Public Health Veterinarian - Zoonotic Disease Branch Manager

This position is open until filled.

Date of consideration is extended through 1/22/24.

The Prevention Division of Public Health - Seattle & King County (PHSKC) is seeking to fill one Career Service Public Health Veterinarian position as a Zoonotic Disease Branch Manager under the direction of the Investigations Team Manager in the Communicable Disease Epidemiology and Immunization Section (CD-Imms).

The Public Health Veterinarian (PHV) Zoonotic Disease Branch Manager will provide clinical and technical expertise and leadership in: veterinary public health; communicable disease epidemiology related to zoonotic, vectorborne, and emerging infectious diseases; and environmental health issues related to conditions that impact animals and people (e.g., managing interventions for animals and pet-related businesses to prevent and control zoonotic spread of diseases). The Branch Manager will lead program and project planning and oversight for branch activities related to preparedness, surveillance, investigation, and response strategies for prevention and control of zoonotic diseases applying a One Health approach to the work.

This position will be responsible for cross-coverage for other branch managers, providing direction, management, and oversight for staff on a multidisciplinary team that also investigates and responds to vaccine preventable diseases, enteric diseases, viral hepatitis, healthcare associated infections, and COVID-19. This position directly supervises program managers and will be expected to center race and equity in all public health activities as well as build relationships, collaborate, and represent the Section in meetings with internal and external partners and stakeholders.

This position will work closely with Environmental Health (EH) staff and members of CD-Imms, including team managers, program managers, veterinarians, public health nurses, disease investigators, and epidemiologists. In CD-Imms, the Branch Manager contributes to team business planning and models a culture of a healthy organization by supporting employee engagement and professional growth opportunities, anti-racist and trauma informed policies and practices, and practices that strengthen cross-team collaboration.

In accordance with the King County Equity and Social Justice Ordinance and the King County Strategic Plan, the position supports and advances Public Health values for fair and culturally competent service delivery, innovative, effective and efficient application of resources, building a culture of performance and expanding opportunities to seek input, listen and respond to community members.

Commitment to Equity and Social Justice:
Named after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., one of the most influential civil rights leaders in our nation's history, King County is a vibrant international community with residents that represent countries from around the world. It is a region with increasing diversity that cherishes the traditions of many cultures.

The county government has a deep commitment to equity and social justice and advancing practices, strategies, and policies that promote fairness, justice, and opportunity for all – in our workplaces and our communities. With this commitment, King County has adopted a pro-equity agenda to advance regional change and ensure that residents from all communities are incorporated into our emergency planning and public outreach efforts.

We recognize that structural racism consists of principles and practices that cause and justify an inequitable distribution of rights, opportunities, and experiences across racial groups. Since declaring Racism is a Public Health Crisis in June 2020, King County and Public Health committed to being intentionally anti-racist and accountable to Black, Indigenous and People of Color communities.

