Public Health Laboratory Surveillance and Outbreak Coordinator

Job Title:	PUBLIC HEALTH LABORATORY SURVEILLANCE AND OUTBREAK COORDINATOR
Requisition #:	175986
Job Location:	Canada-British Columbia-Vancouver
Department:	ComSS Pr Lab General
Job Type:	Regular, Full Time
Start Date of Employment:	16-Dec-2024
Posting Date:	25-Nov-2024
Work Days:	Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri,
Hours of Work:	0830-1630
Work Site:	655 West 12th Avenue, Vancouver

Job Summary: In accordance with the Purpose, Vision, Values and Coast Salish Teachings, and strategic directions of PHSA, safety, including both patient and employee safety, is a priority and a responsibility shared by everyone at PHSA. As such, the requirement to continuously improve quality and safety is inherent in all aspects of this position. The Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) plans, manages and evaluates selected specialty and province- wide health care services across BC, working with the five geographic health authorities to deliver province-wide solutions that improve the health of British Columbians. PHSA embodies values that reflect a commitment to excellence. Reporting to the Public Health Manager, Public Health Laboratory (PHL), BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC), the Laboratory Surveillance and Outbreak Coordinator is responsible for providing laboratory leadership within the PHL programs and with key partners to develop and coordinate ongoing laboratory surveillance and outbreak detection, investigation, and management. The role coordinates all programs within the PHL in developing best practices for public health laboratory surveillance. They work closely with Program and Team Leads to implement best laboratory clinical and environmental surveillance practices. They assist the PHL Medical Director in developing policies and laboratory strategies in alignment with BCCDC, Provincial Laboratory Medical Services and PHSA, to improve public health surveillance for both clinical and environmental communicable disease laboratory areas. The Coordinator works closely with PHL leaders to assist in external network coordination for best public health laboratory practices province-wide, with national links through the Canadian Public Health Laboratory Network. This will include assisting in province-wide, appropriate laboratory standardization, interpretation and quality assurance related to laboratory surveillance and outbreak management. Duties/Accountabilities: • Coordinates with key leaders in all areas of the PHL to develop and enhance surveillance and outbreak responses within a Quality Management System framework. • Liaises with BCCDC, local, regional, and national partners for surveillance data needs including routine and ad hoc requests for laboratory data. • Provides analytic leadership using advanced programmatic skills to produce surveillance products and contributes to local, provincial, and national surveillance systems. • Works with key local, provincial, as well as national partners, to validate, gain support for, and assist in implementing projects that will help ensure optimal response to the detection, investigation, and management of outbreaks of disease or events or that will result in enhanced surveillance of microbial agents. • Supports the integration, validation, utility, and application of various information management systems by proactively consulting with internal and external system partners. • Produces communications materials such as newsletters using surveillance products and contributes to analytic pipeline development for use in dashboards and data summaries that are internal and/or externally facing. • Plans, develops, and implements updates to PHL requisitions in consultation with PHL programs. • Coordinates requests for information for the PHL Medical Director, including Freedom of Information requests, working with BCCDC Privacy Office and PHSA Information Access Office as needed. • Assists the PHL to develop policies, procedures, and standards of practice to support quality laboratory information management, including the achievement of an international level of laboratory accreditation. • Contributes to the development and implementation of strategic plans as it relates to laboratory surveillance and outbreak response capabilities and capacities. Qualifications: A level of education, training, and experience equivalent to a Bachelor’s Degree in Health Information Management, Public Health or related discipline and a minimum three (3) years of recent related experience in information management, data analytics or health research using reporting tools and data management skills or an equivalent combination of education, training and experience. • Ability to plan and manage requests/tasks with advanced analytical skills in common programming languages and knowledge of query and report-writing tools. • Knowledge of and adherence to privacy and confidentiality policies and measures to protect data. Ability to work as a member of a multi-disciplinary team, while working independently to organize workload, set priorities, and meet deadlines in a dynamic environment. • Excellent verbal and written communication skills with experience effectively engaging with diverse groups of professionals and programs, building relationships/networking, and collaborating. • A combination of analytical, creative, critical thinking skills and a high level of attention to detail. • Excellent troubleshooting and organizational skills, capable of identifying problems and developing creative solutions. • Demonstrated ability to multitask and deliver multiple concurrent assignments in a fast-paced and changing environment. • Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of legislative obligations and provincial commitments found in the foundational documents including Truth & Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action (2015), In Plain Sight (2020), BC's Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (2019), United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), Reclaiming Power and Place Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls Calls for Justice (2019), the Declaration Act Action Plan and Remembering Keegan: A First Nations Case Study and how they intersect across the health care system.