Health Economist

Important messages

We are committed to providing an inclusive and barrier-free work environment, starting with the hiring process. If you need to be accommodated during any phase of the evaluation process, please use the Contact information below to request specialized accommodation. All information received in relation to accommodation will be kept confidential.

Assessment accommodation

You must meet all essential qualifications in order to be appointed to the position. Other qualifications may be a deciding factor in choosing the person to be appointed.

Screening questions have been built into the application process, when answering the screening questions you must provide concrete and detailed examples to clearly demonstrate how you meet the qualification. We can’t make any assumptions about your experience. Simply saying you have the required qualifications or listing your current duties is not enough. Instead, provide concrete and detailed examples that clearly explain where, when, and how you gained the experience. We’ll only use your résumé as a secondary source of information. The breadth and depth of experience may be considered during screening, assessment and/or selection of candidates.

Duties

Part of the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) Secretariat

Work effectively with NACI Secretariat health economists, as well as epidemiologists, project officers, executive secretary, and manager

Lead or assist with the technical analysis, literature review, and drafting of Advisory Committee Statements; Review the technical content and final outputs of economic analyses

Act as a methodological expert on multiple projects related to health economics (e.g., provide input on project scope, development of decision-analytic models, modification of existing models, model conceptualization, estimation of model parameters)

Develop and manage relationships with internal and external partners (e.g., academics, clinical experts, modellers, partners at health technology assessment agencies, partners at other National Immunization Technical Advisory Groups)

Lead or assist with contracting of health economic projects to external partners

Work environment

The Public Health Agency of Canada is part of the Health Portfolio of the Government of Canada, committed to help protect the health and safety of all Canadians. Its activities focus on preventing chronic diseases, like cancer and heart disease, preventing injuries and responding to public health emergencies and infectious disease outbreaks.

The National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) makes recommendations for the use of vaccines currently or newly approved for use in humans in Canada, including the identification of groups at risk for vaccine-preventable diseases for whom vaccination should be targeted.

The NACI Secretariat is looking for ambitious and meticulous public servants with a strong technical background to join our team.

Intent of the process

The intent of this selection process is to fill one (1) position, on a permanent basis. A pool of qualified candidates will be established and may be used to staff similar positions within the Public Health Agency of Canada across Canada with:
* various tenures,
* various language requirements and linguistic profiles,
* various security requirements,
* various locations and/or
* various conditions of employment.
As a result of the potential and possible use of the selection process and subsequent pool by hiring managers, we encourage all seeking this type of position/workstream and/or group and level to apply.

Positions to be filled: 1

Information you must provide

Your résumé.

In order to be considered, your application must clearly explain how you meet the following (essential qualifications)

----- Essential Qualifications - Education -----
Graduation with a degree from a recognized post-secondary institution with acceptable specialization in one of the following: economics, sociology, or statistics; as well as a specialization in health technology assessment, health economics, or health services research.

Candidates must always have a degree. The courses for the specialization must be acceptable and may have been taken at a recognized post-secondary institution, but not necessarily within a degree program in the required specialization. The specialization may also be obtained through an acceptable combination of education, training and/or experience.

Degree equivalency

----- Essential Qualifications - Experience -----
1. *Recent and significant experience researching, conceptualizing, developing, analyzing and disseminating economic evaluations or health technology assessment, including the appropriate use of quantitative data.
2. Experience in planning, coordinating, and conducting collaborative health economic studies or health technology assessments.
3. *Recent and significant experience writing reports and summaries on economic evaluations.
4. Experience providing strategic advice and recommendations (such as briefing notes, memoranda, presentations, etc.) to management*** on complex** socio-economic issues.
5. * Recent and significant experience conducting and analyzing systematic reviews and/or synthesizing economic evaluations (e.g. cost utility analysis).

*Recent and significant experience refers to the breadth and depth of experience and is defined as a combination of time spent doing the activity, as well as the type (range, scope, and complexity) of work handled related to the experience criteria and level of autonomy demonstrated. Such experience is normally acquired when having performed the duties over a period of 3 to 5 years within the last 5 years.

**Complex is defined as having at least two of the following characteristics: multidimensional, affecting many partners or stakeholders, or having a major impact on service or program delivery in fulfilment of client, stakeholder, department or government priorities.

*** Management is defined as one level (or more) above your immediate supervisor.

The following will be applied / assessed at a later date (essential for the job)

English essential

Information on language requirements

----- Essential Qualifications - Knowledge -----
1. Knowledge of epidemiological principles and techniques.
2. Knowledge of health research methodology.
3. Knowledge of health technology assessment concepts (including economic evaluation concepts).
4. Knowledge of planning and project management practices.