To learn more, please visit

http://www.kingcounty.gov/elected/executive/equity-social-justice.aspx

Job Function #1: Provide clinical, technical, and strategic direction and oversight for zoonotic and vectorborne disease, emerging infectious diseases, and environmental exposures to address preparedness, prevention, surveillance, investigation, and response activities in collaboration with team, Section leadership, and EH colleagues.
Develop, lead, manage, and evaluate prevention, investigation, control, and communication strategies and activities that impact both humans and animals.
Lead and oversee the investigation of outbreaks or biosecurity issues within animal shelters or pet businesses and rodent infestations. Perform field inspections when needed.
Provide technical expertise, direction, and guidance to internal and external partners on bioterrorism and pandemic preparedness risk, planning, surveillance, and response efforts regarding animal disease agents and diseases with pandemic potential.
Contribute to design, implementation, and evaluation of disease surveillance systems, databases, reports, and protocols.
Analyze and interpret data and report findings via public health blogs, data dashboards, websites, community meetings, media interviews, scientific publications, and reports.
Inform, lead, and support One Health activities that enhance multidisciplinary collaborations to improve health outcomes for people, animals, and the environment, at the direction of the Medical Epidemiologist, Deputy Chief, and Section Chief.
Provide strategic direction, interpretation and review of state and local zoonotic disease control policies and regulations, in coordination with internal agency enforcement programs.
Job Function #2: Develop and maintain strategic partnerships and community engagement to strengthen zoonotic and vectorborne diseases, emerging infectious diseases, and environmental exposures to address preparedness, prevention, surveillance, investigation, and control activities and address health disparities in King County.
Collaborate with internal and external partners and the community to advance equity by developing systems, policies, and practices that prioritize vulnerable populations in the community and identify and address health disparities.
Oversee and contribute to development and delivery of protocols, presentations, educational materials, toolkits, and trainings for internal staff and key stakeholders including pet-related businesses, animal control agencies, and veterinarians.
Coordinate with partners, including CDC, WA Department of Health, WA Department of Fish & Wildlife, USDA, WA Department of Agriculture, and academic institutions to monitor zoonotic and vectorborne disease incidence and trends and other issues of public health importance.
Represent Public Health with internal and external partners through meetings, coalitions, healthcare facility networks, workgroups, community presentations/trainings, tabletop exercises, public/provider messaging, and other formats as indicated, and serve as spokesperson and agency representative with media and other stakeholders on veterinary public health issues.
Job Function #3: Lead continuous quality improvement, program development, and grants related to zoonotic, vectorborne, and emerging infectious diseases or One Health issues to support program sustainability.
Seek and apply for new grant opportunities and serve as the technical expert or principal investigator for grant applications to support Section strategic goals and priorities related to diseases and One Health issues.
Participate in the WA State One Health Collaborative and the Community of Practice.
Support continuous process improvement through evaluating key metrics and business processes, providing feedback, resolving issues and implementing changes.
Job Function #4: Provide supervisory, mentorship, and cross-coverage duties as assigned.
Supervise assigned staff, including hiring, onboarding, training, mentoring, and evaluating staff with a variety of backgrounds, skills, and levels of experience.
Provide back-up coverage to other branch managers, veterinarians, and other staff as needed across the broad range of notifiable conditions managed by CD-Imms.
Participate in afterhours (evening, night, weekend, and holiday) on-call work, including back-up support for newer on-call staff during assigned weeks, sharing back-up monitoring/response of all high priority afterhours work with other managers for remainder of the weeks (24/7/365 with exceptions for personal leave), filling gaps in first-line primary on-call coverage, and urgent public health veterinary issues (last shared with other Public Health Veterinarian).
Minimum Qualifications:

Doctorate in veterinary medicine from an accredited university
A valid Washington State license to practice veterinary medicine or the ability to obtain licensure within one (1) year of employment start date. The license must be current and unrestricted; a conditional, provisional, probationary or restricted license will not be accepted.
Two (2) years of progressively responsible supervisory, management, mentorship, and leadership experience.
Two (2) years of experience with program and project management, strategic planning, protocol/project/program development, and evaluation.
Demonstrated leadership skills in directing the complex, unpredictable, and fast-paced work of a large, multidisciplinary staff and building effective teams while ensuring/promoting staff well-being at work.
Specialized training or experience and comprehension of infectious disease epidemiology and clinical characteristics, surveillance systems, disease investigation and control measures, and environmental health practices with specific expertise in zoonoses, vectorborne diseases, and/or emerging infectious diseases, including leading field investigations of outbreaks independently.
Experience in reviewing and interpreting disease control regulations and codes and adapting guidance to various settings.
Experience collecting, managing, analyzing, and interpreting data to guide development of policies or public health decision-making.
Knowledge and experience in application of One Health concepts.
Skill in emergency/pandemic preparedness planning and response.
Ability to develop and maintain strong relationships with colleagues and stakeholders at all levels and to manage conflict effectively.
Demonstrated ability to incorporate principles of equity and social justice into program development and implementation, including working with diverse populations (race, ethnicity, gender, ability, age, sexual orientation, and socio-economic status) in a culturally competent manner.
Must display good judgment and comfort in making independent decisions even in the absence of sufficient information, while understanding limitations and elevating to supervisors as needed.
Demonstrated ability to work well under pressure and effectively organize, manage and prioritize multiple competing priorities/projects under a rapidly changing environment, and carry out assignments and responsibilities reliably in a thorough, accurate, and timely manner.
Demonstrated ability to effectively communicate orally and in writing including skill and experience in effective risk communication and the ability to adapt communication style to different audiences.
Demonstrated ability to work in community settings without onsite supervision with culturally and socio-economically diverse populations.
Fluency in Microsoft Office applications (Outlook, Word, Excel, Teams, SharePoint)
Desired Qualifications:

Five (5) years of progressively responsible supervisory, management, mentorship, and leadership experience
Five (5) years of experience with program and project management, strategic planning, protocol/project/program development, and evaluation.
Demonstrated skill in grant writing and managing grants and contracts.
Successful completion of CDC Epidemic Intelligence Service Fellowship or equivalent epidemiology training (e.g., CSTE Applied Epidemiology Fellowship)
Master of public health or equivalent experience
Clinical veterinary experience
Experience working with a local or state public health agency
Knowledge of county hiring and contracting procedures
Bilingual and/or bicultural
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dedicated to serving one of the nation's best places to live, work and play.
Guided by our

