Epidemiologist

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

Health Canada is committed to increasing representation of Black employees and other racialized groups, Indigenous People, women and persons with disabilities. Health Canada would like its workforce to be reflective of the population it serves. Therefore, we encourage candidates to indicate voluntarily on their application if they are a member of one of these groups.

Give yourself the best chance to succeed! As the objective of this process is to assess qualifications needed for the position(s) to be staffed, let us know if you have a functional limitation/ disability, which may affect your performance. For example, contact us if you need assistance in completing and submitting your application. Should you then proceed to the next assessment stage, such as an exam or interview, we will send you an e-mail with additional information on the assessment format so that you can determine if you may require an accommodation (such as a different test format, an adaptive technology, or additional time). Assessment accommodations are designed to remove the obstacles without altering the criteria being assessed so candidates with functional limitations can fully demonstrate their abilities.

You may also review jobs open to the public through INFOTEL at 1-800-645-5605. The INFOTEL number for persons using a TTY/TDD is 1-800-532-9397.

Health Canada welcomes applications from Veterans. We recognize your contribution to Canadians and would like to offer you the opportunity to continue your career in an environment where multi-talented employees with diverse skills are appreciated and supported.

EVERYONE IS WELCOME
Health Canada and the Public Health Agency are dedicated to building an inclusive workforce that comprises individuals who have an array of identities, abilities, background, culture, skills, perspectives, and experiences that are representative of Canada’s current and evolving population. We are passionate about fostering a workplace where all people feel welcome, can reach their full potential, and contribute their unique perspectives and experience to the success of the team.

BRING YOUR WHOLE SELF TO WORK
We encourage all qualified candidates to apply, regardless of race, colour, religion, sex (including gender identity and/or expression), national origin, sexual orientation, civil union or relationship status, disability, age, parental status, military service, or other status protected under federal law.

***VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: It is the responsibility of the candidate to clearly outline that they meet each of the screening criteria (i.e. Education and Experience Qualifications, both Essential and Assets) by RESPONDING TO THE SCREENING QUESTIONS IN THE ONLINE APPLICATION. Please note that it is not sufficient to only state that the requirement is met or to provide a listing of current responsibilities, rather the candidate must provide concrete examples that illustrate how they meet the requirement. Lack of EXAMPLES and DETAILS may result in your application being rejected as the Assessment Board will have insufficient information to determine whether or not you meet the qualifications.

Work environment

Are you interested in working at a cutting-edge organization that values both your physical and psychological health and wellness, provides rich career development opportunities and rewards innovation? Health Canada is among Canada’s Top 100 Employers for 2021 in addition to being recognized as Top employer for Young People since 2015 and as Best Diversity Employer since 2010!

Health Canada is dedicated to building an inclusive workforce that comprises individuals who have an array of identities, abilities, background, culture, skills, perspectives, and experiences that are representative of Canada’s current and evolving population. We are passionate about fostering a workplace where all people feel welcome, can reach their full potential, and contribute their unique perspectives and experience to the success of the team. Health Canada recognizes the importance of continuous learning, career development opportunities and work-life balance within a diverse and respectful work environment.

Controlled Substances and Cannabis Branch brings together the cannabis, opioid response, controlled substances, tobacco and substance use and addictions programs to implement a comprehensive public health approach for regulating substances and addressing emerging challenges.

Intent of the process

Although the immediate intent of this Job Opportunity Advertisement is to staff two (2) positions indeterminately, applicants should be aware that a pool of qualified candidates (fully assessed or partially assessed) may be established and may be used to staff similar positions at this group and level with various language requirements, various tenures (acting appointments, assignment, deployment, indeterminate, specified period, secondment), and conditions of employment within Health Canada. In addition, this pool may be used to staff similar positions in other organizations within the core public administration in the future.

As a result of the potential and possible use of the selection process and subsequent pool by hiring managers, we encourage all employees seeking this type of opportunity to apply.

By applying to this process, you consent to your personal application-related information, including any assessment information, being shared with other government departments interested in staffing similar positions.

Positions to be filled: 2

Information you must provide

Your résumé.

Contact information for 3 references.

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

EDUCATION
ED1 - Graduation with a degree from a recognized post-secondary institution with acceptable specialization in Economics, Sociology or Statistics.

