Job Posting: Participant/Local Agency Program Integrity Researcher

Department of Public Health

JC-433165
-
Participant/Local Agency Program Integrity Researcher
RESEARCH SCIENTIST II (SOCIAL/BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES)

$7,152.00 - $8,889.00 per Month

Final Filing Date: 6/5/2024

Job Description and Duties

Incumbents in one of these classifications, where a Master’s Degree is required to meet the minimum qualifications, shall receive an educational pay differential equivalent to 2% of their monthly base pay. Those where a Doctoral Degree is a required to meet the minimum qualifications, shall receive an educational pay differential equivalent to 3% of their monthly base pay. Individuals with both a Master’s and Doctoral Degree will be given the best benefit in relation to salary shall only be eligible for only one amount.

 

The incumbent works under the general direction of the Chief, Data and Integrity Branch, Research Scientist Supervisor II (RSS II). The Research Scientist II (RS II) conducts data analysis and scientific research studies of moderate scientific scope and complexity to investigate, detect, and mitigate fraudulent activity against the WIC program to develop and monitor participant-based high-risk indicators, and apply behavioral modeling and data analytics to protect the fiscal health of WIC. The RS II theorizes and tests various hypotheses to identify suspect WIC participant and staff activity within the WIC program; ensures the WIC certification process conforms to federal guidelines and evaluates fiscal, program, and health outcomes. The RS II develops data tables, figures, written summaries, reports, presentations, and articles for internal and external stakeholders, and may provide expert testimony at administrative hearings.

The attached duty statement indicates whether this position is eligible for telework. All employees who telework are required to be California residents in accordance with Government Code 14200, and may be required to report to a CDPH office, when needed. Candidates who reside outside of the state of California may be interviewed; however, the selected candidate must have a primary residency in the state of California prior to appointment (and continue to maintain California residency) as a condition of employment. Failure to meet this requirement may result in the job offer being rescinded.

Please let us know how you heard about our position by taking this brief survey:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CDPHRecruitment

You will find additional information about the job in the Duty Statement.

Minimum Requirements

You will find the Minimum Requirements in the Class Specification.

Additional Documents

Position Details

Job Code #:
JC-433165
Position #(s):
580-510-5590-909
Working Title:
Participant/Local Agency Program Integrity Researcher
Classification:
RESEARCH SCIENTIST II (SOCIAL/BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES)
$7,152.00 - $8,889.00
# of Positions:
1
Work Location:
Sacramento County
Telework:
Hybrid
Job Type:
Permanent, Full Time

Department Information

At the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), equity, diversity, and inclusion are at the core of our mission to advance the health and well-being of California’s diverse people and communities. We are genuinely and strongly committed to cultivating and preserving a culture of inclusion and connectedness where we can grow and learn together with a diverse team of employees. In recruiting for team members, we welcome the unique contributions that you can bring to us and the work we do.

The Women, Infants, and Children Program (WIC) has been part of the nation’s nutrition safety net for 50 years.

Extensive research has found WIC to be a cost-effective investment that leads to healthier infants, more nutritious diets, health care for children, and subsequently higher academic achievement for students. WIC helps families receive healthy food, nutrition education, breastfeeding support, and referrals to healthcare and other community services.

Like other divisions within the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), WIC builds its program by addressing social determinants of health. WIC impacts the life course by promoting health practices that can ultimately improve life outcomes often experienced by vulnerable communities.

WIC serves babies and children up to age five, pregnant women, and new mothers. Dads, grandparents, foster parents of young children, and working families are welcome at WIC too!

Monthly, nearly one million WIC participants can find support at one of 84 local agencies which offer services at more than 500 sites throughout California. WIC participants can redeem their food benefits at approximately 3,800 grocers who are authorized to serve WIC families.

In 2019 - 2020, the WIC Division implemented an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card called the California WIC Card and a new management information system that allows WIC participants to be served more efficiently.

