CDC Program Development and Communications Fellowship

*Applications will be reviewed on a rolling-basis.

CDC Office and Location: A research opportunity is available in The National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP), Division of Population Health (DPH), Prevention Research and Translation Branch (PRTB.) within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention located in Atlanta, Georgia.

Selected candidates must either live within a 50 mile radius of and approved CDC duty location or be able to relocate before the start of the appointment. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is one of the major operation components of the Department of Health and Human Services. CDC works to protect America from health, safety and security threats, both foreign and in the U.S. Whether diseases start at home or abroad, are chronic or acute, curable or preventable, human error or deliberate attack, CDC fights disease and supports communities and citizens to do the same.

PRTB provides leadership, oversight, and grant management for Prevention Research Centers (PRC) Program, the Closing the Gap: Social Determinant of Health (SDOH) Accelerator Grant Program, and CDC’s Workplace Health Program. The PRC Program provides leadership, oversight, and technical assistance to a network of 26 Prevention Research Centers (PRCs) who conduct innovative public health prevention research using a community engagement approach. The CDC Workplace Health Program provides leadership to improve the health, safety, and well-being of employees through science-based workplace health promotion programs.

More specifically, the Prevention Research Centers are funded by CDC, and housed in the PRTB which has celebrated over 30 years in existence. These centers work as an interdependent network of community, academic, and public health partners to conduct innovative and influential prevention research and promote the wide use of practices proven to promote good health. The prevention researchers collaborate with communities to develop and conduct research that benefits the research participants and often broad communities as well.

Research Project: The ORISE participant will conduct a needs assessment of the communication and research dissemination technical assistance of the PRC Network. The ORISE participant will

• Develop the needs assessment instrument,
• Help conduct the assessment, and
• Analyze the results and report the findings to the program.

Learning Objectives: During this learning experience, the research participant will participate and receive training in the following areas:

• Learn how to review grantee research-plans, evaluation plans, performance measures, and evaluation reports and how to provide guidance and technical assistance to grantees
• Contribute to communication support, communication planning and analysis, writing and editing, updating/maintaining websites, developing/disseminating newsletters, social media content, responding to technical assistance requests, reviewing and synthesizing information from progress reports
• Learn how to plan and develop webinars and networking events, and the development of products to showcase
• Train alongside branch, division, and center workgroups and participate in the support of subject matter experts in the development of translation- and communications-related projects, such as toolkits, success stories, and infographics
• Learn the principles of health communication science and practice and information analysis that will be useful in opportunities involving communication health topics to the public and communities

Mentor(s): The mentor for this opportunity is Antwuanette Daniel (nty3@cdc.gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research please contact the mentor(s).

Anticipated Appointment Start Date: May 20, 2024. Start date is flexible and will depend on a variety of factors.

Appointment Length: The appointment will initially be for one year, but may be renewed upon recommendation of CDC and is contingent on the availability of funds.

Level of Participation: The appointment is full time.

Participant Stipend: Stipend rates may vary based on numerous factors, including opportunity, location, education, and experience. If you are interviewed, you can inquire about the exact stipend rate at that time and if selected, your appointment offer will include the monthly stipend rate.

Citizenship Requirements: This opportunity is available to U.S. citizens only.

ORISE Information: This program, administered by ORAU through its contract with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to manage the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), was established through an interagency agreement between DOE and CDC. Participants do not become employees of CDC, DOE or the program administrator, and there are no employment-related benefits. Proof of health insurance is required for participation in this program. Health insurance can be obtained through ORISE.

The successful applicant(s) will be required to comply with Environmental, Safety and Health (ES&H) requirements of the hosting facility, including but not limited to, COVID-19 requirements (e.g. facial covering, physical distancing, testing, vaccination).

Questions: Please visit our Program Website. After reading, if you have additional questions about the application process please email ORISE.CDC.NCCDPHP@orau.org and include the reference code for this opportunity.

Qualifications

The qualified candidate should have received a master's degree in one of the relevant fields or be currently pursuing the degree and will reach completion by June 1, 2024. Degree must have been received within five years of the appointment start date.

Preferred skills:

• Knowledge of mass communication theories, principles, practices, and techniques
• Good written communication skills
• Knowledge of data gathering methods and analytical/evaluative techniques to conduct assessments of health communication strategies and to draw valid conclusions
• Knowledge of web-based applications and social media

Eligibility Requirements

• Citizenship: U.S. Citizen Only
• Degree: Master's Degree received within the last 60 months or anticipated to be received by 6/1/2024 12:00:00 AM.