Research Scientist 2 (Biostatistics/Health Services Research)

Duties Description

The Research Scientist 2 within the Division of Data Strategy & Management's Bureau of Population Health will have engagement in the full project life cycle to generate data products and accessible visualizations of data. They will work under the direction of the Assistant Bureau Director and a Research Scientist 3 Team lead on the Performance Evaluation Team.

Specific duties may include, but are not limited to:

• Extracting, cleaning, merging, recoding, and/or analyzing administrative data sets, including those for external survey projects, service enrollment, or Medicaid utilization while modeling analytical rigor and effective use of statistical techniques and mathematical analyses. This includes using analytic and statistical software packages such as SAS, SPSS and Structured Query Language (SQL) Developer to extract data from different Oracle and SQL-based systems and create analytic data files by matching individual records across multiple data sources.
• Drafting, vetting, and editing drafts of dashboards, high-level reports and policy briefs and develop presentations and webinars for both public dissemination (including content for OPWDD's website) and for assisting and informing executive leadership decision-making on key programmatic areas.
• Developing data visualizations showing statistics and trends for public consumption, using software such as Tableau or Excel.
• Helping to formulate goals, objectives, and methodological approaches that support the development of research proposals and data systems that address the delivery of culturally competent services, population health, and the social determinants of health for those with intellectual/developmental disabilities.
• Conducting research on metrics that measure progress in outcome achievement and assist in program management and evaluation of OPWDD policy.
• Preparing formal reports, fact papers, studies, dashboards, presentations, and other data products.
• Interacting with a multidisciplinary team of internal and external peers to communicate progress and outcomes of planned work regularly, effectively, and openly. Demonstrates a commitment to data transparency in accordance with OPWDD policy.
• Working to ensure a respectful, collaborative work environment by attending regular team meetings to discuss team and project-related activities, issues, changes, communications, and updates.
• Assuming responsibility for management of own time and resources and allocates both appropriately.
• Performing other duties as assigned.
  
  

The incumbent will be expected to perform all duties collaboratively and with limited supervision.

Telecommuting per OPWDD's policy will be discussed at interview.

Preferred Qualifications: Strong analytic and data management skills. Experience with analyzing, extracting, merging, and linking large relational health care datasets, including Medicaid data. Proficient in the use of SAS or SQL, Microsoft Excel, Word and Power Point. Knowledge of statistical methods. Experience with data visualization tools such as Tableau is desired. Excellent written and verbal communication skills. The ability to work independently, as well as in a team environment.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nys-office-for-people-with-developmental-disabilities/posts/?feedView=all

Minimum Qualifications

Non-Competitive:

Bachelor’s degree and three years of professional research experience in an appropriate field including Public Health, Epidemiology, Biostatistics, Statistics, Mathematics, Social Science, Economics, Data Science, or related fields.

Substitutions:

Master’s degree in an appropriate field may substitute for one year of experience, and Ph.D. in an appropriate field may substitute for an additional year of experience.

Additional Comments

• The assignment of PS&T employees will be made in accordance with any agreed upon Memorandum of Understanding between PEF and the local DDSO regarding the posting of job vacancies.
• Preference will be given to OPWDD employees impacted by closures. If you are being impacted by closure, please indicate this on your resume.
• All OPWDD employees must be eligible and maintain eligibility for full and unconditional participation in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Continued employment will depend on maintaining eligibility.
• If you are employed by state government you may be able to receive loan forgiveness under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF). The PSLF Program forgives the remaining balance on Direct Loans after 120 qualifying monthly payments have been made under a qualifying repayment plan while working full-time for a qualifying employer. For more information on PSLF, please visit www.studentAid.gov/publicservice.
• Employees on long term leave can bid on positions but must be able to report to work within fourteen (14) days and be able to perform the essential functions of their positions with or without reasonable accommodation (RA).
• If an employee or job applicant believes that they need a reasonable accommodation, they should contact the Reasonable Accommodation Unit at (518) 486-7222 or email accommodationrequests@opwdd.ny.gov to obtain information and RA forms.
• Savings programs such as the U.S. Savings Bond and the College Savings Plan.
• Voluntary pre-tax savings programs such as Health Care Spending Account and the Dependent Care Advantage Account offer employees options to pay for uncovered health care expenses or dependent care expenses.
• Access to the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) an assessment and referral service that connects employees with local service providers and support services to address their personal needs.
• Life insurance and Disability insurance.
• The New York State Deferred Compensation Plan is a voluntary retirement plan that offers employees the option to invest a part of their salaries for retirement on a tax-deferred basis.
• Paid Holidays and Leave:
  
  

° Thirteen (13) paid holidays each year.

° Thirteen (13) days of paid vacation leave initially.

° Five (5) days paid personal leave each year.

° Thirteen (13) days of paid sick leave each year (PEF/CSEA), which may carry over from year to year.

° Up to three (3) days professional leave each year to participate in professional development events.

• Health Care Coverage:
  
  

Employees and their eligible dependents can choose from a variety of affordable health insurance programs. Employees are provided family dental and vision plans at no extra cost.

• Paid Parental Leave:
  
  

Paid Parental Leave allows eligible employees to take up to 12 weeks of paid leave at full pay for each qualifying event. A qualifying event is defined as the birth of a child or placement of a child for adoption or foster care.

• Retirement Program:
  
  

Participate in The NYS Employees’ Retirement System (ERS), which is recognized as one of the best-managed and best-funded public retirement systems in the nation.

• Professional Development and Education and Training:
  
  

NYS offers training programs and tuition assistance to eligible employees to maintain and increase their professional skills and prepare them for promotional opportunities. For more information, please visit https://oer.ny.gov/training-and-professional-development.

• Additionally, the Public Service Workshops Program (PSWP) offers certain professional training opportunities for PEF represented and M/C designated employees that may grant continuing education credits towards maintaining professional licensure. For more information, please visit https://oer.ny.gov/public-service-workshops-program-pswp.
• OPWDD is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer dedicated to creating and sustaining a culture of inclusion. We believe that we are most effective in managing and improving our service system with a diverse team of employees. With such a large workforce, we rely on the collective individual differences, life experiences, knowledge, self-expression, ideas and talent that our employees bring to their work. This speaks to our culture and is a key part of our successes. As we continuously recruit people for our team, we welcome the unique contributions that applicants bring in terms of their education, culture, ethnicity, race, sex, gender identity and expression, nation of origin, age, languages spoken, veteran’s status, color, religion, disability, sexual orientation and beliefs.
  
  

***All people with disabilities are encouraged to apply.***