About the CDPH/WIC Family

Over 200 state staff work at CDPH’s WIC Division, headquartered at the Natomas campus in Sacramento.  WIC is committed to a hybrid workforce and the state provides a modest stipend for those who fully and partially work from home. Staff are provided with a computer or laptop, camera, and large screen to conduct their work. We build our unit teams virtually and maintain contact with stakeholders by being on camera to solidify our relationships.

The WIC Division is led by senior managers administering a Local Policy and Health Programs Branch, Local Services Branch, Vendor Management Branch, Communications, Food, and Vendor Policy Branch, Data and Integrity Branch, WIC Systems Integration Branch, and the Operations team.  Through these branches, support staff, analysts, specialists, researchers, and nutritionists serve the needs of WIC families, supports our program partners, and ensures the California WIC Program is administered appropriately and effectively.

Special Requirements

In order to be considered for this position, you must submit a copy of your college transcripts official or un-official and/or Degree for education verification  



For experience/education to qualify during the application screening process, and to ensure that minimum qualifications can be determined, applicants should include all employment history on the Employment Application (STD 678) and/or Resume, including detailed job descriptions, hours worked per week, and start/end dates (MM/DD/YYYY). Application packages without this information will experience delayed processing times and your eligibility for this position may be impacted.

A completed State application (STD. 678) and any other relevant documents (e.g. unofficial transcript, copy of degree, resume, etc.) should be submitted electronically via your CalCareers Account. Please reference Job Control # (HRD Use Only) and indicate the basis of your eligibility in the Examination(s) or Job Title(s) section. SROA and surplus candidates should submit a copy of their letter with their application. Please remove any confidential information (i.e. social security number, date of birth) from your documents prior to submission.

 

Complete Application Packages (including your Examination/Employment Application (STD 678) and applicable or required documents) must be submitted to apply for this Job Posting. Application Packages may be submitted electronically through your CalCareers Account at www.CalCareers.ca.gov. Submitting an electronic application through your CalCareers account is strongly recommended since electronic applications will be received/processed faster than other methods of filing. Please submit only one application.

If you are unable to submit your application electronically through your CalCareers account, please email apply@cdph.ca.gov for assistance and a CDPH Human Resources Division staff member will contact you to assist with the online application process or, a hard copy application package may be submitted through an alternative method as explained in the How to Apply section below. When submitting your application in hard copy, a completed copy of the Application Package listing must be included.

Application Instructions

Completed applications and all required documents must be received or postmarked by the Final Filing Date in order to be considered. Dates printed on Mobile Bar Codes, such as the Quick Response (QR) Codes available at the USPS, are not considered Postmark dates for the purpose of determining timely filing of an application.

Final Filing Date: 6/5/2024

Who May Apply

Individuals who are currently in the classification, eligible for lateral transfer, eligible for reinstatement, have list eligibility, are in the process of obtaining list eligibility, or have SROA and/or Surplus eligibility (please attach your letter, if available). SROA and Surplus candidates are given priority; therefore, individuals with other eligibility may be considered in the event no SROA or Surplus candidates apply. Individuals who are eligible for a Training and Development assignment may also be considered for this position(s).

Applications will be screened and only the most qualified applicants will be selected to move forward in the selection process. Applicants must meet the Minimum Qualifications stated in the Classification Specification(s).

How To Apply

Complete Application Packages (including your Examination/Employment Application (STD 678) and applicable or required documents) must be submitted to apply for this Job Posting. Application Packages may be submitted electronically through your CalCareer Account at www.CalCareers.ca.gov. When submitting your application in hard copy, a completed copy of the Application Package listing must be included. If you choose to not apply electronically, a hard copy application package may be submitted through an alternative method listed below:

Address for Mailing Application Packages

You may submit your application and any applicable or required documents to:

Department of Public Health
Attn: Classification & Certification Unit
P.O. Box 997378
MS 1700-1702
Sacramento, CA 95899-7378

