Surveillance Coordinator – Waterborne Diseases

PHMC serves as both a direct service provider to individuals, families, and communities across the region and an intermediary agent, managing large-scale contracts, government and philanthropic partnerships, and multidisciplinary initiatives that require operational sophistication, strategic leadership, and deep mission alignment.

This position reports directly to the Program Manager of the Acute Communicable Disease Program.

Position Overview:

The Waterborne Disease Surveillance Coordinator is a full-time position within the Acute Communicable Disease (ACD) Program of the Division of Disease Control (DDC) at the Philadelphia Department of Public Health (PDPH). The ACD Program is responsible for the surveillance, investigation, prevention, and control of all reportable acute communicable diseases, except tuberculosis, multidrug-resistant organisms, and sexually transmitted diseases. The position requires working in a multidisciplinary team with disease surveillance investigators, nurses, physicians, and epidemiologists, and acting as a liaison to the Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) in addressing water-related concerns.

This position is a term-limited position funded by PWD and requires availability after-hours. The person filling this position will participate in disease investigations, epidemiological and scientific studies, and educational outreach efforts related to waterborne diseases and conditions, including cryptosporidiosis, giardiasis, legionellosis, vibriosis, and chemical contaminants, among others. The Surveillance Coordinator will be the primary liaison with PWD.

This job may require moderate physical effort, including lifting materials and equipment of less than 50 pounds, and involves viewing a CRT or VDT screen 50 to 75 percent of the time. The position requires responding to public health emergencies and at times requires rapid turnaround of communications on short notice. PDPH follows the City of Philadelphia's return-to-office policies.

Key activities of this position include:

• Coordinating surveillance and investigation for waterborne diseases by reviewing completed case investigations for appropriate case classification and public health management.
• Leading and participating in disease outbreak investigations, including those associated with drinking water contamination, healthcare-associated infections linked to water, and recreational water.
• Developing and distributing disease control guidelines and educational materials for prevention and control of waterborne diseases and conditions in various settings (e.g., skilled nursing facilities, buildings with cooling towers, etc.).
• Maintaining, updating, and executing response plans for waterborne diseases, including protocols for environmental testing and coordination of testing with public health reference laboratories.
• Developing and performing analyses for waterborne diseases.
• Producing routine waterborne disease surveillance reports to share with PWD.
• Participating in PWD contamination warning system development and refinements.
• Participating in PWD-led training, drills, and exercises on emergency response and communication development.
• Representing the Health Department on the Philadelphia Water Department’s Water Quality Committee.
• Assisting with preparedness planning for a water-related emergency and developing joint exercises between Water and Health departments (including Environmental Health Services).
• Leading public health education campaigns such as Healthy Swimming.
• Developing, executing, and overseeing special projects related to the epidemiology of waterborne diseases.
• Maintaining a voluntary cooling tower registry.
• Monitoring legislation related to Legionella prevention (e.g., cooling tower registry mandates).
• Assisting PWD in addressing emerging concerns such as mycobacterial biofilm in plumbing systems and pharmaceuticals in PWD’s source waters.
• Working with PWD and PDPH communications teams to update public websites.
• Serving as a liaison for ACD with epidemiologists overseeing wastewater surveillance.
• Participating in telephone duty during normal business hours in DDC, including case report collection and provision of clinical or public health recommendations to healthcare professionals, settings of concern for disease transmission, and the general public, as appropriate to control the spread of infectious diseases.
• Supporting coordination of response to miscellaneous communicable diseases such as invasive group A streptococcal infections.
• Participating in emergency preparedness exercises and outbreak response, including activities for other communicable diseases.
  
  
  

Skills:

• Demonstrated understanding of general concepts related to infectious disease transmission, prevention, and control.
• Excellent organizational skills, meticulous attention to detail, and the ability to organize and present information effectively.
• Strong critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent communication skills, both oral and written.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications (e.g., Excel) and REDCap or similar data management software.
• Flexibility, professionalism, and the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously are highly valued attributes.
• Equally comfortable working individually and within a team environment that emphasizes interdisciplinary collaboration in a dynamic urban health department.
• A valid driver’s license is required to facilitate local travel for investigative activities.
  
  
  

Experience Required:

• Basic SAS programming skills or demonstrated experience working with other analytic software
  
  
  

Education Requirement:

• Master’s degree, preferably in epidemiology, public health, or science
  
  
  

Salary:

The position salary range is $62,000–$72,000 (commensurate with experience). This position comes with a comprehensive benefits package consisting of medical and dental coverage, as well as paid sick, vacation, and personal time.

Contact Information:

At the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, we value health justice and equity. Our work is guided by a commitment to all people’s health and humanity, and we recognize the impact that health disparities have on our City’s diverse population. We are dedicated to building a staff that reflects the diversity of Philadelphia. We are an EEO employer, and we are committed to providing a diverse, inclusive, safe workplace free from discrimination, sexual harassment, intimidation, or retaliation.

Applicants who are originally from and live in the Philadelphia area are strongly encouraged to apply.

To apply for this position, please use the PHMC UltiPro portal or send a cover letter and resume or CV via email to Dana Perella, MPH, Acute Communicable Disease Program Manager at acd@phila.gov. Please name materials in the following convention: LastName_FirstName_Document (e.g., resume or cover letter). Include in the subject line: Waterborne Disease Surveillance Coordinator. For questions regarding the position, please contact the Division of Disease Control at 215-685-6740.

PHMC is an Equal Opportunity and E-Verify Employer.