DEPT OF HEALTH SERVICES

Address:  150 N. 18th Ave. Phoenix, AZ 85007

Salary: $93,500 

Grade: 28

Closing Date: Open until Filled

This position is responsible for guiding and providing necessary oversight for the planning, maintenance, enhancement, and operations for MEDSIS, the state's electronic disease surveillance system. MEDSIS is a critical platform for many program areas in the agency as well as for county and tribal health departments and healthcare partners. Responsibilities encompass the current MEDSIS system, enhancements and implementation of changes to continually modernize the platform, the extraction or provision of MEDSIS data to public health users, and ingestion of data from other primary sources (e.g., healthcare data sources, other ADHS registries).

This position will lead requirements gathering, planning and prioritization of enhancements, and communications with system users. The position works closely with the agency's Information Technology staff and Project Management office as well as other Informatics and Analytics managers to plan and maintain the system. This position also works closely with ADHS subject matter leaders and epidemiologists, healthcare organizations and county and tribal health departments to ensure their respective training, disease surveillance and reporting needs and concerns are addressed. The position is responsible for personnel management of direct reports and for grant reporting obligations for funding sources.

This position may offer the ability to work remotely, within Arizona, based upon the department's business needs and continual meeting of expected performance measures. The candidate should apply with a willingness to travel into the office at least 1 day a week.

The State of Arizona strives for a work culture that affords employees flexibility, autonomy, and trust. Across our many agencies, boards, and commissions, many State employees participate in the State’s Remote Work Program and are able to work remotely in their homes, in offices, and in hoteling spaces. All work, including remote work, should be performed within Arizona unless an exception is properly authorized in advance.

-Leads requirements gathering; prioritization, implementation and user testing of enhancements; and general programmatic operations for the MEDSIS application and MEDSIS data extracts/transfers, in collaboration with Information Technology Services staff and Project Manager Office.
-Manages and directs staff (assigns work; sets priorities; guides, trains and coaches staff; prepares evaluations; performs other direct supervisor duties).
-Ensures coordination between the MEDSIS Program and user groups/system users to provide system training; educate users about policies, procedures, and best practices; elicit and collect feedback and input from users; and identify system areas for improvement.
-Fulfills grant reporting requirements and agency metrics, contributes to funding applications, and participates in other activities to ensure continued funding for system implementation, maintenance and enhancements.
-Participates in national surveillance working groups and projects to align disease surveillance with federal requirements, national standards and interoperability as needed, and to contribute to national public health informatics efforts.
-Other duties as assigned as related to the position (typically 5% - 10%)

Must have specialized knowledge of methodologies relating to public health surveillance, reporting and investigation, and current public health electronic surveillance systems in particular. Must have specific knowledge of objectives and issues in public health disease surveillance and reporting in the U.S.; familiarity with the various stakeholder groups involved in public health reporting; national surveillance system standards; and data modernization initiatives. Must have working knowledge of public health informatics, data science, or data analytics. Must have general knowledge of: the etiology and epidemiology of disease; clinical signs/symptoms, application of epidemiologic principles; and analytic principles and practices.
Must have general knowledge of project management, requirements gathering procedures, system development processes, and continuous quality improvement methods.

Must have strong skills in:

-Problem-solving and attention to detail;
-Communicating with informaticians, IT system developers, epidemiologists and system users;
-Providing customer service;
-Making decisions and recommendations in collaboration with supervisor and leadership to best meet the needs and objectives of system users;
-Conceptualizing, designing, and planning information system changes;
-Leveraging existing technology and systems to improve surveillance and address user needs;
-Extracting, compiling, and analyzing data, presenting information;
-Interpreting epidemiologic and other health related data to identify program needs, and establish appropriate program goals and objectives;
-Providing leadership to the team and system users.

Must have a demonstrated ability to:

-Balance, prioritize and organize multiple tasks;
-Work collaboratively with technical and non-technical teams and build strong relationships with internal and external partners;
-Present ideas orally and in writing in a clear, concise manner to partners/stakeholders;
-Communicate and translate from epidemiologists and their public health needs to informatics and IT software/database development.

Must be flexible and adaptable to working in a constantly changing environment.

Position must support a diverse, multi-cultural workforce that reflects the community, promotes equal opportunity at all levels of ADHS and creates an inclusive work environment that enables all individuals to perform to their fullest potential.

Bachelor's degree in epidemiology, informatics, or related field and 3 years applied surveillance experience or equivalent course work. Masters degree may substitute for 1 year experience. Preference will be given to candidates with Master's level training (may substitute for 2 years of experience) and experience with public health surveillance system requirements.

Must possess a valid level one fingerprint clearance card issued pursuant to A.R.S.41-1758.07 or must apply for a level one fingerprint clearance card within seven working days after beginning employment. You will be required to pay a $8.25 fee for fingerprint screening. If hired, you will be able to request reimbursement of the $8.25.

If this position requires driving or the use of a vehicle as an essential function of the job to conduct State business, then the following requirements apply: Driver’s License Requirements.

All newly hired State employees are subject to and must successfully complete the Electronic Employment Eligibility Verification Program (E-Verify).

The State of Arizona provides an excellent comprehensive benefits package including:
− Affordable medical and dental insurance plans
− Paid vacation and sick time
− Paid Parental Leave-Up to 12 weeks per year paid leave for newborn or newly-placed foster/adopted child (pilot program).
− 10 paid holidays per year
− Wellness program and plans
− Life insurance
− Short/long-term disability insurance
− Defined retirement plan
− Award winning Infant at Work program
− Credit union membership
− Transit subsidy
− ADHS Student Assistance Pilot Program

By providing the option of a full-time or part-time remote work schedule, employees enjoy improved work/life balance, report higher job satisfaction, and are more productive. Remote work is a management option and not an employee entitlement or right. An agency may terminate a remote work agreement at its discretion.

Learn more about the Paid Parental Leave pilot program here. For a complete list of benefits provided by The State of Arizona, please visit our benefits page

To help you build a financially secure future, the State makes monthly contributions to finance your retirement benefit. The State will contribute to the ASRS in an amount equal to your contribution. In other words, you and the State will each pay 50% of the total cost of the benefit. New State employees have a 27-week wait period for contributions to begin.

The State of Arizona is an Equal Opportunity/Reasonable Accommodation Employer. Persons with a disability may request a reasonable accommodation such as a sign language interpreter or an alternative format by calling (602) 542-1085. Requests should be made as early as possible to allow sufficient time to arrange the accommodation. DHS is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. All newly hired employees will be subject to E-Verify Employment Eligibility Verification.