Disease Control Investigator (2806) - San Francisco Department of Public Health

Company Description

The Department of Public Health prioritizes equitable and inclusive access to quality healthcare for its community and values the importance of diversity in its workforce. All employees at the Department of Public Health work to advance equity, inclusion, and diversity with a specific lens and focus on race, ethnicity, gender, sex, sexuality, disability, and immigration status. 

• Application Opening : September 12, 2025.
• Application Deadline : Application filing will close on or after September 19, 2025.
• Salary: $87,646 to $106,548 Annually
• Appointment Type: Permanent Civil Service
• Recruitment ID: CBT-2806-251974

The Mission of the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) is to protect and promote the health of all San Franciscans. SFDPH strives to achieve its mission through the work of multiple divisions - the San Francisco Health Network, Population Health, Behavioral Health Services, and Administration. The San Francisco Health Network is the City’s only complete system of care and has locations throughout the City, including Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center, and over 15 primary care health centers. The Population Health Division (PHD) provides core public health services for the City and County of San Francisco: health protection, health promotion, disease and injury prevention, and disaster preparedness and response. Behavioral Health Services operates in conjunction with SFHN and provides a range of mental health and substance use treatment services.

Job Description

Under direction, the 2806 Disease Control Investigator researches individual cases and outbreaks of communicable and other diseases, operating in the office and the field. Collects, interprets, and records complex specialized information of a highly confidential nature about patients and their contacts and investigates conditions at outbreak sites, such as schools and health care facilities, to formulate recommendations for disease prevention and control.

Essential Duties

1. Schedules and conducts field and phone interviews with individuals diagnosed with communicable and other diseases, and their contacts, to identify infection sources and transmission patterns.
2. Educates patients on disease prevention and reinfection to prevent transmission to others.
3. Collects and reviews health information from medical providers, clinics, hospitals and patients to make follow-up recommendations based on local, state and federal protocols.
4. Makes inquiries in various public and private locations (e.g., homes, bars, public transit terminals, workplaces and other locations) to gather information on contacts.
5. Develops and implements investigative methods to gather information in the field.
6. Implements psychological and interpersonal skills to manage sensitive situations with patients and their contacts.
7. Uses medical terminology to discuss and explain diseases with professionals and the public.
8. Admits patients and contacts to clinics, initiates their medical records, and instructs them on proper conduct.
9. Schedules new appointments for delinquent cases and may issue isolation orders.
10. Collaborates with probation departments, parole officers, school officials and others to locate contacts.
11. Promotes the disease control program by appearing before organizations to discuss program measures.
12. Maintains records of patients and contacts, and reports findings from investigations using comparative data.
13. Uses designated technology (including forms, spreadsheets and databases) to track visits, interviews and other case information.
14. The Disease Control Investigator may perform other duties as assigned/required.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

1. 1. Education: Possession of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university.
2. 2. Experience: Six (6) months of experience within the last five years conducting interviews or investigations in the field of epidemiology, or as an investigator conducting field investigations dealing with the general public in a specialized public health or sanitation field in connection with disease control programs.

And

Substitution: Additional experience as described above may be substituted for the required degree on a year-for-year basis (up to a maximum of 2 years). Thirty (30) semester units or forty-five (45) quarter units equal one year.

Important Note: Please make sure it is absolutely clear in your application exactly how you meet the minimum qualifications. Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. Please be aware that any misrepresentation of this information may disqualify you from this recruitment or future job opportunities. 

Additional Information

• Selection Procedures: 
• After application submission, candidates deemed qualified must complete all subsequent steps to advance in this selection process, which includes the following.

Assessment Component
Candidates that meet the minimum qualifications will be invited to participate in a Behavioral Consistency Questionnaire exam that is designed to measure the knowledge, skills, and abilities in job related areas which may include but not be limited to: Knowledge of public health laws and disease control programs, ability to analyze information, solve problems, and adapt to challenging environments, interpersonal and communication skills written communication, technology use, and the physical ability to conduct fieldwork.

Behavioral Consistency Questionnaire (Weight: 100%)

Candidates must achieve a passing score on the Behavioral Consistency Questionnaire exam in order to continue in the selection process and will be placed on the confidential eligible list in rank order according to their final score.

Additional selection processes may be conducted by the hiring department prior to making final hiring decisions.

• Certification
• The certification rule for the eligible list resulting from this examination will be the Rule of the list Scores.
• Eligible List/Score Report:
• Once you pass the exam, you will be placed onto an eligible list and given a score and a rank. For more information, visit https://careers.sf.gov/knowledge/process/

The duration of the eligible list resulting from this examination process will be 12 months and may be extended with the approval of the Human Resources Director.

How To Apply

Applications for City and County of San Francisco jobs are only accepted online at careers.sf.gov.

Our e-mail communications may come from more than one department so please make sure your email is set to accept messages from all of us at this link.

Applicants may be contacted by email about this recruitment. Please consider using a personal email address that you check regularly rather than a work or school account.

Applicants will receive a confirmation email that their online application has been received in response to every announcement for which they file. Applicants should retain this confirmation email for their records. Failure to receive this email means that the online application was not submitted or received.

Terms of Announcement and Appeal Rights
Applicants must be guided solely by the provisions of this announcement, including requirements, time periods and other particulars, except when superseded by federal, state or local laws, rules or regulations. [Note: The correction of clerical errors in an announcement may be posted on the Department of Human Resources website at https://careers.sf.gov/.] The terms of this announcement may be appealed under Civil Service Rule 110.4. Such appeals must be submitted in writing to the Department of Human Resources, 1 S Van Ness Avenue, 4th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94103-5413 by close of business on the 5th business day following the issuance date of this examination announcement. Information concerning other Civil Service Commission Rules involving announcements, applications and examination policies, including applicant appeal rights, can be found on the Civil Service Commission website at http://sfgov.org/civilservice/rules.  

Additional information regarding Employment with the City and County of San Francisco: 

• Information about the Hiring Process 

• Conviction History

• Employee Benefits Overview

• Equal Employment Opportunity

• Disaster Service Workers

• Reasonable Accommodation

• Right To Work

• Copies of Application Documents

• Diversity Statement

• Veterans Preference

• Seniority Credit in Promotional Exams 

If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the analyst, Juan Pablo Gonzalez at juanpablo.gonzalezsa@sfdph.org or (628)271-7243.

We may use text messaging to communicate with you on the phone number provided in your application. The first message will ask you to opt in to text messaging.

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.