Job Description

JOB SUMMARY

The Senior Epidemiologist (General ID Epidemiology) in the National Public Health and Epidemiology Unit (NPHEU) possesses broad expertise in the field of infectious disease epidemiology and is developing in-depth expertise in one or more special area(s) of infectious disease epidemiology. The incumbent provides epidemiologic input to support the design and implementation of observational studies and surveillance systems, analysis and interpretation of data from both primary and secondary sources, and communication and/or publication of findings to influence clinical and public health practice or policy relating to infectious diseases of public health concern.

The Senior Epidemiologist (Gen ID Epi) supervises a team of general infectious disease epidemiologists. The incumbent works within multidisciplinary teams of clinicians, scientists, medical statisticians, data/IT professionals and others, in collaboration with partners internal and external to NCID including government agencies, academic institutions, healthcare providers, private corporations, supranational and non-governmental organisations both locally and internationally.

The occurrence of an outbreak of public health event will require the Senior Epidemiologist to calibrate the workload of routine responsibilities to allow the team to assume additional responsibilities as necessary.



MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

SPECIFIC

• Plan and implement epidemiology studies, surveillance and data analyses to build an evidence base and/or supply actionable information for clinical management, public health action, or government policy relating to existing or emerging infectious diseases of public health importance

• In collaboration with colleagues in the Medical Statistics, Data, and other teams in NPHEU and NCID, analyse and interpret data, then appropriately communicate and/or publish findings to effectively disseminate evidence to the relevant audience

• During outbreaks or public health events, perform epidemiologic analyses and modelling of protective/risk factors and clinical or other outcomes including morbidity, mortality, or healthcare utilisation (e.g., infections, illness episodes, outpatient consultations, hospital admissions, etc.) to inform the public health response or government policy and support resource planning

• Support outbreak investigations conducted by FETP-trained Rapid Response Teams as necessary and feasible

• Provide epidemiologic input as appropriate to the National HIV Programme, Singapore TB Elimination Programme, and National Committees

• Conduct systematic reviews and meta-analyses to inform the development of clinical guidelines, operational procedures and public health practice or government policy

• Perform long-term horizon scanning and risk assessments of potential public health threats to Singapore

• Based on requirements, requests, or expressions of interest from partners, to assist multidisciplinary teams and partners to frame questions and hypotheses that may be addressed by an epidemiology project

• For projects involving secondary data, to determine the feasibility of extracting the required data from databases, disease registries and electronic health records in conjunction with Data team colleagues

• Provide secretariat support to National Committees including coordination of meetings, recording and dissemination of minutes, follow-up of action items, and compilation of reports for submission to the MOH or WHO

• Assist in the conduct of training in epidemiology

• Serve as lead for General ID Epidemiology, providing coordination and supervision of team members

• Support Quality Improvement and Risk Management activities of NPHEU

• Provide cross-coverage of colleagues as necessary

• Carry out any other duties as may be reasonably required by the Director (NPHEU) or the Executive Director (NCID)

• Comply with all requirements of NCID, TTSH, NHG, MOH for the proper access to and use of data and IT hardware and software to ensure integrity and safe storage of data as well as personal data protection under the PDPA.

• Advanced degree in Public Health or Epidemiology
• First degree in Medicine, Nursing, Veterinary Medicine or any scientific discipline is desirable
• 5-10 years of experience in epidemiology in a health-related setting such as hospital, public health organisation, academic institution, research institute or ministry of health
• Proficient in report writing, manuscript preparation, and presentation with a good record of co-authored peer-reviewed publications
• Proficient in the use of at least 1 statistical software package or programming language for statistical computing and graphics
• Good oral and written communication skills
• Good interpersonal skills and a team player
• Adaptable, goal-oriented, proactive and able to work under pressure including in rapidly changing environments, e.g., an outbreak