Climate and Health Scientist

at  Interior Health Authority

Interior Health is looking for an experienced Climate and Health Scientist to join our team on a full time permanent basis. This position has a flexible work location from in BC (ideally within the Interior Health region).

EDUCATION, TRAINING, AND EXPERIENCE

• Masters in a discipline related to Public Health, Environmental Health, Climate Science, Environmental Science, Sustainability, or Emergency Management, plus five (5) years’ of recent, related experience.
• Experience working with or in Indigenous communities, as well as experience in a health or environmental protection agency at the regional, provincial, or federal level are assets.
• Or an equivalent combination of education, knowledge and experience.

SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Demonstrated knowledge of whole-system solutions to issues of population health importance, which are socially just and healthy for the planet, and that give equal weight to knowledge from Indigenous peoples, ecological sciences, and critical social sciences.
• Working knowledge of the principles of epidemiology and surveillance, environmental science, and risk management
• Working knowledge of population health approach, health determinants, health equity, health status assessment, and human health impact assessments.
• Working knowledge of monitoring and evaluation, including climate hazard, program output, and health impact measures.
• Demonstrated ability to integrate relevant information from a variety of disciplines as required.
• Demonstrated effective verbal and written communication skills with a wide range of audiences.
• Ability to quickly read and review large amounts of written documents and identify key issues for further analysis.
• Ability to work effectively as a member of a team as well as independently.
• Demonstrated ability to interact professionally and respectfully with multiple interested and affected parties.
• Demonstrated ability to organize and prioritize work, work under time constraints to meet deadlines; handle interruptions and changing priorities.
• Demonstrated superior level of accuracy, attention to detail, and independent error checking.
• Demonstrated knowledge and ability to utilize related equipment and tools including a variety of computerized software packages such as word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, database, GIS and internet applications at advanced level.
• Demonstrated ability to navigate and research information on-line (internet and intranet).
• Physical ability to perform the duties of the position.

• Provides expert advice and knowledge translation to strategic and operational decision-makers on the complex and dynamic issues of climate change and sustainability, to support an effective, organization-wide response to climate hazards (particularly extreme heat and air quality, cold, wildfires, drought and flooding).
• Collaborates with the Interior Health Indigenous Partnerships portfolio, First Nations Health Authority, Métis Nation British Columbia, and other Indigenous partners on climate change preparedness, response and adaptation action, including Indigenous-led actions.
• Works closely with the Lead, Climate Change and Health to develop and implement community climate change and health vulnerability and adaptation assessments, including approaches that centre Indigenous knowledge, perspectives, and lived experience.
• Works closely with the Lead, Climate Change and Health, and the Medical Health Officer, Environmental Public Health, Epidemiology & Surveillance, Healthy Community Development, and Environmental Sustainability teams, to ensure coordinated approach across Interior Health.
• Coordinates critical evidence reviews in a multidisciplinary environment, involving the systematic retrieval, appraisal and synthesis of relevant information using established review frameworks. Tasks may include performing environmental scans, analysing and interpreting data, preparing statistical reports, identifying results of significance, and making recommendations.
• Documents findings and prepares detailed reports, summaries, visualizations, infographics, presentation materials to communicate findings and recommenations to diverse audiences.
• Provides training and develops decision support tools and other resources to build organizational capacity for climate change and sustainability action.
• Builds and maintains an up-to-date database of relevant scientific literature, reports, data, and other information sources that is accessible to climate change and sustainability leads and partners, and provides consultation and information updates as appropriate.
• Contributes to work with Indigenous partners to enhance Indigenous data governance, in support of collaborative action on climate change and sustainability.
• Collaborates with the Epidemiology & Suveillance Unit, BC Centre for Disease Control, Ministry of Health, and other Regional Health Authorities to access and analyse climate and health data that can be used to understand climate-related risks and inform mitigation and adaptation planning.
• Works with the Climate Change and Sustainability Committee to implement IH’s Climate Change & Sustainability Roadmap actions, and establish indicators and routine reports for monitoring progress of the Roadmap and building accountability for health system action on climate change.
• Facilitates external data requests and information sharing, as appropriate, to enable community partners to understand local impacts and build community resilience to climate change.
• Contributes scientific and technical knowledge and skills to seasonal readiness planning and other activities to prepare Interior Health and local communities for environmental emergencies and longer-term climate impacts.
• Provides specialist input and actively participates in team meetings, quality and safety initiatives, accreditation and other projects as appropriate.
• In alignment with IH’s Occupational Health & Safety Program, employees shall adhere to all Occupational Health and Safety policies and procedures at all times and attend all required training. Employees are responsible to report any identified hazards, unsafe conditions or incidents to the manager or supervisor immediately.
• Performs other related duties as assigned