----- Essential Qualifications - Competencies-----
1. Working effectively with others
2. Thinking things through
3. Showing initiative and being action oriented
4. Demonstrating integrity and respect

----- Essential Qualifications - Abilities -----
1. Ability to work under pressure with tight deadlines and changing priorities
2. Ability to communicate effectively orally
3. Ability to communicate effectively in writing

The following may be applied / assessed at a later date (may be needed for the job)

----- Asset Qualifications - Education -----
1. Graduation with a Master’s degree from a recognized university in a field relevant to the position, such as health technology assessment, health economics, statistics, economics, health services research, or public health.
2. Graduation with a PhD degree from a recognized university in a field relevant to the position, such as health technology assessment, health economics, statistics, economics, health services research, or public health.

Degree equivalency

----- Asset Qualifications - Experience -----
1. Experience in conducting economic evaluations (e.g. cost utility analysis), in the context of public health research related to vaccination or infectious diseases.
2. Experience in analysing and synthesising data in order to produce technical, scientific or economic reports.
3. Experience giving presentations on economic evaluation concepts and findings.
4. *Recent and significant experience in conducting health policy or health program analysis.
5. *Recent and significant experience collaborating on health policy-related or economic-related initiative(s) with partners or stakeholders.

*Recent and significant experience refers to the breadth and depth of experience and is defined as a combination of time spent doing the activity, as well as the type (range, scope, and complexity) of work handled related to the experience criteria and level of autonomy demonstrated. Such experience is normally acquired when having performed the duties over a period of 3 to 5 years within the last 5 years.

----- Operational Requirements -----
Willingness and ability to work overtime on short notice.

Conditions of employment

Reliability Status security clearance

Other information

The Public Service of Canada is committed to building a skilled and diverse workforce that reflects the Canadians we serve. We promote employment equity and encourage you to indicate if you belong to one of the designated groups when you apply.

Information on employment equity

Please ensure that you read ALL points listed below, as this section contains important information about the application process. Failure to read these notes and follow these instructions could result in your application missing required information which may result in your application being eliminated from this selection process.

a) You are entitled to participate in the selection process in the official language of your choice. Applicants are asked to indicate their preferred official language in their application.

b) We will only accept on-line applications received via the Public Service Jobs site. Persons with disabilities or residing in locations that prevent them from applying on-line are asked to contact 1-800-645-5605.

c) For this selection process, we will communicate with you by email. You must provide a valid email address to which you wish to receive communication regarding this selection process. You must ensure that you check your email account including spam, promotion or other folders regularly as there may be a deadline for responses. If you respond past the deadline you risk being removed from the selection process.

d) Applicants who are screened in to this selection process will be sent further information by email regarding what to expect during subsequent phases of this selection process.

e) Depending on the number of applicants, volume management strategies such as, but not limited to, top-down approach, cut-off scores, random selection and/or assessment may be used for the purpose of managing applications/candidates. Should a volume management strategy be used, communication regarding the application of the strategy will be provided to those candidates who are impacted.

f) During the application or assessment process both cheating and plagiarism are considered forms of misconduct and are not permitted. Any person found cheating, including those who help others to cheat, may be subject to removal from the selection process.

g) For more information on how to apply to a selection process, please visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GW7P3g9hhI

h) Your ability to communicate effectively in writing may be assessed via the application.

i) Various assessment tools may be used in this selection process such as: standardized tests, reference checks, written tests, an interview, etc.

j) All written and verbal communication obtained throughout the selection process, from the time of application to close of process, may be used to evaluate the candidate.

k) Based on the hiring division’s needs, additional essential qualifications, asset qualifications, organizational needs, operational requirements and/or conditions of employment may be identified and applied during the assessment and/or selection of candidates.

l) Other sources of information (such as performance agreements, work samples, board member knowledge, etc.) may be used to assess the criteria identified on the Statement of Merit Criteria.

m) Appointment decisions may be based on one or more of the following criteria:
i) Matching of the individual's experience or qualifications to the strengths and weaknesses of the work team.
ii) Matching of the individual's experience or qualifications to the specific duties of the position being staffed.
iii) Depth, breadth, type of work-specific experience.
iv) Level/degree of one or more competencies/qualifications.
v) The organizational need of restructuring/budgetary constraints

n) Proof of education will be requested if you are considered for a position. Candidates with foreign credentials must provide proof of Canadian equivalency. Consult the Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials for further information at http://www.cicic.ca/

o) Proof of citizenship will be requested if you are considered for a position.

p) Candidates may be required to pay for travel and relocation costs associated with this selection process

Acknowledgment of receipt of applications will not be sent.

We would like to thank in advance those who have submitted a job application, but will only contact those people selected for the next phase in the process.

Preference

Preference will be given to veterans and to Canadian citizens, in that order, with the exception of a job located in Nunavut, where Nunavut Inuit will be appointed first.

Information on the preference to veterans

We thank all those who apply. Only those selected for further consideration will be contacted.