CDC Policy and Communications Fellowship
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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.
*Applications will be reviewed on a rolling-basis.
CDC Office and Location: A research opportunity is currently available with the Policy and Communications Office (PCO) of the Division of State and Local Readiness (DSLR) within the Center for Preparedness and Response (CPR) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) located in Atlanta, Georgia.
DSLR supports state, local, tribal, and territorial health departments in preparing to respond to disasters. PCO manages and operates policy and communications functions for the division and works with all branches within the division to accomplish all components of Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) cooperative agreement, CDC's largest domestic grant program. The PHEP program, managed by DSLR, is a critical source of funding and guidance for state, local, and territorial public health departments. Since 2002, the PHEP cooperative agreement has provided assistance to public health departments across the nation. This helps health departments build and strengthen their abilities to effectively respond to a range of public health threats including infectious diseases, natural disasters, and biological, chemical, nuclear, and radiological events.
Research Project: PCO is seeking a fellow who is passionate about public health, interested in learning about emergency management practice, and curious about how the two are linked to protect the well-being of people and communities. During this appointment, the participant will have the opportunity to train under the guidance of the mentor how to review PHEP program data, including PHEP funding application data, operational readiness review (ORR) data, and preparedness field staff data.
Learning Objectives:
- Learn to develop summary reports and success stories to show impact of the program
- Receive training in the coordination of content on the CDC state and local readiness web pages
- Learn to use web metrics and customer survey data to ensure content is up to date, relevant, and of interest to the website visitors
In addition, the fellow will have the opportunity to learn about public health preparedness and response operations through hands on engagement, shadowing, and mentorship by a cadre of highly experienced response professionals. Preparedness and response is a far reaching discipline and the fellow will gain exposure to a variety of content areas such as CDC partner engagement, internal and external communications, and review of emergency response plans.
DSLR is an exciting, fast-paced working environment and the PCO team values and promotes cohesive teamwork, technical diversity, resourcefulness, proactive collaboration, and programmatic and professional excellence. This fellowship will offer an opportunity to further develop and apply technical skills, as well as learn about public health policy and communications through hand-on, practical experience.
Mentor(s): The mentors for this opportunity are Linda Tierney (fvi8@cdc.gov), Allyson Brown (ajj2@cdc.gov) and Celia Toles (crt3@cdc.gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research please contact the mentor(s).
Anticipated Appointment Start Date: January 2022. 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: The participant will receive a monthly stipend commensurate with educational level and experience.
Citizenship Requirements: This opportunity is available to U.S. citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR) 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.
Questions: Please visit our Program Website. After reading, if you have additional questions about the application process please email ORISE.CDC.CPR@orau.org and include the reference code for this opportunity.
The qualified candidate should have received a master's degree in one of the relevant fields, or be currently pursuing the degree with completion by the end of December 2021. Degree must have been received within five years of the appointment start date.
Preferred skills:
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Strong working knowledge of the MS Office suite of programs, including SharePoint and Excel
- Working knowledge of one or more virtual communications applications such as Zoom, MS Teams, Skype for Business
- Interest and experience in public health communications
- Experience in crafting effective massaging and communications products
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