Public Health Economist

The Office of Policy and Planning (OPP) promotes public health policy priorities and supports CDPH capabilities for community health improvement, informed policy development, research and analysis, integrated planning, decision intelligence, lean transformation, and grants management.  The OPP leads comprehensive assessment, long term strategic and health improvement planning to address current and emerging cross-cutting public health and equity priorities, conducts policy analysis, monitoring and impact evaluation, cultivates partnerships with health systems, academic partners and other sectors; facilitates accountability for effective and efficient public health infrastructure funding, supports organizational capacity building to foster a culture that encourages learning continuous improvement, and empowerment of CDPH staff.

The Research Scientist IV (RS IV) will:

• Serve as the Public Health Economist (PHE),
• Collaborate with CDPH Centers/Offices/Divisions and partners to conduct and support public health economic and regulatory impact analyses including cost effectiveness analysis, cost benefit analysis, budget- and priority-setting research, and return on investment analysis,
• Work as part of a transdisciplinary team to inform and enhance public health strategic and policy decisions, resource allocations, and policy opportunities, and to communicate public health impact and accountability,
• Provide leadership and support around data collection, analysis and interpretation for community health assessment and programmatic evaluations,
• Leverage community knowledge to inform health and equity priorities and promote equitable data use and dissemination,
• Provide technical assistance and expertise on economic analyses for policy making and evaluation, health improvement measurement, progress monitoring, and developing and managing data products including data dashboards, research briefs, and publications,
• Provide technical assistance to state staff, contractor(s), and local health jurisdictions on economic analyses for policy making and evaluation, health improvement measurement, progress monitoring, and continuous quality improvement, and
• Collaborate with CDPH partners to develop, implement, refine, and evaluate various program components; monitor program activities for compliance with objectives; and coordinate issues vital to the health economics of programs.

Desirable Qualifications

In addition to evaluating each candidate's relative ability, as demonstrated by quality and breadth of experience, the following factors will provide the basis for competitively evaluating each candidate:

• Demonstrated experience in health and human service programs, informing and implementing program and research evaluation models and methods of social, behavioral, and economic sciences to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of health policies and programs and develop evidence-based interventions that improve health outcomes and reduce public health or healthcare costs.
• Expertise in SQL and statistical/computing software (e.g., R, SAS, STATA); proficient in population health analytic methods including complex survey analysis and predictive analytics; and experience with GIS (e.g. ArcGIS), general coding (e.g. python), or cloud data management and productivity (e.g.  Snowflake, Databricks).
• Leading alignment and coordination, project management, and organization of complex projects.
• Experience with public health and related data systems such as vital records, health care administrative datasets, Census/demographic data sources, and health surveys.
• Facilitating collaborative efforts and using economic principles to identify strategies and support shared projects across organizations – on public health and equity related issues.

How To Apply

Complete Application Packages (including your Examination/Employment Application (STD 678) and applicable or required documents) must be submitted to apply for this Job Posting. Application Packages may be submitted electronically through your CalCareer Account at www.CalCareers.ca.gov. When submitting your application in hard copy, a completed copy of the Application Package listing must be included

At the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), equity, diversity, and inclusion are at the core of our mission to advance the health and well-being of California’s diverse people and communities. We are genuinely and strongly committed to cultivating and preserving a culture of inclusion and connectedness where we can grow and learn together with a diverse team of employees. In recruiting for team members, we welcome the unique contributions that you can bring to us and the work we do.