The Center for Evidence-based Policy (Center) is a national leader in evidence-based decision making and policy design. The Center works with state policymakers in over 25 states across the country to support evidence-based decision-making. The Center is objective and nonpartisan, enabling policymakers to use high-quality evidence to guide decisions, maximize resources, and improve health outcomes. The Center does not lobby, and does not accept funding from industry, advocates, or trade associations. Though embedded within OHSU, the Center is entirely self-supporting.

 

Center staff members work closely with state and federal policymakers to research existing policies, programs, and develop policy options. The Center actively seeks staff who share its commitment to evidence, integrity, innovation, tangible results, and products that are independent, high-quality, evidence-based, and effective in meeting the needs of decision makers. The Center actively recruits and retains the highest quality personnel who are committed to and passionate about achieving its mission. The Center strives to be a healthy and thriving work environment where everyone, from any background, can do their best work. We are committed to an inclusive workplace that celebrates and values diversity of age, race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, physical and mental ability, and perspective. We are dedicated to continuous improvement that enables inclusive collaboration among staff with diverse skills and perspectives, with the goal of enhancing the quality and accessibility of our work for our clients. The Center promotes leadership that inspires innovation, motivates people to perform at their highest levels, and makes the Center a great place to work.

 

This is a senior-level position using the skills and experience of an epidemiologist with training in medicine, nursing, pharmacy, or another clinical field. The ideal candidate will have experience applying those skills in a public policy-oriented environment. The position will lead and contribute to evidence synthesis research products (e.g., systematic reviews, rapid reviews) for public payers and policy decision makers. The Center’s evidence synthesis research is focused on the areas of health technologies, pharmaceuticals, and health services, with attention toward their applicability to Medicaid and other state health programs. Successful candidates will have expertise in evidence synthesis methods, which include topic identification and scoping, study selection, risk of bias assessment, certainty of evidence determination, and quantitative and narrative evidence synthesis. Depending on the candidate’s qualifications and experience they may also work on data analyses. The Center’s data analysis portfolio is focused on using state-level and multiagency data to support the work of public payers and policy decision makers. Candidates should have experience working within teams conducting systematic reviews, data analyses, or related types of work.

 

Successful candidates will demonstrate an excellent record of synthesizing data, evidence, and clinical perspectives in writing, and giving oral presentations in different formats and to different audiences, including to high-level policymakers.

Independently Develop, Write, and Present Evidence Synthesis Research Products for Policymaker Audiences

• Lead the preparation of research products for public payers and health policy decision makers according to Center style or client guidelines and research methods, ensuring accuracy and clarity, and using narrative text, tables, and appropriate illustrations.
• Serve as a clinical leader to present evidence and other research from a clinical perspective, including presenting research findings to clients via webinar or in-person meetings or conferences.
• Research and analyze the context of client question(s) and convert into structured, answerable research questions.
• Work with an information specialist to construct and carry out appropriate search strategies addressing research questions posed by clients.
• Identify relevant research studies, additional grey literature, clinical practice guidelines, and policy documents, and determine their relevance to the research question(s).
• Critically evaluate the risk of bias and applicability of included research studies and clinical practice guidelines.
• Appropriately assign a certainty of evidence rating (e.g., GRADE) from the body of evidence for select outcomes.
• Conduct or collaborate with colleagues to perform meta-analyses for evidence synthesis projects, as needed.
• Create and manage references in a citation management software program (e.g., EndNote).
• Manage evidence synthesis steps and workflow using structured systematic review software (e.g., DistillerSR)
• Develop interview protocols and conduct interviews with key informants, as needed.

Provide Leadership for Potential and Ongoing Research Activities

• Serve as an initial reviewer of selected reports, and review research methods documents as directed by the Research Directors.
• Contribute to development of research and report methodology.
• Contribute to requests for proposal submissions for relevant projects.
• Contribute to the ongoing Center development and various project deliverables via participation in selected project teams and staff meetings.
• Provide training, mentorship, and supervision to Research Associates, Policy Analysts, and other colleagues at the Center, as needed.

Project Management

• Track report progress, anticipate next steps, and gather required information from internal team, colleagues, and external contacts to produce high-quality, timely research products.
• Respond to feedback in a productive and timely manner and adhere to all timelines for projects.

Communication and Dissemination

• Develop and maintain effective relationships with Center clients, internal and external data-related resources, and a wide variety of state and federal governmental organizations and community groups.
• Represent the Center at selected national and state-level conferences, meetings, and other events, preparing materials for distribution and making presentations that effectively communicate research and the Center’s goals and mission. 

• MD, DO, PharmD, RN with relevant doctoral degree, or other relevant PhD or equivalent terminal degree; or equivalent combination of clinical expertise with additional experience and education in health policy. Extensive coursework in epidemiology, biostatistics, public health, and research methodology.
• At least 10 years’ experience applying these skills to support health policy decision making.
• Ability to synthesize evidence and translate complex findings into digestible and actionable written research products and oral presentations.
• Experience presenting research to various audiences, including public sector decision makers.
• Strong research skills, including knowledge of: study design, evidence synthesis, critical appraisal, statistics. Quantitative and qualitative methods.
• Experience producing rapid reviews or systematic reviews for use in decision making.
• Experience adapting systematic review research methods to individual research projects.
• Experience evaluating systematic reviews and meta-analyses.
• Experience critically appraising studies, reports, or other related documents.
• Experience assessing the certainty of a body of evidence for an outcome (e.g., GRADE) and risk of bias of a study.
• Demonstrated understanding of state health policy, particularly Medicaid.  
• Excellent writing, grammatical, and proofreading skills. Ability to adhere to style guides and respond in a timely and collaborative manner to reviewer and editor assessments of documents and other products.
• Proficiency in MS Office applications (e.g., Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook).
• Experience working with a citation management software application (e.g., EndNote).
• Experience working on multiple research projects and teams simultaneously, with excellent organizational skills.
• Experience working collaboratively and closely with colleagues on research projects.
• Ability to respond positively and proactively to feedback.
• Ability to exercise discretion when dealing with issues of a sensitive nature and to maintain confidentiality at all times.
• Exceptional organizational skills and ability to manage multiple priorities.
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills.
• Ability to interact with a wide variety of stakeholders, including both internal and external customers.
• Ability to be self-motivated, prioritize effectively, and achieve deadlines.
• Ability to provide training, mentorship and or supervision to other colleagues at the Center, as needed.

• Master’s degree or PhD in epidemiology, biostatistics or statistics.
• Experience working with systematic review software applications (e.g., DistillerSR).
• Experience conducting meta-analysis using common software applications (e.g., RevMan, Stata).
• Experience analyzing primary and secondary datasets, particularly state-level datasets from programs such as Medicaid.
• Experience conducting cost-benefit-analysis, program evaluation, or economic analyses.
• Record of peer-reviewed publications.

Oregon Health & Science University values a diverse and culturally competent workforce. We are proud of our commitment to being an equal opportunity, affirmative action organization that does not discriminate against applicants on the basis of any protected class status, including disability status and protected veteran status. Individuals with diverse backgrounds and those who promote diversity and a culture of inclusion are encouraged to apply. To request reasonable accommodation contact the Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Department at 503-494-5148 or aaeo@ohsu.edu.


As an organization devoted to the health and well-being of people in Oregon and beyond, OHSU requires its employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.