Job Opportunity – COVID-19 Contact Tracing – Ohio Department of Health

  • Temporary
  • Anywhere
  • Applications have closed

Job Opportunity – COVID-19 Contact Tracing

Help slow the spread of COVID-19 in your community.

Contact Tracers are essential to the safe and successful reopening of Ohio’s economy by protecting against community spread of COVID-19.

Once a person has been diagnosed with the virus, our team of skilled Contact Tracers works quickly to identify and interview contacts via telephone call, notify them of possible exposure, and inform them of proper quarantine protocol.  Contact Tracers also assess the contact’s symptoms and possible risk factors, and provide the contact with information related to social distancing, symptom monitoring, testing, care, and other resources.  Through swift tracing and information sharing, our Contact Tracers are actively slowing the spread of COVID-19 and helping Ohio heal from this unprecedented global pandemic.

We are looking for customer-focused, tech-savvy, self-motivated candidates to assist in our state’s response to the global pandemic.

Strong, empathetic communication skills are essential to this role.  Contact Tracers routinely engage with exposed individuals from various backgrounds and cultural identities who may be scared, confused, anxious, reluctant, or even irate.  Sensitive, culturally competent communication and active listening are key; successful candidates will have a strong background working with difficult people and/or people with complex needs, with a demonstrated ability to build rapport and de-escalate tense conversations.  In addition, as our Contact Tracers work with sensitive health-related information, maintaining confidentiality and protecting the privacy of Ohio citizens is of utmost importance.

Contact Tracers work remotely from home.  Candidates will be expected to set up and maintain their home working environment, including initial setup of their workstation (e.g., setting up a computer, establishing internet connection).  Contact Tracers must be comfortable toggling between multiple computer applications daily and entering data into databases accurately and efficiently.  Candidates with strong computer literacy skills are more likely to be successful in this role.

NOTE:  This is a temporary, special project position.  Special project employees are not entitled to state contractual benefits of healthcare coverage, nor are they eligible for paid time off (e.g., vacation, sick, holiday, personal, or any other paid leave).  The maximum duration of employment will be through December 31, 2021.

If you are interested in the opportunity to protect your community from further spread, apply online today!

What are a Contact Tracer’s daily responsibilities?

  • Work remotely from home using office hardware/software/multiple computer applications (e.g., computer, iPhone, internet)
  • Conduct phone interviews with individuals who have been exposed to COVID-19 patients
  • Collect and record individuals’ symptom information into a database
  • Advise individuals to follow appropriate protocols, including self-quarantine and self-isolation
  • Share relevant instructions for symptom monitoring and information about quarantine and isolation
  • Refer exposed individuals to COVID-19 testing locations according to protocol and support them in connecting to other resources where appropriate
  • Consult and communicate approved information to respond to individuals’ questions and concerns
  • Maintain daily contact with the team supervisor and participate in reporting, training, and other activities as part of the team

Qualifications

What are the qualifications?

Candidate submissions are reviewed for minimum and preferred qualifications.  Candidates must at least meet minimum qualifications to be considered for a Contact Tracer position, and those minimum qualifications must be clearly demonstrated on the online application.   Candidates who meet and demonstrate the preferred qualifications are more likely to receive an interview for the role than those who do not.

  • Minimum Qualifications
    • 9 months’ training/experience in office practices and procedures
    • 9 months’ training/experience in public relations or customer service that included techniques for handling difficult people
    • 9 months’ training/experience in typing, keyboarding, data entry, or word processing
    • 9 months’ training/experience in the operation of a personal computer
    • Current Ohio resident
  • Preferred Qualifications
    • Experience in a healthcare, medical, public health, community social services, or related setting
    • Experience conducting interviews
    • Experience working in a remote setting
    • Experience working with diverse populations and individuals with complex needs
    • High proficiency in the use of a personal computer, data entry, Office 365, and Microsoft Teams
    • Full-time availability (minimum 30 hours per week)
    • Bilingual or multilingual (e.g., full fluency in a language other than English)
      NOTE: Bilingual/multilingual Contact Tracers are expected to communicate with non-English speakers fluently and transcribe interviews in other languages into English; partial fluency or having rough skills in another language is not equivalent to full fluency.  Do NOT claim to be bilingual/multilingual on your online application unless you are fully fluent. 

 

What is the schedule like?

Contact Tracers are hired and scheduled according to business need – that is, the greater the number of positive COVID-19 cases appearing statewide, the greater the volume of work for our Contact Tracers to complete.  Normal working hours are generally 8:00AM to 5:00PM; however, some Contact Tracers opt to work evenings and weekends, as well as voluntary overtime opportunities as available.  Candidates who can work at least 30 hours per week will receive priority in the hiring process over candidates with reduced availability.

NOTE:  This is a TEMPORARY position.  Duration of employment is estimated to last approximately 12-18 months, with an official end date of December 31, 2021.

Background Check Information The final candidate selected for this position will be required to undergo a criminal background check. Criminal convictions do not necessarily preclude an applicant from consideration for a position. An individual assessment of an applicant’s prior criminal convictions will be made before excluding an applicant from consideration.