Public Health Fellow

About the Role

The purpose of the PACE Fellowship Program is to provide emerging professionals with applied, experiential learning in a Community of Practice dedicated to building their capacity to lead community engagement and participatory processes. The selected fellow will assist with providing education and technical assistance activities to communities interested in redeveloping environmentally or potentially environmentally contaminated properties, as part of the Technical Assistance to Brownfields (TAB) and KSU Tribal TAB Programs and other funded activities of the Center.

Specifically, the Fellow will work on multiple potential projects, such as:

• Develop and implement a quantitative framework to assign traditional public health and proxy economic values to non-economic public health and social outputs resulting from brownfield redevelopment activities;
• Create educational programming that translates technical environmental data (such as Phase I/II reports) into accessible health information for residents living near potentially contaminated sites;
• Develop technical assistance materials focused on the intersection of brownfields and public health, and other projects, as assigned by the Participatory Research & Evaluation Director, and other Directors and TAB Staff.

Final goals and expectations will be jointly established with the Fellowship director and other members of the project team at the start of the fellowship appointment. This position also serves the larger purpose of the Center, which is to conduct research, education, and service pertaining to environmental topics, where a reputable, neutral organization is needed to develop technically sound, consensus-based solutions for diverse groups of stakeholders.

About Us

The Center for Hazardous Substance Research (CHSR) was established in 1989 and is part of the Carl R. Ice College of Engineering at Kansas State University. The purpose of the center is to conduct research, education, and service pertaining to environmental topics, where a reputable, neutral organization is needed to develop technically sound, consensus-based solutions for diverse groups of stakeholders. Topics of research and other activities include sustainability; environmental assessments and remediation; technical assistance to communities, defense agencies and other organizations; and international programs. Environmental assessment work involves proposed nonlethal defense technologies, and software tools for environmental decision making. Remediation research has focused on contaminated soil and water from agriculture, forestry, mining, and mineral processing, and other industrial activities.

Service activities include providing free Technical Assistance To Citizens And Other Stakeholders Who Are providing input on cleanup and re-use of EPA Superfund, Brownfield, tribal and other types of sites.

Worksite

This position is Hybrid and/or Remote eligible. An employee who is working remotely must reside within the United States in order to comply with all federal and state laws, filings, or tax requirements. Remote work agreements are required for all flexible work arrangements and are subject to review. All employees must reside in the United States when they begin working to comply with state law. K-State is unable to provide remote or hybrid work opportunities for residents of the state of Idaho.

Requirements

Minimum Qualifications

• Doctoral degree in public health; Subfields of particular interest include environmental health, health policy and management, and social and behavioral science.
• Demonstrated knowledge and experience with community-driven participatory processes and the capacity to collaborate in the development and delivery of community engagement activities.
• Demonstrated knowledge and experience in quantitative research design and data analysis, with proficiency in statistical analysis software (e.g., SPSS).
• Demonstrated knowledge and experience working with adult learners in professional or community settings.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Hold certifications from the National Board of Public Health Examiners, such as the CPH (Certified in Public Health).
• Demonstrated knowledge and experience in mixed methods research design and data analysis.
• Experience working in Tribal settings, and under-resourced rural, or urban communities.
• Demonstrated focus on public health and addressing the social determinants of health in the context of environmental issues.