Washington County Public Health Division within the Health and Human Services (HHS) Department is seeking a Public Health Informatics Specialist to join our Research, Analytics, Informatics, and Data (RAID) program. The RAID program is the public health science unit which provides ongoing epidemiological and research support to the Public Health Division and HHS.
 
To learn more about us, please visit this link: Public Health
 
About the opportunity:
Under the general supervision of the Public Health Informatics Supervisor, the Public Health Informatics Specialist is responsible for implementing major objectives and policies for public health informatics in Washington County. In this position, you will extract information from public health surveillance systems and programs structured for analyzing; improving understanding and communication in public health; and developing/visualizing new concepts and/or processes that add values to health services delivery and decision-making. You will also examine data needs within and across programs and support areas for integration to improve efficiency. Additionally, you will be responsible for subject matter expertise in public health modernization and support the development and maintenance of infrastructure for data interoperability and exchange between multiple public health information systems and data partners. This includes developing code and participating in formal code reviews of internal data science pipelines and data products.
 
This position may be eligible for a remote work up to 5 days per week; however, the incumbent must live within the state of Oregon or Washington and be able to report to Hillsboro, Oregon for an in-person meeting once a month.
 
Who we are looking for:
The ideal candidate would value teamwork and have problem-solving skills. They are well-equipped to establish and maintain cooperative working relationships with individuals and groups from diverse backgrounds. They have the ability to assess inefficiencies in databases and data workflows and develop quality improvements. A proven record of successfully demonstrated experience with project coordination and communication to provide technical assistance to system users and community partners is highly desired. Well versed in the application of programming languages used to execute public health surveillance and analysis would be essential to this position. They will also have a high level of attention to detail in drafting data procedures and metadata; experience with improving the data streams feeding data visualizations; and knowledge of and interest in data visualization tools such as Tableau, ggplot, and Quarto documents. Additionally, they will have skills in developing cleanly written code that is heavily commented and can be easily understood by others for code sharing and collaboration and maintaining structured documentation of project development stages, including the utilization of GitHub and/or other types of Git for version control and project management.
It is highly preferred to have experience with and knowledge of internal package development in R, using git for development and communication, and managing data in EPIC.

Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply for jobs unless they believe they can perform every job description task. We are most interested in finding the best candidate for the job and that candidate may come from a variety of backgrounds and lived experiences. If you are interested in applying, we encourage you to think broadly about your background and skill set for the role, even if you believe you do not meet all the hiring criteria described above. 

Why Washington County?
Are you interested in challenging, meaningful, and rewarding work? Join Washington County in our commitment to advancing racial equity. Our Board of Commissioners worked closely with various community stakeholders and subject matter experts to develop an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Resolution. Adopted in February 2020, this resolution commits to the equitable delivery of Washington County’s services, resources, and opportunities for growth and development to every county resident.

ESSENTIAL JOB DUTIES

Classification descriptions are typically written broadly. For a complete list of essential duties, please use this link: Public Health Informatics Specialist.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education and Experience
Must meet one of the following minimum qualifications to be considered: 

• Master’s degree from an accredited graduate school with a focus in public health, public health informatics, health care informatics, information technology, computer science, information science, public policy or health policy, statistics, or a related field; AND two (2) years of experience in informatics including experience in conducting and/or supporting informatics projects including scientific investigations or data management. OR
• Bachelor’s degree in public health, public health informatics, health care informatics, information technology, computer science, information science, public policy or health policy, statistics, or a related field; AND three (3) years of experience in informatics including experience in conducting and/or supporting informatics projects including scientific investigations or data management.