Nurse Consultant, Communicable Disease

Role Responsibilities

Job Summary:
The Government of Alberta is seeking a dedicated and highly skilled Communicable Disease (CD) Policy Development and Public Health Specialist to join our team. In this role, you will provide leadership in the development, maintenance, and evaluation of notifiable CD guidelines, policies, and surveillance activities. You will also collaborate with federal, provincial, and territorial colleagues to inform CD policy decisions with national and international implications. This is an exciting opportunity to play a key role in shaping public health responses and enhancing communicable disease management strategies.

Key Responsibilities: Nurse Consultant, Communicable Disease

1.  Policy Development & Leadership

• Lead the development, maintenance, and evaluation of provincial guidelines, policies, and surveillance reporting related to communicable diseases (CD) in Alberta.
• Provide expert clinical advice and leadership in the development of communicable disease policies, ensuring alignment with best practices and current public health research.
• Monitor emerging disease trends and make recommendations for the adaptation or creation of policies, procedures, and response strategies.

2.  Surveillance & Compliance Activities

• Lead communicable disease surveillance efforts, including reviewing data, conducting literature reviews, and evaluating research to support the development of public health disease management guidelines.
• Ensure compliance with communicable disease reporting and surveillance requirements, supporting both internal and external stakeholders to improve monitoring practices.
• Assist in the development of disease-specific surveillance frameworks to track the prevalence of notifiable diseases in Alberta and align with national/international standards.

3.  Stakeholder Engagement & Collaboration

• Collaborate with key internal and external stakeholders, including the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health (OCMOH), Alberta Health Services (AHS), Indigenous Services Canada, laboratories, infectious disease specialists, and federal/provincial/territorial colleagues.
• Facilitate stakeholder consultations and working groups to advance CD policy and response efforts.
• Provide expert consultative advice and guidance to stakeholders regarding the implementation of CD policies and strategies.

4.  Emergent Response & Public Health Emergencies

• Support urgent public health responses, including outbreak management, emergency preparedness, and pandemic responses, by providing policy guidance and strategic advice.
• Participate in cross-jurisdictional working groups and committees to coordinate public health responses to communicable disease threats, both provincially and nationally.
• Assist in the development and evaluation of crisis communication and emergency response strategies related to communicable diseases.

Role Responsibilities

5.  Clinical Expertise & Program Support

• Provide specialized clinical expertise to support communicable disease management, including advising on disease-specific interventions, protocols, and treatment recommendations.
• Evaluate existing CD programs and recommend improvements to enhance disease prevention, treatment, and control strategies.
• Lead or contribute to the development of research-based recommendations for policy improvement or program enhancement.

6.  Research & Policy Recommendations

• Conduct in-depth research on current communicable diseases, emerging threats, and best practices in disease prevention and control.
• Synthesize research findings to inform policy updates and provide recommendations for enhancing provincial CD management strategies.
• Write clear, concise reports, briefing notes, and policy recommendations for senior leadership, as well as other stakeholders and external audiences.

7.  Project Management & Strategic Planning

• Manage and lead projects related to communicable disease policy development and public health response, ensuring timely delivery and alignment with strategic priorities.
• Plan and execute projects aimed at improving disease surveillance, monitoring systems, and communicable disease control measures.
• Utilize strong organizational skills to prioritize tasks, track project milestones, and ensure the completion of objectives in line with organizational goals.

8.  Capacity Building

• Provide guidance and training to team members, healthcare professionals, and other stakeholders on communicable disease policies, surveillance techniques, and best practices.
   

Please click on the link to view the job description.

APS Competencies

Competencies are behaviors that are essential to reach our goals in serving Albertans. We encourage you to have an in depth understanding of the competencies that are required for this opportunity and to be prepared to demonstrate them during the recruitment process.

This link will assist you with understanding competencies:
https://www.alberta.ca/system/files/custom_downloaded_images/psc-alberta-public-service-competency-model.pdf

The successful candidate will demonstrate the following APS competencies:
Systems Thinking: Considers inter-relationships and emerging trends to attain goals, seeks insight on implications of different options, analyzes long-term outcomes, focus on goals and values, and identifies unintended consequences.

Creative Problem Solving: Engages with stakeholders and uses resources at hand to address issues and to seek root causes, finds ways to improve complex systems. Employs resources from other areas to solve problems, engages others and encourages debate and idea generation to solve problems while addressing risks.

Drive for Results: Works to exceed goals and partners with others to achieve objectives. Plans based on experience, holds self and others responsible for results, partners with groups to achieve outcomes and aims to exceed expectations.

Develop Networks: Leverages relationships to build input and perspective, looks broadly to engage stakeholders, open to perspective towards long-term goals, actively seeks input into change initiatives and maintains stakeholder relationships.

Build Collaborative Environments: Works in an open honest manner with colleagues, creates sharing opportunities, actively shares, accepts, and listens to others, recognizes conflict, respects, and discusses opinions openly, supports group even to learn from mistakes and recognizes differing interpretations.

Qualifications

Minimum Recruitment Standards

A bachelor’s degree in nursing, plus a minimum of four (4) years of progressively responsible experience in communicable disease, public health, research, policy development, and/or analysis is required. Must be a regulated member of the appropriate college as required by the Health Professions Act.

The following will be considered significant assets:

• Project management experience.
• Previous experience in notifiable disease case/outbreak investigation, communicable disease surveillance and/or experience with notifiable disease reporting.
• Experience with public health policy and legislation.

An appropriate mix of education, training and experience may be considered.

Minimum recruitment standards outline the minimum education and experience required for appointment to a job classification. 

Refer to https://www.alberta.ca/alberta-public-service-minimum-recruitment-standards.

Notes

This is a full-time position working 36.25 hours per week. 

Candidates with lesser qualifications may be considered at a lower classification and salary. This competition may be used to fill future roles at the same or lower classifications.

The final candidates may be required to undergo pre-employment checks (Reference check/Criminal record and/or academic).

In your resume, please include dates (including months and years) associated with all education and work experience. Also, please indicate whether your work experience is casual, part-time, or full-time. For example, January 15, 2006 - June 25, 2009: Assistant (PT three 8 hrs. shifts/week).

Any costs associated with obtaining the required documents/checks as noted or interview travel expenses, will be the responsibility of the candidate. Out-of-province applicants can obtain the required documents/checks from the province they currently reside in. 

What we offer:
•    Working for the Alberta Public Service – https://www.alberta.ca/advantages-working-for-alberta-public-service.aspx 
•    Public Service Pension Plan (PSPP) - https://www.pspp.ca
•    Alberta Public Service Benefit Information - https://www.alberta.ca/alberta-public-service-benefits    
•    Professional learning and development - https://www.alberta.ca/professional-development-support-directive
•    Research Alberta Public Service Careers tool – https://researchapscareers.alberta.ca
•    Positive workplace culture and work-life balance
•    Opportunity to participate in flexible work arrangements such as working from home up to two days per week and modified work schedule agreements.
•    Leadership and mentorship programs