Salary Range: $108,147-$155,461/year. The starting salary for this position would be determined with consideration of the successful candidate’s relevant education and experience, and would be in alignment with the provincial compensation reference plan. Salary will be prorated accordingly for part time roles.

Job Summary:

In accordance with the Purpose, Vision, Values and Coast Salish Teachings, and strategic directions of PHSA, safety, including both patient and employee safety, is a priority and a responsibility shared by everyone at PHSA. As such, the requirement to continuously improve quality and safety is inherent in all aspects of this position.

The Senior Epidemiologist, Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC) reports to the Director, and is a leader, innovator, knowledge translator and change agent accountable for promoting excellence in surveillance and epidemiological methods. The Senior Epidemiologist is a key and active member of the IPAC leadership team, plays a vital role in program coordination, team management, and partner engagement and is responsible for leading the establishment, maintenance, and analysis of PHSA IPAC surveillance systems. The role evaluates the IPAC surveillance program, disseminates findings through bulletins, reports, dashboards, and presentations, analyzes data for quality improvement and recommends updates to PHSA IPAC policy, impacting both organizational and provincial/federal levels.

The Senior Epidemiologist is an advanced practitioner that works as an independent specialist and as part of multi-disciplinary teams, responsible for healthcare acquired infections and infection prevention and control process measure surveillance, with a specific focus on organization surveillance standardization, surveillance/analytic system development, education, and research. The Senior Epidemiologist is responsible for monitoring and reporting of healthcare associated infections (HAI), IPAC process measures, applicable communicable disease data monitoring, outbreak investigation within all PHSA Clinical Service Delivery (CSD) programs. Other responsibilities include outbreak, HAI incidence investigation and intervention; development and monitoring of various quality improvement initiatives, consultation with expert knowledge to a broad range of partners including IPAC internal partners within CSD portfolios, as well as external partners in regional health authorities, other provincial and national partners, and health professionals.

Duties/Accountabilities:

• Provides leadership and strategic guidance on the development, implementation, and evaluation of PHSA IPAC surveillance systems, emerging issues and epidemiologic analyses, and management of the processes and resources to achieve deliverables and outcomes.
• In collaboration with the IPAC team, including IPAC Practitioners, IPAC MDs and IPAC Managers, plans and implements a comprehensive surveillance program:
  • Develops IPAC surveillance protocols and key performance indicators for IPAC CSD programs and IPAC initiatives.
  • Identifies common and specific surveillance needs of all PHSA programs and services including Clinical Service Delivery portfolios (Children’s and Women’s Health Centre, BC Cancer Agency, BCCDC, BCEHS, BCMHSUS and other programs as required); and
  • Develops and implements cost effective surveillance protocols and data management strategies through development of automated PHSA IPAC surveillance systems.
• Supports data collection, data analysis, data interpretation and dissemination to internal and external partners.
• Communicates surveillance and process measure data to members of the IPAC Leadership team and other partners (e.g. CSD Programs’ leaders, PHSA Data Analytics Team, Ministry of Health, and Provincial Infection Control Network of BC (PICNet)).
• Participates in the investigation and control of infectious disease clusters and outbreaks.
• Contributes and prepares the IPAC surveillance reports, in collaboration with other key IPAC subject matter contributors.
• Critically analyzes incidences of HAIs, communicable disease, clusters and outbreaks, and IPAC process measure indicators, utilizing comprehensive multi-layered understanding of epidemiology, public health and health care systems.
• Promotes evidenced-based practice and shares knowledge about current research and literature including novel practices in IPAC healthcare surveillance, and advanced surveillance and epidemiological methods. Establishes opportunities to support staff in implementing evidence-based practice. Promotes and advances best practice through leadership, teaching, publications, presentations, and conferences.
• Scans the environment and the literature to identify emerging practice trends and challenges. Develops and implements strategies to integrate novel surveillance and analytic approaches as well as strategies to mitigate challenges affecting surveillance.
• Leads and manages complex and innovative projects and initiatives and engages all disciplines to find solutions. Retains relevant epidemiological, analytic and surveillance expertise.
• Guides the development, implementation, and utilization of PHSA IPAC surveillance information to inform IPAC quality improvement priorities, programs, and policies across the organization via the use of evaluation methodologies and effective knowledge translation approaches.
• Works closely with the PHSA internal and external partners to facilitate the development and implementation of data integration and visualization methods for various surveillance initiatives.
• Provides coaching and mentorship for IPAC team members in relation to surveillance initiatives. Provides oversight on the day-to-day activities of direct reports.
• Guides the analytic and methodologic development of IPAC surveillance team members and monitors and documents analytical approaches across the organization.
• Builds effective relationships with internal and external partners and negotiates and participates in cross-health authority and provincial collaboration. This includes collaboration with PHSA partners, other BC Health Authorities, BC Ministry of Health, First Nations Health Authority, Public Health Agency of Canada, clinicians, and other IPAC practitioners.
  
  

Qualifications:

• A level of education, training and experience equivalent to a Masters or PhD Degree in Public Health, Epidemiology, or a related field.  A minimum of five (5) years of recent, related direct experience working with national/provincial/regional surveillance systems and surveillance data, outbreak investigation, protocol development for applied research, data analysis, and report writing.
• Experience with oversight of an analytic team that works with epidemiologic or surveillance data.
• Excellent quantitative analysis skills.
• Qualitative expertise an asset. Solid understanding of acute healthcare policy and programs.
• Demonstrated knowledge and competence of epidemiological methodologies and statistical analysis.
• Knowledge of infection control, public or population health surveillance standards and methods.
• Demonstrated understanding of surveillance, research, and outbreak/cluster investigation within infection control and public or population health.
• Proficiency of software applications at an advanced level to perform statistical analysis.
• Demonstrated ability to manage, evaluate and supervise staff.
• Demonstrated leadership through teaching, dissemination of research and mentoring.
• Strong facilitation skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication and leadership skills with proven knowledge translation/dissemination skills.
• A strong ability to engage and collaborate with a variety of partners while navigating politics.
• Demonstrated knowledge of the Provincial and Federal health system.
• Ability to work independently and as an effective member of an interdisciplinary team.
• Strong problem-solving skills within a complex challenging environment and across the health care system.
• Ability and experience in designing, implementing, and conducting studies, their interpretation, written reporting, and publication.
• Demonstrated statistical analysis skills, including disease mapping and analysis and recognition of disease clustering.
• Excellent computer skills with proficiency in maintaining large databases of statistical and analytical software (i.e. Redcap, Tableau, MS Power BI, EMR systems).
• Effective interpersonal skills, mature judgment, and flexibility.
• Ability to use a variety of statistical software tools and proficiency with Microsoft Office applications.