Research and Evaluation Director, Get Healthy Philly

Posted by City of Philadelphia on June 8, 2015

Research and Evaluation Director
Division of Chronic Disease Prevention
Philadelphia Department of Public Health
http://www.phila.gov/health
http://www.phila.gov/gethealthyphilly

Summary
The Philadelphia Department of Public Health (PDPH) seeks an experienced, skilled professional to lead the planning, management, and implementation of research, evaluation, and surveillance activities for the Division of Chronic Disease Prevention, whose initiatives are collectively known as Get Healthy Philly.

The Research and Evaluation Director supervises two analysts who conduct quantitative, qualitative, and geospatial analyses. The position reports to the Division Director, Chronic Disease Prevention, and works closely with three program managers and their staff. Get Healthy Philly works with partners inside and outside of government to promote transformational change in schools, communities, workplaces, health care settings, and the media and the policy environments with a focus on tobacco control, healthy eating, and active living. Get Healthy Philly’s goals are to reduce smoking among youth and adults, promote tobacco-free environments, improve access to and affordability of healthy foods, create opportunities for physical activity, and prevent and help manage tobacco- and obesity-related health conditions. The Division has approximately 30 staff and an annual budget of $6.5 million.

Specific responsibilities
 Develops and implements an integrated evaluation plan for chronic disease prevention, including tobacco control, nutrition & physical activity, and clinical systems change efforts; assesses effectiveness of programmatic and policy interventions; conducts public health surveillance.
 Coordinates evaluation plan implementation with analytic staff and program managers internally, with other units within the Department of Public Health, and with other city departments, academic institutions, and state and federal agencies externally.
 Identifies and fosters relationships with external evaluation partners (particularly
academic institutions); negotiates and manages evaluation contracts, including budgets
and deliverables.
 Supervises and provides technical and administrative direction to two analytic staff;
reviews and validates data analysis done by staff to ensure consistency and quality of
data.
 Works with analytic and program staff to develop products of evaluation, including
reports, data briefs, presentations, and manuscripts; synthesizes key findings from the
surveillance systems and determines evidence-based interventions for use by policy
makers; communicates findings of surveillance to multiple audiences; analyzes data independently and interprets findings to inform program and policy development;
monitors progress with policy, systems, and environmental change in terms of reach
and impact.
 Advises Division Director and Program Managers on scientific issues related to chronic disease prevention and management.
 Determines available and appropriate data sources; develops and/or maintains
databases for surveillance and program evaluation purposes; makes recommendations
for creation of new or revision of current surveillance systems and data collection to
improve program effectiveness.
 Establishes and maintains data sharing protocols and systems based on applicable
regulations and policies; coordinates all necessary human subjects review prior to
initiation of evaluation activities; ensures investigations, data collection, data user
agreements and data dissemination follow ethical/legal principles.
 Supports writing of programmatic grant applications; seeks out and pursues funding
specifically to support evaluation activities.
 Assists with grant-related reporting.
 Collaborates with research and evaluation staff across the Department of Public Health on cross-functional projects.
 Performs related work as required.

Required knowledge, skills, and abilities
Knowledge
 Public health principles; chronic disease epidemiology; public health surveillance
systems
 Quantitative, qualitative, and spatial analytic methodologies, including descriptive and inferential approaches, modeling, and policy evaluation
 Human subjects protection rules and regulations; Institutional Review Board submission procedures and processes
 Rules and regulations to protect confidentiality of personal health information
 Development and maintenance of relational databases

Skills
 Designing and conducting epidemiological investigations
 Using advanced statistical software packages to conduct data analysis (SAS [preferred], STATA, SPSS)
 Using ArcGIS and other spatial analytic tools
 Developing and managing databases effectively to support surveillance and
investigation practices
 Planning, writing, and overseeing research/evaluation grants

Abilities
 Recruiting, supervising, and leading a diverse team of evaluation staff
 Developing and implementing comprehensive evaluation plans through subordinate
staff, cross-division collaborations, and contracted evaluation partners
 Integrating chronic disease research and evaluation expertise into program planning and implementation
 Managing contracts, including the development of budgets and scopes of work to
achieve deliverables
 Developing and maintaining relationships with non-profit and academic partners
 Using and managing evaluation resources efficiently
 Communicating findings of evaluation orally and in writing to audiences with varied
expertise
 Publishing in peer-reviewed journals and presenting at national scientific conferences

Education and experience
 Completion of a Doctoral degree from an accredited college or university in
Epidemiology, Biostatistics, Public Health or a related field.
 Three years of experience planning, managing, and implementing public health
surveillance, data analysis, and program evaluation activities, preferably for a local,
state, or federal agency.

Salary
 Based on training and experience

Residency requirement
 Must establish his or her bona fide residence in Philadelphia within six (6) months of his or her appointment, and must thereafter maintain bona fide residence in Philadelphia.

QUALIFIED APPLICANTS: If you are interested in applying for this position, please email a cover letter and CV to Giridhar Mallya, MD, MSHP, Philadelphia Department of Public Health, via Health Commissioner’s Office Representative, Samuel.Kessler@phila.gov.