This Individual Position is Exempt from the Hiring Freeze. Qualified Applicants are Encouraged To Apply.
Welcome to the Department of Health!
We’d be delighted to have you join our team.
If you envision yourself in this role and are ready to start an exciting career with us, apply today!
This position is open to Alaskan Residents only.
Please check out the residency definition to determine if you qualify.
This position will be filled at either the 1 or 2 level, depending on the applicant's qualifications and job experience.
What you will be doing:
If you’re driven to protect community health and ready to make a real impact, join the Environmental Public Health Program as the primary epidemiologist for Alaska’s Lead Surveillance Program, a comprehensive statewide blood lead surveillance program and targeted screening program to identify and control sources of lead exposure and assist in the medical management of patients with elevated blood lead levels (BLLs). As a Public Health Specialist 1, you’ll be on the front lines—collecting and managing lead exposure data, spotting trends, and supporting outreach that helps families understand and reduce lead risks. As a Public Health Specialist 2, you’ll take the lead by directing surveillance activities, analyzing data to pinpoint priority areas, and shaping public health responses when elevated lead levels are detected. In every role, you’ll collaborate with partners across Alaska, engage directly with families and communities, and drive prevention strategies that protect Alaskans. This is your opportunity to help safeguard health, reduce environmental risks, and make a meaningful difference statewide.
Our organization, mission, and culture:
As a member of the Environmental Public Health Program, you will contribute every day to improving the health of Alaskans and their families.
The Division of Public Health exemplifies these values:
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Accountability- We are committed to responsible use of human, financial, and environmental resources.
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Respect- We provide services without discrimination or judgment.
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Human potential- We are committed to developing each Alaskan’s potential as a healthy individual and fostering strong, healthy communities.
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Integrity- We are honest and ethical in all we do.
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Scientific Excellence- We are committed to advancing the body of scientific knowledge and to using the best available knowledge and data to inform public health policy.
The benefits of joining our team:
Expect a workplace where your contributions are recognized, your professional development is encouraged, and your career can flourish. You’ll also enjoy excellent benefits, flexible work options, generous leave accrual, and 12 paid holidays each year.
The working environment you can expect:
Located in the vibrant heart of Midtown, the Section of Epidemiology offices in the Frontier Building offer a unique blend of urban convenience and natural beauty, with shopping plazas, hotels, office buildings, eateries, pedestrian-friendly parks, and trail connections all nearby. The Frontier Building also provides stunning views of the Chugach Range, ample onsite and covered parking, and a walking track on top of the garage.
Who we are looking for:
The ideal candidate will possess some or all of the following position-specific competencies in addition to the minimum qualifications listed below:
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Computer Skills: Uses computers, software applications, databases, and automated systems to accomplish work.
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Stakeholder Management: Knowledge of the concepts, practices, and techniques used to identify, engage, influence, and monitor relationships with individuals and groups connected to a work effort; including those actively involved, those who exert influence over the process and its results, and those who have a vested interest in the outcome (positive or negative).
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Analytical Thinking/Problem Solving: Uses a logical, systematic, sequential approach to address problems or opportunities or manage a situation by drawing on one’s knowledge and experience base and calling on other references and resources as necessary.
Special Notice:
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This position occasionally requires travel to remote areas of the state, which may involve transportation by small planes, boat, or ATV.
To view the general description and example of duties for this job class, please go to the following link and search for Public Health Specialist 1 or 2: https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/Alaska/classspecs.
Competency-Based Minimum Qualifications Instructions
This job class uses competency-based minimum qualifications. Please ensure your application (through work history, volunteer experience (duties summary), training, education, licenses, certifications, etc.) supports how you have gained the knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviors (competencies) and that you possess the minimum required competencies for the job class.
Competency Description
The competency description(s) listed below have been designed to promote a common understanding of the essential elements of the job class. They highlight the more general and customary knowledge, skills, abilities (KSAs), tasks, and behaviors used to describe the competency. They typically list expectations rather than specific tasks and are to be used only as parameters and guidelines. A competency’s description is not intended to exclusively define every KSA, task, and behavior needed to successfully meet the competency, but rather to provide the manager/agency with a broad reference of options as to how an applicant can meet the job expectation.
Please ensure your application (through work history, training, education, licenses, certifications, etc.) supports/demonstrates that you possess the minimum required competencies for the job class.
Public Health Specialist 1:
Any combination of education and/or experience that provides the applicant with competencies in
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Oral and Written Communication: Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral and written presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately.
