CDC Fellowship for Evaluation of Rural Funding Impact

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• 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:  An evaluation research opportunity is currently available with the Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services (CSELS) within the National Center for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Public Health Infrastructure and Workforce within the Office of Rural Health and the Office of Data Reporting and Evaluation at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)located in Atlanta, Georgia. This appointment is remote or located in Atlanta, GA. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is one of the major operation components of the Department of Health and Human Services. CDC works to protect 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's National Center for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Public Health Infrastructure and Workforce provides effective and efficient delivery of public health infrastructure and workforce development services. 

Research Project: The National Initiative to Address COVID-19 Health Disparities Among Populations at High-Risk and Underserved, Including Racial and Ethnic Minority Populations and Rural Communities (OT21-2103) is a two-year $2.25 billion non-research grant focused on addressing COVID-19 related health disparities and advancing health equity by expanding state, local, US territorial, and freely associated state health department capacity and services. 

The intended grant outcomes are: 

• Reduce COVID-19 related health disparities 
• Improve and increase testing and contact tracing among populations at higher risk and that are underserved, including racial and ethnic minority groups and people living in rural communities 
• Improve state, local, and US territorial and freely associated state health department capacity and services to prevent and control COVID-19 infection (or transmission) among populations at higher risk and that are underserved, including racial and ethnic minority groups and people living in rural communities

Learn more about the grant here: https://www.cdc.gov/publichealthgateway/partnerships/COVID-19-Health-Disparities-OT21-2103.html

This appointment is a collaboration between the Office of Rural Health and the Office of Data Reporting and Evaluation in the National Center for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Public Health Infrastructure and Workforce. The research will focus on synthesizing feedback, analyses, and findings to understand the merit, worth, and significance of the first-of-its-kind at the agency, rural carve-out. The rural carve-out set aside funds awarded to states specifically to support activities and partnerships in support of rural communities. The participant will collaborate with partners inside and outside the CDC to understand how the rural carve-out was designed and used and to identify successes and lessons learned. The participant will have access to existing data for analyses and may have the opportunity to support primary data collection in collaboration with evaluation partners.  

Learning Objectives: 

• Collaborate across key partners to understand existing information on the rural carve-out and identify gaps in understanding. 
• Synthesize and align existing information to answer key questions about the rural carve-out. 
• Strategize across teams to prioritize, design, and carry-out best-fit methods and approaches to filling in gaps in understanding around the rural carve-out. 
• Develop a final narrative brief and other dissemination products (e.g., presentation, translation products, etc.).   

Mentor(s): The mentor for this opportunity is Kimberly Castelin (qec1@cdc.gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research please contact the mentor(s).

Anticipated Appointment Start Date: November 17, 2023. Start date is flexible and will depend on a variety of factors.

Appointment Length: The appointment will initially be for nine months, 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 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 ORISE.CDC.CSELS@orau.org and include the reference code for this opportunity.

The qualified candidate should have received a master's or doctoral degree in one of the relevant fields, or be currently pursuing one of the degrees with completion before September 29, 2023. Degree must have been received within the past five years.

Preferred skills:

• Experience in program evaluation 
• Experience designing or completing qualitative and quantitative analyses 
• Strong ability to apply data analysis principles across data types (e.g., primary and secondary data)  
• Subject matter expertise or strong research interest in health equity science and rural health 
• Exceptional oral and written communication skills, as well as an ability to facilitate collaboration and feedback

• Citizenship: U.S. Citizen Only
• Degree: Master's Degree or Doctoral Degree received within the last 60 months or anticipated to be received by 9/29/2023 12:00:00 AM.
• Discipline(s):
  • Life Health and Medical Sciences (9 )
  • Mathematics and Statistics (11 )
  • Social and Behavioral Sciences (24 )

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.)