Address for Drop-Off Application Packages

You may drop off your application and any applicable or required documents at:

Department of Public Health
Classification & Certification Unit
1615 Capitol Avenue Suite 73.430
Sacramento, CA 95814
08:00 AM - 05:00 PM

Required Application Package Documents

The following items are required to be submitted with your application. Applicants who do not submit the required items timely may not be considered for this job:

  • Current version of the State Examination/Employment Application STD Form 678 (when not applying electronically), or the Electronic State Employment Application through your Applicant Account at www.CalCareers.ca.gov. All Experience and Education relating to the Minimum Qualifications listed on the Classification Specification should be included to demonstrate how you meet the Minimum Qualifications for the position.
  • Resume is required and must be included.
  • Other -

    Please see Supplemental Questionnaire instructions below at end of posting.  Applications received without an SQ may be rejected.

Applicants requiring reasonable accommodations for the hiring interview process must request the necessary accommodations if scheduled for a hiring interview. The request should be made at the time of contact to schedule the interview. Questions regarding reasonable accommodations may be directed to the EEO contact listed on this job posting.

Desirable Qualifications

In addition to evaluating each candidate's relative ability, as demonstrated by quality and breadth of experience, the following factors will provide the basis for competitively evaluating each candidate:

  1. Ability to work both independently and in a team environment
  2. Ability to handle “sensitive and confidential issues”
  3. At least two years conducting descriptive and inferential statistics using a software program such as SAS or R
  4. Ability to communicate effectively with staff at various levels, external agencies, and the general public
  5. Developing and updating Tableau data visualization reports

Experience In:

  1. Analyzing and evaluating the impact and effectiveness of program policies
  2. Collecting, analyzing, and interpreting various forms of data and querying large databases
  3. Developing and monitoring performance and outcome measures
  4. Communicating data to non-data colleagues

Knowledge Of:

  1. Government assistance programs, especially state and federal policies, and regulations as it relates to the WIC program
  2. Data-driven decision-making techniques
  3. Structured Query Language (SQL) and relational databases
  4. Using data to detect, prevent and respond to program abuse and fraud

Benefits

Benefit information can be found on the CalHR website and the CalPERS website.

Contact Information

The Human Resources Contact is available to answer questions regarding the application process. The Hiring Unit Contact is available to answer questions regarding the position.

Human Resources Contact:
Human Resources Division
(916) 445-0983
apply@cdph.ca.gov
Hiring Unit Contact:
Susan Sabatier
(279) 667-2440
susan.sabatier@cdph.ca.gov

Please direct requests for Reasonable Accommodations to the interview scheduler at the time the interview is being scheduled. You may direct any additional questions regarding Reasonable Accommodations or Equal Employment Opportunity for this position(s) to the Department's EEO Office.

EEO Contact:
EEO Office
(916) 445-0938
CivilRights@Cdph.CA.gov
California Relay Service: 1-800-735-2929 (TTY), 1-800-735-2922 (Voice) TTY is a Telecommunications Device for the Deaf, and is reachable only from phones equipped with a TTY Device.

Supplemental Questionnaire

1. Describe how your education, experience and knowledge qualify you to perform the tasks specified in the duty statement.  

2. Describe a situation in which you developed an innovative solution using a statistical technique to complete analyses for a project. What led you to recognize the need for a new approach? What steps did you take to choose the statistical technique? What was the outcome or result? Please describe the data and identify the software program(s) used for analyses.

Equal Opportunity Employer

The State of California is an equal opportunity employer to all, regardless of age, ancestry, color, disability (mental and physical), exercising the right to family care and medical leave, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, military or veteran status, national origin, political affiliation, race, religious creed, sex (includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and related medical conditions), and sexual orientation.

It is an objective of the State of California to achieve a drug-free work place. Any applicant for state employment will be expected to behave in accordance with this objective because the use of illegal drugs is inconsistent with the law of the State, the rules governing Civil Service, and the special trust placed in public servants.