Director, Health Equity And Epidemiology

The Director, Health Equity and Epidemiology (HEE) is a member of the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of Public Health (OPH) Leadership Team, uses population health approaches and plays a leading role in development and implementation of the Department's health equity strategy. The Director oversees data gathering, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination related to public health planning, programming, and policy. The Director collaborates with colleagues within HHS and across the County to support the use of data to inform public health and human services program, practice, and policy.

The person holding this role brings demonstrated experience in the translation of evidence into policy and practice, while understanding of the role of social structures and social determinants on population health and wellness. The ideal candidate understands structural biases, including systemic racism that creates and perpetuates health disparities and has experience working at a systems level to address root causes of these health inequities. An essential element of this work is the ability to work with partners internally and externally and to build or maintain strong relationships with all stakeholders across disciplines and perspectives.

This is considered an Essential Position within the Office of Public Health. Essential Employees are obligated to report to work as scheduled or remain at work during emergencies. Essential employees conduct essential job functions or assigned emergency duties which may involve assignments within the Department Operations Center, Emergency Operations Center, deployment to a field location to participate in public health activities, or other duties as required during periods of emergency. If received, emergency assignments may be performed under adverse conditions and continue for periods ranging from a few hours to several weeks, months, etc.

• Manages team of epidemiologists and is responsible for setting and monitoring annual team goals, measurable objectives, and activities; workforce and leadership pipeline planning and development; and planning and monitoring of budget for epidemiology team;  

• Identifies and communicates division priorities, goals, and objectives, and ensures alignment with and completion of work plans in alignment with Act 315 and other local, state, and federal requirements;

• Actively participates in developing and implementing Department/Office Strategic priorities.

• Establishes and monitors standards of practice, protocols, and policies related to collection, analysis, and use of public health data;

• Monitors and advises OPH and HHS leadership on issues of epidemiology, patterns of morbidity and mortality, and health risks in the county population to inform public health programs and policy objectives; 

• Identifies and develops evidence-informed interventions and monitoring strategies to meet the health equity and population health targets;

• Makes recommendations on and supports development, implementation, evaluation, and improvement of databases to ensure that data collection systems meet programmatic needs to support informed programmatic decisions;

• Develops and maintains a publicly accessible demographic report and health equity profile, prepares reports, and translates findings for a variety of audiences;

• Leads the development of Community Health Assessment, including selecting and organizing presentation of secondary data, and collection and presentation of primary data;

• Leads public health efforts to reduce disparities;

• Provides technical expertise in research and data analysis and interpretation to OPH programs, including the application of research and use of public health data to inform and evaluate health of the population;

• Establishes relationships with academic and research partners related to emerging issues related to HHS strategic plan, mission and goals, public health workforce pipeline, and development of community engaged research addressing health inequities impacting county residents;

• Ensures that public health program and policy goals and objectives are data-informed, consistent, and mutually-reinforcing;

• Works in close partnership with other HHS offices and county departments to ensure streamlined data collection and analytics;

• Leverages data systems across departments and prepares actionable data briefs and reports to inform practice and policy across county and community agencies;

• Directs the development of, or functions as lead author on, reports and manuscripts that address complex public health and health equity issues having broad implications for public health practices and policies;

• Represents the HHS Office of Public Health in public forums, partner meetings, and other spaces, as needed;

• Other duties as assigned by the Health Administrator and/or Deputy Administrator of Operations and Culture.

• Master's degree in public health or public administration, doctoral degree preferred. Specialization in epidemiology, health informatics, or prevention science preferred;

• At least seven years' experience in public health, epidemiology, data and informatics, and/or public health research and evaluation;

• At least five years' experience working with public health data systems; and familiarity with electronic health records systems;

• At least five years management or leadership experience demonstrating flexible situational leadership, self-awareness, and ability to establish and steward trust-based, collaborative relationships;

• Demonstrated experience applying an equity and inclusion lens in the development and implementation of public health research and evaluation; 

• Demonstrated ability to translate data into actionable information for public health practice and policy; 

• Demonstrated experience writing project proposals, needs statements using population and program-level data, and data briefs for a variety of audiences;

• Adept at collaboration with multiple levels and types of stakeholders;

• Excellent oral and written communication skills;

• Ability to analyze and solve complex problems;

• Strong mapping abilities using software (e.g., ArcGIS, Leaflet) a plus;

• Experience with interactive data visualization (e.g., Tableau, Shiny, Microsoft Power BI);

• Have or can obtain within 60 days of hire CITI certification for human subject research;

• Required travel throughout the County and the Commonwealth as necessary; must have reliable means of transportation.

While performing the duties of this position, the employee is frequently required to stand, walk, drive an emergency vehicle, wear Personal Protective Equipment (including respiratory protection), and participate in physically strenuous activities. These physical activities may include: reaching or working with arms above shoulders; bending, twisting or rotating at the waist; kneeling, crouching or squatting; climbing stairs; climbing ladders; pushing, lifting, or carrying objects 50 pounds or heavier; and work in a noisy environment; and work in adverse weather conditions. The employee must successfully pass a medical evaluation as outlined in the Montgomery County Special Operations Policy Manual.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:  The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential function. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.  Most of this position can be done from a remote location with scheduled in-person or field locations as needed.