Note: 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

EXPERIENCE
EX1 - Experience in health research and surveillance methodologies including questionnaire development, sampling techniques and survey design.
EX2 - Significant and recent* experience in planning, designing and conducting complex** epidemiological, biostatistical and/or statistical analysis.
EX3 - Experience writing scientific or technical documents, such as surveillance reports, manuscripts for peer reviewed journals, project proposals, or reports to funding agencies.
EX4 - Significant and recent* experience maintaining collaborative working relationships with stakeholders.

* Significant and recent is defined as the depth and breadth of experience normally associated with the performance of the duties for a minimum of 2 years within the last 5 years.
** Complex analyses would encompass descriptive statistics and other more complex analyses such as statistical modelling, factor analysis, geospatial analysis, regression analysis.

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

English essential

Information on language requirements

KNOWLEDGE
K1 - Knowledge of concepts, theories and principles of epidemiology, biostatistics and/or statistics.

ABILITIES
AB1 - Ability to communicate effectively orally.
AB2 - Ability to communicate effectively in writing.
AB3 - Ability to plan and organize workload.
AB4 - Ability to analyse, interpret and synthesize data.
AB5 - Ability to provide advice and recommendations to project team members and management.

PERSONAL SUITABILITY
PS1 - Judgement
PS2 - Effective interpersonal skills
PS3 - Respectful of diversity
PS4 - Attention to detail

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

ASSET EDUCATION
AED1 - Graduation with a Master’s degree from a recognized post-secondary institution with an acceptable*** specialization in epidemiology, biostatistics, public health or specialization relevant to the position being staffed.

*** for the acceptable specialization in epidemiology, candidates must have successfully completed two semesters of graduate-level epidemiological methods and one semester of graduate level biostatistics.

Degree equivalency

ASSET EXPERIENCE
AEX1 - Experience in the preparation of briefing notes and Memoranda.
AEX2 - Experience in qualitative research methods and qualitative data analysis.
AEX3 - Experience analysing data using SAS and/or R.
AEX4 - Experience using data visualization tools (e.g. Power BI).
AEX5 - Experience in conducting research or surveillance in the area of substance use and related harms.

Conditions of employment

Reliability Status security clearance - Secret level security clearance may be required for some positions

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

All candidates that apply to this selection process must include in their application a valid email address and ensure that this address is functional at all times and that it accepts messages from unknown users. Failure to do so may result in important messages not being received. Communication for this process will be conducted via the e-mail address provided in your application. It is your responsibility to ensure that you check for messages regularly.

Only applications submitted on-line will be accepted.

Candidates will be required to provide proof of education credentials (i.e. original version of diploma or transcript(s)) if or when invited to the interview stage. It is the candidate’s responsibility to obtain the appropriate documentation from the recognized educational institution. Candidates with foreign credentials must provide proof of Canadian equivalency. Consult the Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials for further information at https://www.cicic.ca .

Candidates must meet the essential qualifications to be appointed to a position.

Candidates may be required to meet the asset qualifications or the organizational needs, depending on the requirements of the specific position being staffed. Meeting one or many of the asset qualifications may be a deciding factor in appointing a particular candidate amongst the qualified candidates. Please note that some or all of the asset qualifications could be used at the screening phase.

Reference checks may be sought.

An interview will be administered.

A written examination may be administered.

Acknowledgment of receipt of applications will not be sent; we will contact candidates when the screening process is completed.

Persons are entitled to participate in the appointment process in the official language of their choice. Applicants are asked to indicate their preferred official language in their application.

Volume management strategies may be used (for example: top down approach may be used).

Please note that candidates are responsible for submitting their application by the closing date in order to be considered. No applications will be accepted once the deadline has passed.

VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: The PSRS system will time out after 60 minutes of inactivity which may result in your inability to save your work or loss of data. It is recommended that you draft ALL RESPONSES in another document on your PC which may be saved (e.g. in MS Word or WordPerfect) and copy/paste into the PSRS system when completed. HEALTH CANADA IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR SYSTEM PROBLEMS WHICH MAY RESULT IN LOSS OF DATA AND/OR INCOMPLETE OR NON SUBMITTED APPLICATIONS.

Preference

Preference will be given to veterans first and then to Canadian citizens and permanent residents, 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.