Public Health Investigator - Communicable Disease

Overview

Public Health Investigator - Communicable Disease

“Follow Your Calling, Find Your Career”

This is an exempt (salaried) position. Pay ranges are based on education, skill, experience level and internal equity. Internal equity considerations include an assessment of the applicant’s salary history and qualifications in comparison to the market rate and requirements for the job.

This role is on-site 5 days a week.

Mecklenburg County Public Health offers opportunities to build a career with support, an inclusive culture, and technology to help you grow. We aim to improve the health of our community and encourage diverse voices and perspectives in our work.

As a member of the Mecklenburg County Public Health team, you will become a subject matter expert in the public health field. Public health is the science of protecting and improving the health of people and their communities, including promoting healthy lifestyles, researching disease prevention, detecting and responding to infectious diseases.

Our vision is to assure the health and safety of our diverse and changing community today and for future generations.

Perform duties related to controlling the spread of public health risks within Mecklenburg County. The position, as the subject matter expert, is responsible for conducting personal interviews to obtain case-related information; educating clients, community members, and partners regarding disease processes, treatment, prevention, and legal requirements; and analyzing epidemiological information to determine the need and priority for follow-up activities.

• Provide education and counseling surrounding communicable disease control and prevention to callers and in group settings
• Monitor and investigate occurrences of rabies and other zoonotic diseases in Mecklenburg County and the surrounding areas
• Receive reports and referrals from Charlotte Police Department Animal Care and Control, local animal control agencies, area physicians, and veterinarians to conduct bite assessments
• Monitor and evaluate mandated animal quarantine occurrences for compliance and symptoms
• Provide expertise as it pertains to zoonotic investigations
• Relay current information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and State/Federal agencies on zoonotic diseases
• Evaluate reports and assessments to determine exposure risks
• Determine appropriateness of specimens to be submitted to the State Laboratory of Public Health
• Provide consultation to physicians and ER staff on rabies reporting and assessment
• Plan and implement rabies vaccine clinics in collaboration with animal control agencies
• Community engagement and outreach

Experience: Minimum of two years of related public health experience.

Education: Bachelor’s degree in Public Health or related field.

Combination of relevant education and relevant experience accepted?: Yes

• Requires a valid North Carolina or South Carolina Driver’s License
• Requires County Driving Privileges

Knowledge of

• Principles and practices of public health
• Local resources and services
• Communicable disease concepts
• Person-centered planning skills
• Client interviewing, disease management, and client-centered counseling
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Basic computer programs, word processing, and data entry, and job-specific software
• Establish rapport and effective communication with culturally diverse populations

Abilities

• Applied Learning:
  Assimilating and applying new job-related information in a timely manner
• Collaboration:
  
  Working effectively and cooperatively with others; establishing and maintaining good working relationships
• Communication:
  Clearly conveying information and ideas to engage and inform
• Leveraging Diversity:
  Working effectively with diverse cultures and backgrounds
• Patient Education/Health Promotion:
  Supporting and instructing patients and families
• Patient Relations:
  Meeting patient and family needs and ensuring safety and satisfaction
• Safety Intervention:
  Identifying and addressing health and safety hazards in crisis situations

• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

This is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of job-related responsibilities, duties, skills, requirements, or working conditions. Other duties may be assigned based on business need. Mecklenburg County reserves the right to revise the job description at any time. Designated positions may be required to assist in emergency and/or disaster situations.