CDC Food Safety Fellowship, Office of Strategic Communications, Policy, Partnerships, and Prevention, Division

Overview

*Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

CDC Office and Location: A training opportunity is available within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID) Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases (DFWED), in the Office of the Director located in Atlanta, Georgia.

Research Project: DFWED’s mission is to improve public health nationally and internationally through the prevention and control of disease, disability, and death caused by foodborne, waterborne, and environmentally transmitted infections (fungal diseases). In achieving its mission, DFWED relies on directed and productive relationships with key external partners who play important roles in advancing public health priorities. The selected candidate will train with DFWED’s Office of Strategic Communications, Policy, Partnerships, and Prevention.

Under the guidance of a mentor, the participant will receive training in the following:
Learning about coordinating and supporting logistics and operations for the Board of Scientific Counselors (BSC) Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Surveillance Working (SWG) in which discussions focus on ways to improve foodborne illness disease surveillance. Assembling and assisting in drafting the annual report of the BSC FSMA SWG, in collaboration with SWG members, and DFWED staff, and disseminate the final report to stakeholders.
Helping in the logistics and operations of interagency collaborations, including the Interagency Foodborne Outbreak Response Collaboration and the Interagency Collaboration on Genomics for Food Safety.
Learning about coordinating and participating in internal and external partnership activities, meetings, briefings, site visits, and other priority activities related to DFWED’s mission
Tracking and managing multiple projects and activities contributing to achieving DFWED’s mission, including the development and maintenance of an inventory of current and potential partnerships and the translation of scientific data into partner-focused materials.
Development of a strategic mapping of partners and identification of opportunities to expand collaborations and develop new partnerships.
Learning about managing, organizing, and identifying efficiencies in maintaining relevant repositories for documents and correspondence related to partnerships and working groups
Learning Objectives:

Participants will learn about and contribute to CDC’s detection, response, and prevention efforts in foodborne, waterborne, enteric, and fungal diseases
Participants will learn to communicate and coordinate with various types of external partners, including from federal, state, and local government organizations, academia, industry, and professional, and public health organizations
Participants will develop analytical skills relating to partner engagement projects including the ability to discern and capture key decisions and priority action items from the engagements.
Participants will learn to collaborate within a dynamic team as well as take leadership roles in projects/initiatives
Participants will develop communication skills in supporting and coordinating operations of subcommittees and teams, and by creating various written products, such as briefing documents for leadership and materials for external audiences
Participants will gain various professional skills related to public health, through training and mentorship.
Mentor(s): The mentor(s) for this opportunity is Madison Walter-Garcia (lli0@cdc.gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research, please contact the mentor(s).
Anticipated Appointment Start Date: As soon as possible.  Start date is flexible and will depend on a variety of factors.

Appointment Length: The appointment will end on or before September 30, 2025, 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: The participant will receive a monthly stipend commensurate with educational level and experience.

Citizenship Requirements: This opportunity is available to U.S. citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR).

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.NCEZID@orau.org and include the reference code for this opportunity.
Qualifications
The qualified candidate should have received a bachelor’s or master’s (preferred) degree in one of the relevant fields, or be currently pursuing the degree with completion before the appointment start date. Degree must have been received within the past five years.

Preferred Skills:

Experience performing collaboratively with partners and diverse groups
Energetic team presence with an eagerness to learn and collaborate with other members of the Division
Ability to perform effectively as part of a team and interact collaboratively across teams
Excellent writing, speaking, communication, interpersonal, and analytic skills
Ability to synthesize reports and briefings from information discussed in meetings
Excellent time management and organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple projects, and prioritize competing demands
Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, including Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams
Strong critical thinking and problem solving skills
Experience in public health