Health Scientist

Responsibilities

• Develop strategies to integrate behavioral and communication science into outreach activities, manage web and social media strategies, and ensure clarity and consistency in communication materials.
• Develop an action plan on how to apply strategies for incorporating behavioral and communication science principles into program education, communication, and outreach activities; independently, or in collaboration with divisions.
• Lead or collaborate on operational and planning meetings with communications and science teams to design and conduct quantitative and qualitative communications data collection, analysis, and synthesis activities.
• Plan and coordinate communication research and evaluation activities, including collection of data and synthesis of existing data sources to ensure communication program and project success.
• Test educational materials and messages for clarity and effectiveness related to behavior change. To do this the contractor shall perform mixed-method data analyses of transcripts and survey data files using both qualitative and quantitative approaches.
• Consult and collaborate with health-related agencies and other public health partners, providing written and verbal scientific advice about audience-specific knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors and technical assistance to apply scientific advice when creating or evaluating educational materials.
• Work with the team and respective partners to revise guidance documents on audience insights and evaluation of educational materials based on feedback.
• Lead or collaborate on communication program evaluation and continuous improvement activities and contribute to reports and other feedback mechanisms as appropriate.
• Maintain and update existing repositories for completed data collection activities, and use these repositories to develop data summaries, audience profiles, and other documents to support ongoing communication activities.

Qualifications

• Knowledge of behavioral science, communication science, health communication, and behavior change principles, including how to apply these concepts to education, communication, and outreach activities.
• Skill in developing strategic action plans that identify target audiences, key messages, scientific rationale, recommended communication strategies, and practical applications.
• Ability to independently review, assess, and update communication strategies to ensure continued relevance, effectiveness, and alignment with program goals.
• Ability to collaborate with multidisciplinary teams, including communication specialists, scientists, program staff, and division leadership.
• Ability to lead or participate in operational and planning meetings related to communication research, evaluation, data collection, analysis, and synthesis.
• Knowledge of quantitative and qualitative research methods used in communication research and program evaluation.
• Ability to collect, review, synthesize, and interpret data from multiple sources to inform communication planning and decision-making.
• Ability to test educational materials, messages, and outreach products for clarity, audience understanding, effectiveness, and potential impact on behavior change.
• Knowledge of mixed-methods analysis, including the ability to analyze qualitative data such as transcripts and quantitative data such as survey results.
• Ability to translate research findings and evaluation results into clear, actionable recommendations for improving communication products, strategies, and outreach activities.
• Able to use Microsoft Office Applications (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Project, Teams, and SharePoint) efficiently and effectively.
• Able to collaborate with internal and external CDC partners.