To submit your application, scroll to the bottom of this opportunity and click APPLY.

A complete application consists of:

• An application
• Transcripts – Click here for detailed information about acceptable transcripts
• A current resume/CV, including academic history, employment history, relevant experiences, and publication list
• One educational or professional recommendation. Your application will be considered incomplete, and will not be reviewed until one recommendation is submitted.

All documents must be in English or include an official English translation.

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*Applications will be reviewed on a rolling-basis.

CDC Office and Location: One evaluation and research opportunity is available with the Partnerships and Performance Improvement Branch (PPIB), Division of Partnership Support (DPS) within the National Center for STLT Public Health Infrastructure and Workforce (PHIC), located at Atlanta, Georgia.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is one of the major operation components of the Department of Health and Human Services. CDC protects America from health, safety and security threats, both foreign and in the U.S. Whether diseases start at home or abroad, are chronic or acute, curable or preventable, human error or deliberate attack, CDC fights disease and supports communities and citizens to do the same. CDC increases the health security of our nation. As the nation’s health protection agency, CDC saves lives and protects people from health threats. To accomplish its mission, CDC conducts important science and provides health information that protects our nation against expensive and dangerous health threats, and responds when these arise.

The DPS leverages partnerships to support CDC in developing the capacity of the public health system and state, tribal, local, and territorial (STLT) departments of health to sustain and strengthen public health foundational, infrastructure, and workforce capabilities.  PPIB leverages partnerships toward innovative systems improvement and enhances quality and performance of STLT health departments. 

Research Project: This opportunity focuses on evaluation, performance improvement assessments, and implementation of capacity building projects related to the Branch’s mission to leverage partnerships that improve the performance of public health systems. 

You will be mentored by senior evaluation staff and PPIB leadership, focusing on evaluating projects, processes, and activities across the branch. You will learn about public health performance improvement, supporting PPIB projects with national partners, assessing the national voluntary accreditation program for public health departments using novel approaches to measure impact, and may help in developing a partnership map.

Learning Objectives: Under the guidance of a mentor, you will: 

• Strengthen skills in performance measurement and applied evaluation by training in design and implementation of evaluation frameworks for cross-cutting and complex public health programs.
• Develop skills in providing proactive and responsive consultation on evaluation design, methods, and use across PPIB performance improvement projects. This includes gaining exposure to the evaluation of collaborative activities with partners, strategy implementation, and programs aimed at advancing public health performance improvement in state, tribal, local, and territorial health departments. 
• Gain experience with accreditation evaluation and data management efforts by helping build and analyze datasets on accreditation outcomes and organizational capacity, while developing skills in synthesizing findings into clear, audience-ready products like reports, briefs, and presentations.
• Gain exposure to innovative tools and practices and develop skills in partnership mapping and leveraging artificial intelligence to support evaluation, data analysis, and organizational improvement.
• Build collaboration and scientific communication skills through participation in multidisciplinary discussions, partner engagements  and professional meetings.  

Mentor(s): The mentor for this opportunity is Katherine Ong (ylz4@cdc.gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research please contact the mentor(s).

Anticipated Appointment Start Date: September 2026. Start date is flexible and will depend on a variety of factors.

Appointment Length: The appointment will initially be for one year, but may be renewed upon recommendation of CDC and is contingent on the availability of funds.

Level of Participation: The appointment is full time.

Participant Stipend: Stipend rates may vary based on numerous factors, including opportunity, location, education, and experience. If you are interviewed, you can inquire about the exact stipend rate at that time and if selected, your appointment offer will include the monthly stipend rate.

Citizenship Requirements: This opportunity is available to U.S. citizens only.

ORISE Information: This program, administered by ORAU through its contract with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to manage the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), was established through an interagency agreement between DOE and CDC. Participants do not become employees of CDC, DOE or the program administrator, and there are no employment-related benefits. Proof of health insurance is required for participation in this program. Health insurance can be obtained through ORISE.

The successful applicant(s) will be required to comply with Environmental, Safety and Health (ES&H) requirements of the hosting facility, including but not limited to, COVID-19 requirements (e.g. facial covering, physical distancing, testing, vaccination).

Questions: Please visit our Program Website. After reading, if you have additional questions about the application process please email CDCrpp@orau.org and include the reference code for this opportunity.

The qualified candidate should have received a master's or doctoral degree in the one of the relevant fields. Degree must have been received within the past five years.

Preferred skills:

• Skills in program evaluation (performance monitoring, evaluation planning and design), project management, implementation of science-based data collection activities (qualitative and quantitative), and data analysis.
• Strong science communication skills, both written and oral.
• Experience in logic modeling, synthesizing scientific evidence, and supporting the development of research and data collection tools is desirable.  
• Ability to collaborate with other scientific and professional staff

• Citizenship: U.S. Citizen Only
• Degree: Master's Degree or Doctoral Degree received within the last 60 month(s).
• Discipline(s):
  • Communications and Graphics Design (2 )
  • Computer, Information, and Data Sciences (1 )
  • Life Health and Medical Sciences (15 )
  • Mathematics and Statistics (3 )
  • Social and Behavioral Sciences (15 )

I certify that I have not previously been employed by CDC or by a contractor working directly for CDC.  I understand that CDC does not permit individuals with a prior employment relationship with CDC or its contractors to participate as trainees in the ORISE program. (Exceptions may be granted for individuals who, since the previous CDC employment, have obtained a new STEM degree which necessitates training in a new field.)