CDC Program Improvement Initaitives Internship

*Applications will be reviewed on a rolling-basis.

CDC Office and Location:  An evaluation opportunity is currently available in the National Center for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Public Health Infrastructure and Workforce (PHIC) within the Program Strategy and Accountability (PSA) Office at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Successful applicants must be located in or relocate to Atlanta, GA.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is one of the major operation components of the Department of Health and Human Services. CDC works to protect America from health, safety and security threats, both foreign and in the U.S. Whether diseases start at home or abroad, are chronic or acute, curable or preventable, human error or deliberate attack, CDC fights disease and supports communities and citizens to do the same.

The PSA Office seeks to use innovative and collaborative approaches to drive optimal program strategy, system improvements, and outcomes in CDC public health infrastructure major investments and in enterprise grants. Major priorities for the office including standing up a new CDC-wide Grants Governance Board, coordinating strategic planning efforts for the Center and coordinating program strategy and alignment activities across the Center and with other relevant programs across CDC.

Research Project: Under the guidance of the mentor in the PSA Office, the fellow will contribute to in developing an evaluation framework, approach, and metrics for the work of the newly-established Grants Governance Board. The participant will also play a key role in developing and monitoring efforts related to the strategic plans of the Center, divisions, and offices.  The Fellow also will contribute to other Center-wide evaluation, data, measurement and monitoring efforts and in partnership with the Center's Office of Data Reporting and Evaluation.  

Learning Objectives: This fellowship will offer the opportunity to learn about and obtain hands-on experience in the following activities:

• Collaborate to develop an evaluation framework, approach, and metrics for the newly-established CDC Grants Governance Board
• Plan and implement qualitative or quantitative data collection and analysis
• Collaborate to plan and implement monitoring and measurement activities of the strategic plan, including identification of key metrics and tracking toward progress of those metrics
• Synthesize and align information and data to address key questions.
• Strategize to prioritize and design best-fit approaches to evaluating the changes and systems improvements that occur as a result of PSA Office efforts.
• Explore methods to visualize data in ways that resonate with intended users
• Develop a brief and other dissemination products (e.g., presentation, translation products, etc.) summarizing evaluation results and findings.
• Contributions to Center and CDC-wide accountability, evaluation and measurement initiatives and priorities.

Mentor(s): The mentor(s) for this opportunity is Liza Corso (lmc5@cdc.gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research please contact the mentor(s).

Anticipated Appointment Start Date: January 8, 2024.  Start date is flexible and will depend on a variety of factors.

Appointment Length: The appointment will initially be for one year, but may be renewed upon recommendation of CDC and is contingent on the availability of funds.

Level of Participation: The appointment is full-time.

Participant Stipend: The participant will receive a monthly stipend commensurate with educational level and experience.

Citizenship Requirements: This opportunity is available to U.S. citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents.

ORISE Information: This program, administered by ORAU through its contract with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to manage the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), was established through an interagency agreement between DOE and CDC. Participants do not become employees of CDC, DOE or the program administrator, and there are no employment-related benefits. Proof of health insurance is required for participation in this program. Health insurance can be obtained through ORISE.

The successful applicant(s) will be required to comply with Environmental, Safety and Health (ES&H) requirements of the hosting facility, including but not limited to, COVID-19 requirements (e.g. facial covering, physical distancing, testing, vaccination).

Questions: Please visit our Program Website. After reading, if you have additional questions about the application process please email ORISE.CDC.PHIC@orau.org and include the reference code for this opportunity.

Qualifications

The qualified candidate should have received a bachelor’s degree or be currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree with completion before December 31, 2023. Degree must have been received within the past five years. The ideal candidate has demonstrated experience managing applied research studies or program evaluations in a dynamic operating context. Experience or familiarity with collaborative approaches is desired as the candidate will be collaborating across multi-disciplinary teams.

Preferred skills:

• Subject matter expertise or strong interest in gaining experience in systems improvements, organizational efficiencies, public health infrastructure, or related areas.
• Experience in program evaluation
• Training or experience with quantitative and qualitative data analysis and evaluation methods.
• Strong ability to apply data analysis principles across data types (e.g., primary and secondary data)
• Strong communication, strategic thinking, and interpersonal skills.
• Strong written and oral communications skills
• Ability to collaborate with other scientific and professional staff.