The College of Population Health (COPH) at the University of New Mexico’s Health Sciences Center educates the future population/public health workforce, partners with communities to conduct impactful research, and serves New Mexico’s communities, government and non-profit agencies, businesses and health–related organizations. The College and Health Sciences Center have deep connections to our diverse Native, Latinx/Hispanic and African American communities, with missions to improve the health and health equity of low-income New Mexicans, underrepresented minorities, and other vulnerable populations. The COPH houses three education programs: the Bachelor of Science in Population Health (BSPH), the Master of Public Health (MPH) and the newly launched PhD in Health Equity Sciences.  COPH has had an accredited MPH program for nearly 30 years. Within one year, we tripled the size of our faculty and more than doubled the size of our administrative staff.  We are now doubling our student enrollment and preparing to seek accreditation as a school of public health.  Our growth has included adding an Academic Health Department and a Government Resource Center (GRC).

The GRC which is titled “New Mexico Center for Health Policy (CHP),” functions similarly to the roughly two dozen university-based health policy centers around the country that partner closely with the state agency responsible for the Medicaid program and are part of the State University Partnership Learning Network (SUPLN) associated with Academy Health.  The Center employs the necessary leadership and staff to create state-specific health information and conduct policy-related projects through analysis, research, and program support. Center staff work collaboratively with the Human Services Department (HSD) to support evidence-based state health policy and practice, inform the Center’s research with the practical expertise of state officials, and promote state considerations in research questions and methods.  Further, staff assist HSD in taking a lead role in transforming the Medicaid health care delivery and payment system for New Mexico through state-directed research.

The New Mexico CHP, housed within COPH, is currently seeking a biostatistician (data scientist) with expertise in Medicaid and insurance claims evaluation and analysis.

As directed by the NMCHP leadership team, this senior data/research scientist will conduct analyses in Medicaid claims. They will establish study parameters, define investigational topics, methods, and procedures to conduct evaluations in Medicaid claims. They will make authoritative decisions and recommendations on the evaluations, which impact the scientific evaluation activities. They report to the Directors of the NM CHP.

They will exercise a high degree of creativity, foresight, and mature judgment in planning, organizing, and guiding extensive scientific research programs and activities of outstanding novelty and/or importance.

 Duties and Responsibilities

1.      Serve as the primary biostatistician (e.g., data scientist) of the NMCHP analytic team

2.      Have knowledge and expertise in Medicaid claims; conducting analyses using Medicaid claims in collaboration with the data manager/programmer

3.      Serve as a subject matter expert in capturing, mining, managing, and analyzing Medicaid claims (and other “big data” sets) using state-of-the-art-techniques, such as machine learning, natural language processing, cluster analysis, image analysis, pattern recognition, predictive modeling, visualization, and/or other applicable methods.

4.      Provide integrated, strategic guidance and leadership to stakeholders and subject matter experts for complex institutional or scientific challenges; identifies relevant data sources for information.

5.      Assists with the development and/or resubmission of new/continuing contract or grant proposals, budgets, and reports.

6.      Uses a variety of advanced statistical, mathematical, and/or modeling software, methods, and techniques to gather, analyze, and interpret complex research or organizational data to derive useful information; advises and assists in the development of inferences and conclusions.

7.      Exercises a high degree of creativity, foresight, and mature judgment in planning, organizing, and guiding extensive research programs and activities of outstanding novelty and/or importance.

8.      Prepares analyses, reports, and other documentation for publication; presents findings at local, national, and/or international meetings.

9.      Provides training, guidance, and leadership to students, postdocs, and lower-level data scientists; may train and supervise business, technical, and/or other professional staff, as appropriate.

10.  Maintains currency of knowledge with respect to relevant state-of-the-art technology, equipment, and/or systems.

11.  Performs miscellaneous job-related duties as assigned.

See the Position Description for additional information.

• Employees who provide services or work in patient care or clinical areas are required to be in compliance with the University's influenza vaccination requirement.

Master's degree; at least 7 years of experience directly related to the duties and responsibilities specified.

Completed degree(s) from an accredited institution that are above the minimum education requirement may be substituted for experience on a year for year basis.

Preferred Qualifications

• At least two years of experience conducting analyses with administrative claims, preferred this experience is with Medicaid claims
• Knowledge of ICD-10 diagnosis codes and CPT billing codes
•            Knowledge of insurance enrollment
•           Outpatient pharmacy claims knowledge is preferred
•           Advanced statistical expertise, encompassing the ability to conduct multivariable models and provide interpretation and explanation of outputs
•           Ability to conduct analyses in SAS computer programming language
•           Ability to develop scientific reports based on Medicaid claims data analysis
•           Ability to design, organize, and coordinate NMCPH data deliverables

Only applications submitted through the official UNMJobs site will be accepted. If you are viewing this job advertisement on a 3rd party site, please visit UNMJobs to submit an application.

Positions posted with a Staff Type of Regular or Term are eligible for the Veteran Preference Program. See the Veteran Preference Program webpage for additional details.

The University of New Mexico is committed to hiring and retaining a diverse workforce. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer, making decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected class.

The University of New Mexico requires all regular staff positions successfully pass a pre-employment background check. This may include, but is not limited to, a criminal history background check, New Mexico Department of Health fingerprint screening, New Mexico Children, Youth, and Families Department fingerprint screening, verification of education credentials, and/or verification of prior employment. For more information about background checks, visit https://policy.unm.edu/university-policies/3000/3280.html. Refer to https://policy.unm.edu/university-policies/3000/3200.html for a definition of Regular Staff.