JOB TITLE: DIRECTOR, BUREAU OF HEALTH STATISTICS AND REGISTRIES, DOH

JOB CODE: 05500

DEFINITION: This is professional and administrative work in planning and directing the functions and activities for the Bureau of Health Statistics and Registries in the Department of Health (DOH).

The employee in this job directs the development and implementation of policies and procedures for statewide public health statistics, research, disease registry, and vital records programs. Work involves directing the data collection, analysis, presentation, publication, and maintenance of public health statistics; directing studies related to etiology, geographic distribution, and temporal trends of diseases of public health significance; directing the civil registration of vital events; directing the research of biomedical, public, and environmental health services; and overseeing the registry of births, deaths, abortions, adoptions, marriages, divorces, and annulments occurring within the commonwealth. Work includes serving as the principal advisor to the Secretary of Health, Deputy Secretary for Administration, and other agency deputies related to policies for public health data collection and analysis, statistical projects and research, and maintenance of vital records and federal, state, local and public health provider agreements; serving as the director of the official State Center for Health Statistics; serving as the contact for the Cooperative Health Statistics System; and serving on a variety of boards, panels, and councils as the department representative. Work also involves directing research to measure health status/health services; managing statewide surveillance systems, public health data collection systems, and statewide programs to fund biomedical, public, and environmental health research for the commonwealth; and advocating for research and data needs and priorities to the federal government, other states, public health providers, other state agencies, professional associations, and private organizations. Supervision is exercised over professional, technical, and clerical staff. Work is performed independently under the general direction of the Deputy Secretary for Administration and is reviewed through conferences and reports for goals and objectives attained.

EXAMPLES OF WORK: (NOTE: The examples of work are representative of the work, but every position classified to this job may not perform all examples of work listed. Conversely, this is not an all-inclusive list of work examples.)

• Plans, organizes, and directs public health research studies, maintenance of public health statistics, and registration of vital records.

• Develops and implements policies and procedures for public health data collection, statistical projects and research, maintenance of vital records, analysis of statistical data, and reporting requirements.

• Reviews, comments, and prepares position papers on new or revised legislation affecting public health data collection, statistical reporting requirements and the registration of vital records.

• Directs the implementation of changes in public health data collection, vital statistics, and public health research studies in accordance with new legislation.

• Works with local, state, and national public health officials to develop new or expanded public health data collection and reporting requirements.

• Provides recommendations and guidance in developing and maintaining a confidentiality policy and procedure for public health data collection, usage, and processing by department staff and other users.

• Directs the development and maintenance of a vital records service as mandated, and the appointment and control of local vital records registrars.

• Directs a statewide program to fund biomedical, public, and environmental health research for the commonwealth under the tobacco master settlement agreement.

• Communicates and coordinates with other department program, district and county/city health department staff, other state agencies, community groups, health care providers and insurers, the media, educational and research institutions, and the public to carry out the public health statistics, research, disease registry, and vital records functions.

• Collects, analyzes, and interprets public health statistics.

• Directs the provision of technical support in the statistical analysis of data to all levels of government to be used for planning, program management, and decision making purposes.

• Serves as the director of the official State Center for Health Statistics and as the focal point for the Cooperative Health Statistics System in the commonwealth.

• Advises other state and local government agencies on public health information and statistics issues.

• Directs the statistical aspects of the public health functions of assessment, policy development, and assurance.

• Functions as the principal advisor to the Secretary, other deputies, executive staff, and bureau directors on public health data and research issues, and statistical information systems; recommends the utilization of public health data for policy development and decisions.

• Determines policies and procedures for integrated public health data and information systems functions, including confidentiality and data release, forms design and review, research protocol review, and database and surveillance system design.

• Serves as a liaison with federal, state, and local agencies, the private sector, universities and research institutions, health care providers, and professional associations for public health data and research projects.

• Serves as an expert witness to explain the rationale for initiating new public health data collection projects and interprets statistical public health information.

• Reviews and evaluates medical/epidemiological research protocols to determine scientific merit and reviews public health related research studies, methodologies, and interpretations of findings.

• Serves as the voting representative for the Secretary of Health on the Coroner's Education Board and the PA Health Care Cost Containment Council's Data System Committee.

• Serves as a member of the department Institutional Review Board to approve all research involving human subjects.

• Manages the design of assessment components of all new or proposed programs located within or funded by the Department of Health.

• Reviews, comments, and prepares preliminary legislative drafts on new, revised, or proposed legislation affecting public health data research and studies, vital records, and registries.

• Serves as the project officer for federal contracts.

• The employee in this job may participate in the performance of their subordinates' work consistent with operational or organizational requirements.

• Performs the full range of supervisory duties.

• Performs related work as required.

ENTRY LEVEL KNOWLEDGES, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES:

• Knowledge of the principles and practices of public administration.

• Knowledge of contracting procedures, including Request for Proposals, Blue Back contracts, and proposal evaluations.

• Knowledge of complex mathematical and statistical methods, formulas, and computations.

• Knowledge of the principles and methods of biostatistics, epidemiology, and research design.

• Knowledge of the principles, practices, techniques, and trends in the collection, reporting, and publication of public health statistics and health services research.

• Knowledge of public health research and statistics demography.

• Knowledge of the functions and resources of federal, state, and other public and private statistical and research organizations.

• Knowledge of federal and state laws and regulations governing the collection, reporting, publication, and confidentiality of public health statistics.

• Ability to apply advanced statistical and mathematical theories and methods to the sampling, collection, presentation, analysis, and interpretation of statistical and quantified data relating to public health problems and programs.

• Ability to plan, organize, direct, and implement health services research support, data collection, research operations and recording of vital records.

• Ability to integrate the activities of a statewide public health statistics, research and vital records operations with departmental programs and the requirements of the Federal Cooperative Health Statistics System.

• Ability to present complex technical and scientific reports and ideas.

• Ability to analyze and evaluate program plans related to public health statistics and research and make recommendations for improvement.

• Ability to evaluate scientific theories and create new hypotheses.

• Ability to communicate effectively orally.

• Ability to communicate effectively in writing.

• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships.

MINIMUM EXPERIENCE AND TRAINING: (NOTE: Based on the Entry Level Knowledges, Skills, and Abilities)

• Seven years of professional experience in managing the development of data collection systems, or statistical analysis, including three years of supervisory experience; and a master’s degree in public health, public administration, statistics, biostatistics, or a closely related field.

or

• Any equivalent combination of experience and training which includes three years of professional supervisory experience in managing the development of data collection systems, or statistical analysis.