"True North" , we are making King County a welcoming community where every person can thrive. We value diversity, inclusion and belonging in our workplace and workforce. To reach this goal we are committed to workforce equity. Equitable recruiting, support, and retention is how we will obtain the highest quality workforce in our region; a workforce that shares and will help advance our guiding principles - we are one team; we solve problems; we focus on the customer; we drive for results; we are racially just; we respect all people; we lead the way; and we are responsible stewards. We encourage people of all backgrounds and identities to apply, including Native American and people of color, immigrants, refugees, women, LGBTQ+, people living with disabilities, and veterans.
King County is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Employer
No person is unlawfully excluded from employment opportunities based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation and pregnancy), age, genetic information, disability, veteran status, or other protected class. Our EEO policy applies to all employment actions, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, selection for training, promotion, transfer, demotion, layoff, termination, rates of pay or other forms of compensation.
To Apply
If you are interested in pursuing this position, please follow the application instructions carefully. If you need this announcement in an alternate language or format, would like to request accommodation or assistance in the application or assessment process or if you have questions please contact the recruiter listed on this job announcement.
To Apply: If you are interested in pursuing this position, please follow the application instructions carefully. If you need this announcement in an alternate language or format, would like to request accommodation or assistance in the application or assessment process or if you have questions, please contact your recruiter listed on this job announcement.

APPLICATION PROCESS:

The following completed items are required to be considered for this vacancy:

NEOGOV/Government Jobs on-line Job Application
Completed supplemental questions that are supported in your application. These answers will be reviewed to determine competitiveness. Please do not use "see resume" in your answers as these will be considered incomplete.
Your application may be rejected as incomplete if you do not include the required information in the application. If you reference "see resume" on your application it will be considered incomplete. You must completely fill out the application with your relevant education and work experience.

The selection process may include but is not limited to: evaluation of application materials and supplemental questions, interviewing, and testing. For more information on our selection process, please refer to

www.kingcounty.gov/depts/health/jobs/hiring

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Regular and reliable attendance, effective communication skills, and development of effective working relationships are requirements of all Public Health positions.
Staff will be required to play an active role in the event of a public health emergency, which may include changes in responsibilities, work location and working hours.
NECESSARY SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:

The selected candidate will be required to pass a thorough background check. Records are

not

automatically disqualifying.
Employees are required to protect the privacy and security of protected health information as defined in State and Federal Law.
Employees are required to adhere to OSHA/WIS HA guidelines including but not limited to completing required trainings on time.
TIMELINE:

This position is open until filled, first consideration will be 11/28/23.

Eligible candidates will be invited to at least one (and possibly two) interviews. Candidates will generally be notified of a final decision within 2-3 weeks of their interview date.

WORK SCHEDULE:

Monday through Friday 8am - 5pm. Occasional evening and weekend work may be required. Public Health - Seattle & King County strives to be accessible to those we serve. This position may require flexibility to accommodate different work schedules and work locations. These positions participate in the Section's response during outbreaks and emergencies as approved by supervisor.

This position also participates in afterhours (evening, night, weekend, and holiday) on-call work, including back-up support for newer on-call staff during assigned weeks, sharing back-up monitoring/response of all high priority afterhours work with other managers for remainder of the weeks (24/7/365 with exceptions for personal leave), filling gaps in first-line primary on-call coverage, and urgent public health veterinary issues (last shared with other Public Health Veterinarian).

TELECOMMUTING:

The work associated with this position

will be performed predominantly

through teleworking

with reporting to office location and to meetings as needed. Employees will have access to shared workspaces at various King County facilities. Employees must reside in Washington state and within a reasonable distance to their King County worksite to respond to workplace reporting requirements.

Employees will be provided with a County issued laptop and must maintain a workspace with an internet connection where they can reliably perform work and remain available and responsive during scheduled work hours. King County is doing its part to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and remains committed to reducing our carbon footprint.

King County has a robust collection of tools and resources to support working remotely. The individual selected for this opportunity will be joining an innovative and progressive team that is redefining how we work as we transition to the Department's hybrid environment.

WORK LOCATION:

Home site is King County Chinook Building, 401 Fifth Avenue, Seattle, WA
98104; will require remote work.

UNION AFFILIATION:

This position is not represented by a labor union.

CONTACT:

If you have questions, please contact Sarah Dunkinson,

[email protected]

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