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Project Management: Knowledge of the principles, methods, or tools for developing, scheduling, coordinating, and managing projects and resources, including monitoring and inspecting costs, work, and contractor performance.
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Public Health: Applies knowledge of the concepts, principles, theories, methods, and tools associated with protecting and improving the health of people and their communities, including, promoting healthy lifestyles, researching disease and/or injury prevention, and/or detecting, preventing, and responding to infectious diseases.
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Research: Knowledge of the scientific principles, methods, and processes used to conduct a systematic and objective inquiry; including study design, collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; and the reporting of results.
Public Health Specialist 2:
Any combination of education and/or experience that provides the applicant with competencies in
Oral and Written Communication: Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral and written presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately.-
Project Management: Knowledge of the principles, methods, or tools for developing, scheduling, coordinating, and managing projects and resources, including monitoring and inspecting costs, work, and contractor performance.
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Public Health: Applies knowledge of the concepts, principles, theories, methods, and tools associated with protecting and improving the health of people and their communities, including, promoting healthy lifestyles, researching disease and/or injury prevention, and/or detecting, preventing, and responding to infectious diseases.
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Research: Knowledge of the scientific principles, methods, and processes used to conduct a systematic and objective inquiry; including study design, collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; and the reporting of results.
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Technical Competence: Uses knowledge that is acquired through formal training or extensive on-the-job experience to perform one's job; works with, understands, and evaluates technical information related to the job; advises others on technical issues.
Equivalent to those typically gained by:
Any combination of preparatory post-secondary education and/or professional level experience in public health, health administration, nursing, epidemiology, health sciences, health education, community health, emergency medical services, psychology, the social sciences, the biological sciences, social work, biostatistics/statistics, education, or a closely related field.
Special Note:
“Competencies” means a combination of interrelated knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviors that enable a person to act effectively in a job or situation.
“Typically gained by” means the prevalent, usual method of gaining the competencies expected for entry into the job.
“Training” and “education” in this guidance are synonyms for the process of acquiring knowledge and skills through instruction. It includes instruction through formal and informal methods (such as classroom, on-line, self-study, and on-the-job), from accredited and unaccredited sources, and long-duration (such as a post-secondary degree) and short-duration (such as a seminar) programs.
“Professional experience” means work that is creative, analytical, evaluative, and interpretive; requires a range and depth of specialized knowledge of the profession's principles, concepts, theories, and practices; and is performed with the power or right to decide or act according to one's own judgment.
Most positions may require expertise in a particular health specialty field. Recruitment and selection for these positions will be from among only those candidates who have the appropriate background and experience relevant to the specialty field defined in the predominant responsibilities of the position. The specialty areas include, but are not exclusively limited to: maternal, child, adolescent, and/or men's and women's health; birth defects; early childhood development and disabilities; emergency medical services and care; cardiopulmonary health; obesity and stroke prevention and mitigation; neurological development and disease; genetics and congenital diseases; audiology; human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/sexually transmitted disease (STD) surveillance, prevention, and control; tobacco, alcohol, and narcotics prevention and mitigation; health impact assessments; domestic violence and traumatic injury surveillance, prevention, and control; chronic disease and epidemiological surveillance and control; and related biostatistics.
The social sciences include anthropology, economics, sociology, history, political science, geography, psychology, and demography. The biological sciences include botany, biology, entomology, ecology, forestry, and zoology.
At the time of the interview, please provide the following:
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Email or bring a writing sample you authored that demonstrates your ability to communicate complex public health (or similar) information to a non-scientific or scientific audience. Please limit the length of the sample to no more than two pages.
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Three (3) professional references, whom we may contact by phone, are required. One (1) of these references must be your current or most recent supervisor, if not already provided in the application.
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Current performance evaluation, if available.
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A copy of academic transcripts (unofficial is okay; please ensure that the institution name/URL is listed on the transcripts) is used to support that you meet the minimum qualifications competencies.
If chosen for the position, the candidate will be required to provide the following items before employment:
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A copy of your current driver’s license.
Please read the information below carefully. This applies to your application submission.
SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONS
For your application to be evaluated, you must answer the Supplemental Questions. The State of Alaska uses four proficiency levels to measure and describe an applicant's competence in applying specific behaviors, knowledge, skills, and abilities to accomplish a specific task. The four proficiency levels are Mastery, Fluency, Literacy, and Discovery. You must rate your proficiency level for each competency listed in the supplemental questions.
