At the American Cancer Society, we're leading the fight for a world without cancer. Our employees and 1.5 million volunteers are raising the bar every single day. We actively seek candidates from diverse backgrounds including communities of color, the LGBTQ community, veterans, and people with disabilities. The greater the diversity of our people, the better we can serve our communities.

The people who work at the American Cancer Society focus their diverse talents on our lifesaving mission. It is a calling. And the people who answer it are fulfilled.

This role will be located at our Downtown Atlanta office 3 days per week.
Final title will be subject to candidate qualifications.


The incumbent will join the Risk Factors & Screening Research team within the Surveillance & Health Equity Science (SHES) Department of the American Cancer Society (ACS). Primary responsibilities include updating the biennial Cancer Prevention & Early Detection (CPED) Facts & Figures; provide analytical support to Scientific Director of Risk Factors & Screening Research; providing timely provision of screening and risk factor data for other Facts & Figures publications and to ACS senior leadership and field staffs to guide cancer control planning and measure progress. The candidate will have the opportunity and the support to write first author scientific papers and is encouraged to collaborate with colleagues in the Department to contribute to the scientific literature. Additional duties include supporting special projects of enterprise-wide importance.

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES

• Conduct comprehensive literature reviews and analyze surveillance data from various public-use databases (including the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, Youth Risk Behavior Survey, National Health Interview Survey, National Health and Nutrition Examinations Survey, Cancer registries) as well as medical claims data to meet various cancer surveillance and screening  activities including research projects for the peer-review literature.

• Collaborate with colleagues on cancer screening, surveillance, and social determinants of health research projects to contribute to scientific literature.

• Ensure the accuracy and consistency of data presented in Facts & Figures Publication (e.g., proofreading text and data checking).

• Respond to requests for risk factors and screening data from ACS staff, media, and the general public.

• Write, test, and submit computer programs in SAS, SUDAAN, and SEER*Stat to operate in a variety of computer environments (e.g. PC and local mainframe). Efficient, logical, pre-tested programs are essential in large databases.

• Prepare tables and figures for scientific presentations using EXCEL, PowerPoint and/or Origin Lab.

• Document analytic programs and results in an organized, dated, and clearly labeled form for future reference.

• Proofread reports for publication and presentation at professional meetings.

• Co-author or author papers for publications in scientific journals.

KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS

FORMAL KNOWLEDGE:

Master’s degree or equivalent amount of experience and education in Public Health, Statistics, or Epidemiology.

• Two year experience in statistical, medical, or biologic research.

• Cancer screening, early detection, and risk factor surveillance, and survey research experience highly desirable

SKILLS: 

SPECIALIZED TRAINING OR KNOWLEDGE:

• Good familiarity with SAS or related statistical software (R, Stata). Quantiative skills and good knowledge of statistics.

• PREFERRED: Experience in analysis of survey data using SUDAAN; background in cancer epidemiology.

• Familiarity with large database (NHIS, BRFSS, SEER, etc). 

• Familiarity with fundamental principles of biology and health.

• Good communication skills. Attention to detail with numbers and calculations.

DIRECT SUPERVISION RECEIVED:

Reports to Scientific Director, Risk Factors & Screening Research.

CONTACTS

INTERNAL CONTACTS:  

Close working relationships with staff in ACS research departments, Health Equity, ACS Cancer Action Network, Corporate Communications/Marketing, and ACS regions.

EXTERNAL CONTACTS:  

Collaborators in universities, at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Cancer Institute, the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries, and other relevant cancer surveillance organizations.

The American Cancer Society has adopted a vaccination policy that requires all staff, regardless of position or work location, to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 (except where prohibited by state law).

ACS provides staff a generous paid time off policy; medical, dental, retirement benefits, wellness programs, and professional development programs to enhance staff skills. Further details on our benefits can be found on our careers site at: jobs.cancer.org/benefits. We are a proud equal opportunity employer.