The EPA Environmental Research and Business Support Program has an immediate opening for a part-time (up to 25 hours per week) EPA Statistical Analysis and Data Management Support Associate with the Office of Research and Development at the EPA facility in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

The Office of Research and Development at the EPA supports high-quality research to improve the scientific basis for decisions on national environmental issues and help EPA achieve its environmental goals. Research is conducted in a broad range of environmental areas by scientists in EPA laboratories and at universities across the country.

The Environmental Public Health Division (EPHD) within the Office of Research and Development (ORD) at EPA focuses on the adverse public health impacts of environmental exposures. The research focuses on understanding the human health effects of air and water pollutants and other environmental exposures.

The selected candidate shall assist a researcher in the Epidemiology Branch with analytical, management and administrative responsibilities and communication responsibilities required to support and maintain a robust research program, including the administration and management of large data sets.

Analytical responsibilities will include:

• Conducting statistical analyses for epidemiological research, such as time-series, cluster analysis, hierarchical modeling, longitudinal data analysis, causal modeling, multivariable regression models,
• Utilizing familiarity with both frequentist and Bayesian statistical methods, and
• Utilizing spatial statistical methods to develop maps and interactive graphics and conduct statistical spatial analyses.

Management and Administrative responsibilities will include:

• Managing  and documenting large datasets (for example, data sets with 1 million records, 5-10 gigabytes or more) to investigate associations between environmental exposures and adverse health outcomes,
• Developing data management plans, analysis plans and statistical design for epidemiological research,
• Conducting scientific literature searches (for example, Medline, Google Scholar, etc.) and organizing results from the searches,
• Extracting, formatting,  cleaning, linking, merging, documenting and managing large complex databases from both environmental and health platforms,
• Assisting with quality assurance  documentation and assessments  of data acquired from non-EPA sources, including internal consistency, agreement with historical data and with well-established scientific knowledge, evaluation of out-of-range or extreme values; conformity to approved protocols; and the completeness of the accompanying written documentation,
• Organizing electronic and hardcopy records and files, and
• Researching and summarizing information relating to environmental quality and health outcomes.

Communications-related responsibilities shall include:

• Assisting in the logistics and coordination activities for briefings, meetings, workshops, and other collaborative efforts,
• Maintaining records of meetings, correspondence, and action documents, and maintaining a system to track projects in progress. Assisting the team in developing oral presentations results and impacts using graphics and other interactive formats,
• Assisting in developing summary analysis documents of results and impacts from data analyses,
• Assisting in writing study results in manuscripts, presentations, and fact sheets, and
• Creating abstracts for scientific meetings and present work at meetings.

Location: This job will be located at the EPA facility in Chapel Hill, NC.

Salary: Selected applicants will become temporary employees of ORAU and will receive an hourly wage of $27.31 for hours worked.

Travel: Occasional overnight travel may be required.

Expected Start Date: The position is part-time up to 25 hours per week and expected to begin April 2016. The selected applicant will be a temporary employee of ORAU working as a contractor to EPA. The initial project is through May 14, 2016, followed by up to four (4) additional 12-month optional periods.

Working Conditions 

The selected candidate shall follow the EPHD Quality Management Plan (QMP-NHEERL/EPHD/2009-01- r0 of 6/1/2009) and all applicable Intramural Research Protocols / QA Project Plans documents for each individual research project.

The selected candidate shall be supervised by a mentor who will provide day-to-day direction, as well as coach, advise and counsel the student, and review the student contractor’s work. 

This position will involve work in an administrative setting and is not expected to involve exposure to hazardous elements.

For more information, contact EPAjobs@orau.org. Do not contact EPA directly.

Eligible applicants must:

• Be at least 18 years of age and

• Have earned a Master’s degree in one of the following disciplines: Epidemiology, Environmental Sciences, Public Health, Statistics, Social Sciences, Biostatistics, Mathematics, or closely related field from an accredited university or college within the last 24 months and
• Be a citizen of the United States of America or a Legal Permanent Resident.

EPA ORD employees, their spouses, and children are not eligible to participate in this program.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Work Experience, and Education

The applicant shall:

• Have completed graduate coursework in statistics, biostatistics, and epidemiology,
• Have demonstrated education and/or experience in epidemiologic and statistical methods  including experience with time-series, cluster analysis, hierarchical modeling, longitudinal data analysis, causal modeling, multivariable regression with an emphasis on large datasets (for example, data sets with 1 million records, 5-10 gigabytes or more),
• Have demonstrated leadership skills and have experience working in teams,
• Have proficiency with advanced statistical analyses and programing using R (preferred), SAS, or Stata,
• Have proficiency in working with databases in extracting, cleaning, and statistical analyses (Python preferred),
• Have proficiency in conducting literature searches,
• Have experience conducting spatial statistical analysis in ArcGIS and/or R, and
• Have strong communication skills (i.e., written, oral, presentation abilities).

How to apply:

Submit application and supporting documents by clicking on Apply Now button.

For more information, contact EPAjobs@orau.org. Do not contact EPA directly.

• Citizenship: LPR or U.S. Citizen
• Degree: Master's Degree or Doctoral Degree received within the last 24 month(s).
• Discipline(s):
  • Communications and Graphics Design (1 )
  • Earth and Geosciences (21 )
  • Environmental and Marine Sciences (14 )
  • Life Health and Medical Sciences (45 )
  • Mathematics and Statistics (10 )
  • Other Non-Science & Engineering (5 )
  • Social and Behavioral Sciences (28 )

I certify that I am at least 18 years of age; a recent graduate with a Master’s degree in one of the following disciplines: Epidemiology, Environmental Sciences, Public Health, Statistics, Social Sciences, Biostatistics, Mathematics, or closely related field from an accredited university or college within the last 24 months; and not a current employee of EPA ORD or the spouse or child of an EPA ORD employee.