FLEXIBLY STAFFED
This position is flexibly staffed. This vacancy may be filled at either the 1 or 2 levels, depending on the applicant's training and/or experience. The full range of salaries is listed above. The starting salary will be determined by the position level. If filled at a lower level, promotion to the higher level will only occur upon successful completion of the probationary period and the required training, provided the applicant meets the minimum qualifications of the higher job class and receives final approval from the supervisor.
EDUCATION
To verify education is being used to meet and/or support the required minimum qualifications/competencies, you must fill in the Education section of the application. If you have not obtained a degree, please indicate the number of units completed. Copies of transcripts are required to verify educational credentials used to meet or support the minimum qualifications/competencies for a position and are required with each application (Unofficial is okay; please ensure the institution/URL name is listed on the transcripts). Transcripts can be attached at the time of application or provided at the time of interview; if not, transcripts will be required before employment.
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR FOREIGN EDUCATION
If education is completed in a foreign college or university, it may be used to meet the above requirements, if applicable. If utilizing this education, you must show that the education credentials have been submitted to a private organization that specializes in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials and that such education has been deemed to be at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education programs or an accredited U.S. state university reports the other institution as one whose transcript is given full value, or full value is given in subject areas applicable to the curricula at the state university. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. The omission of the required documentation listed will result in an incomplete application, and you will not receive further consideration.
WORK EXPERIENCE
When using work experience not documented in your application, please provide the employer's name, job title, employment dates, and whether you worked full-time or part-time. Applications will be reviewed to determine if the responses are supported and if minimum qualifications are met. Work experience needed to meet the minimum qualifications must be documented in the application. If the application does not support minimum qualifications, the applicant may not advance to the interview and selection phase of the recruitment. A resume will not be used to determine that minimum qualifications have been met for the position you are applying for.
If you have currently or previously been appointed to a flexibly staffed position, please ensure your work experience within a flexibly staffed position indicates the actual dates employed at each level. Ensure your time and any subsequent flex promotion(s) are documented as a separate position. This is required as minimum qualifications require experience at a particular level in which the lower level may not be considered. If this information is not accurately reflected in your application, this may cause the processing of your application for consideration to be delayed.
NOTE: Attaching a resume or curriculum vitae is not an alternative to filling out the application. Noting "see resume or CV" or any similar response on any portion of your application may lead to a determination that your application is incomplete and removal from consideration for this job posting.
The State of Alaska does not provide VISA Employer sponsorships.
MULTIPLE VACANCIES
This recruitment may be used for more than one (1) vacancy. The applicant pool acquired during this recruitment may be used for future vacancies for up to ninety (90) days after this recruitment closes. Interested applicants are encouraged to apply to each recruitment notice to ensure consideration for all vacancies.
APPLICATION NOTICE
You can ONLY apply for this position through the Workplace Alaska website or via a hard copy application. If you accessed this recruitment bulletin through a job search portal such as AlaskaJobs or another database, you MUST use a Workplace Alaska online or hard-copy application to apply successfully. Instructions on how to apply with Workplace Alaska may be found on the Workplace Alaska "How to Apply" webpage, found here: http://doa.alaska.gov/dop/workplace/help/.
NOTICE
Questions regarding the application process can be directed to the Workplace Alaska hotline at 800-587-0430 (toll-free) or (907) 465- 4095. If you choose to be contacted by email, please ensure that your email address is correct on your application and that your spam filter will permit emails from the 'governmentjobs.com' domain. For information on allowing emails from the 'governmentjobs.com' domain, visit the Lost Password Help page at: https://www.governmentjobs.com/OnlineApplication/User/ResetPassword.
EEO STATEMENT
The State of Alaska complies with Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Individuals with disabilities who require accommodations, auxiliary aids, or services, or alternative communication formats, please call 1-800-587-4095 in Juneau or TTY: Alaska Relay 711 or 1-800-770-8973 or correspond with the Division of Personnel & Labor Relations at P.O. Box 110201, Juneau, AK 99811-0201. The State of Alaska is an equal-opportunity employer.
WORKPLACE ALASKA APPLICATION QUESTIONS & ASSISTANCE
Questions regarding application submission or system operation errors should be directed to the Workplace Alaska hotline at 1-800-587-0430 (toll-free) or (907) 465-4095 if you are in the Juneau area. Requests for information may also be emailed to
[email protected].
For assistance with applying for a password, please visit https://www.governmentjobs.com/OnlineApplication/User/ResetPassword.
For specific information in reference to the position, feel free to contact the hiring manager at:
Allison Natcher / Environmental Public Health Program Manager
(907) 269-8054
