BIOLOGICAL SCIENTIST IV - 64086100

Requisition No: 841670 

Agency: Department of Health

Working Title: BIOLOGICAL SCIENTIST IV - 64086100

 Pay Plan: Career Service

Position Number: 64086100 

Salary:  $49,000.00-$52,000.00 

Posting Closing Date: 12/20/2024 

Total Compensation Estimator Tool

Job posting category – Open Competitive

 

Your Specific Responsibilities:

This is a combined position with both bioterrorism surveillance, including active maintenance and participation in the Florida Department of Health in Miami-Dade (DOH – Miami-Dade)-led BioWatch Program, and infectious disease case and outbreak investigation.  This position is responsible for coordinating all events in which the BioWatch program is involved.  This position is also responsible for planning, developing, and implementing activities associated with the BioWatch program and its participation in partnership initiatives, projects and events.  Incumbent will follow Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and information security regulations to ensure confidentiality and privacy of the client health information. Incumbent will establish good rapport with staff and clients and provide positive customer service. Incumbent is expected to adhere to established Health Department policies and procedures.

 

Schedules, coordinates, and organizes BioWatch Advisory Committee (BAC) quarterly meetings, assuring notification to all members, and seeking their active participation.  Incumbent will record meetings as a mechanism for faithful transcription of deliberations and decisions made during the meeting.  Responsible for scheduling, coordinating, and organizing BAC subcommittee meetings, creating subsequent minutes.  Performing all BioWatch-related work consistent with the role of DOH – Miami-Dade in the program, as assigned by the Bio-Terrorism Surveillance Coordinator as the position’s direct supervisor; this includes attendance to bioterrorism response training both planned and sponsored by DOH and with BioWatch partners, collaborating with BioWatch partners in planning and executing BioWatch-related training and exercises, and attending calls and invitations from the DOH – Miami-Dade Public Health Preparedness Program to sit in meetings and coordinate bioterrorism response activities.

 

Participates in conducting epidemiologic outbreak investigations by interviewing patients, health-care providers, and others involved; and assisting in collecting data from local agencies or other health entities. Performs analyses by using statistical techniques commonly employed in epidemiologic evaluations to interpret and analyze observed health phenomena. Uses surveillance systems to collect disease or health outcome data. Provides standard recommendations to facilities and providers reporting outbreaks of infectious diseases.  Reports cases in a timely manner in the Merlin DOH Reporting System.

 

Assists the Regional/local Foodborne and Waterborne Epidemiologist in conducting assessments and epidemiological investigations of Legionnaire’s Disease, including environmental sampling and specimen preparation for shipment to testing laboratories, writing final reports, and communication of results and conclusions to facility administrators/directors.

 

Performs epidemiologic investigations of reportable diseases that have been assigned to the position, utilizing established scientific and technical methods and practices to identify causes and provide recommendations for their prevention and control.  Identifies cases of reportable conditions and collect necessary demographic and clinical data from hospitals and laboratories and conduct personal and/or telephone interviews of patients who are reported with communicable diseases.  Participates in outbreak investigations, regardless of the disease involved in the outbreak.

 

Incumbent is tasked with developing online courses on Category A-bio-terrorism agents, mirroring the one(s) already existing at the CDC. 

 

Prepare standard operating procedures (SOP) for Bioterrorism Diseases, including flow charts and presentations, and reports as required by the program.  Prepares and delivers a presentation to the surveillance staff and other audiences, of the designed protocols.  Participates in the design and delivery of bioterrorism agent training courses for the DOH – Miami-Dade staff.

 

Manage the Bio-Watch portal and database as instructed by the supervisor, following guidel