Community Evaluator, Research Scientist 3

Community Evaluator, Research Scientist 3

Working Title:
Community Evaluator - SHIP/CSUP
Job Class:
Research Scientist 3
Agency:
Health Department

• Job : 95911
• Location
  :
  St. Paul
• Full/Part Time
  :
  Full-Time
• Regular/Temporary
  :
  Unlimited
• Who May Apply
  :
  Open to all qualified job seekers simultaneously
• Date Posted
  : 07/30/2026
• Closing Date
  : 08/05/2026
• Hiring Agency
  : MN Health Department
• Division/Unit
  :
  Health Promotion and Chronic Disease / Office of Statewide Health Improvement Initiatives
• Work Shift/Work Hours
  :
  Day Shift / 8:00 A.M.
  
  - 4:30 P.M
• Days of Work
  :
  Monday
  - Friday
• Travel Required
  :
  Yes
  - Up to 25% of the time
• Salary Range: $37.91 - $56.39 / hourly; $79,156 - $117,742 / annually
• Classified Status
  :
  Classified
• Bargaining Unit/Union
  : 214 - MN Association of Professional Employees

At the State of Minnesota, employees play a critical role in developing policies, providing essential services, and working to improve the well-being and quality of life for all Minnesotans. The State of Minnesota is committed to equity and inclusion, and invests in employees by providing benefits, support resources, and training and development opportunities.

This position serves as a senior evaluation and research scientist for the Office of Statewide Health Improvement Initiatives (OSHII), provided scientific leadership for evaluation, surveillance, applied research, and continuous quality improvement across multiple statewide public health initiatives., including the Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP), Cannabis and Substance Use Prevention (CSUP) efforts, food systems initiatives, and federally funded programs.

Working at the intersection of research, epidemiology, and public health practice, this position develops innovative evaluation methods, guides data collection and reporting systems, and translates complex findings into actionable insights that improve programs and inform policy. This role serves to design and oversee evaluation and implementation science approaches that assess effectiveness, fidelity, reach, adoption, implementation, maintenance, and sustainability or community-based interventions.

As the organization's subject matter expert in research methodology and evaluation, this role provides consultation to OSHII leadership, MDH staff, community partners, and external researchers to ensure rigorous study design, statistical analysis, and meaningful interpretation of results.

This position also partners with community grantees to strengthen local evaluation capacity and assess the effectiveness, equity, and sustainability of community health improvement strategies in improving population health and reducing health inequities. Through collaboration with researchers, epidemiologists, evaluators, and other public health professionals, the incumbent uses culturally responsive and community-engaged evaluation approaches to lead the dissemination of research findings through reports, publications, and presentations that influence decision-making and improve the health of Minnesotans.

Primary responsibilities include;

• Plan, design, implement and continuously improve assessment, evaluation, surveillance, and applied research activities for the Office of Statewide Health Improvement Initiatives (OSHII).
• Serve as the organization’s subject matter expert nd provide consultation, expertise and direction on evaluation and research methodology, implementation science, data analysis and interpretation, and applied public health research to OSHII evaluation and content staff, MDH staff, and researchers external to MDH.
• Lead preparation of peer-reviewed journal article research publications, data dashboards, policy briefs, and conference presentations that summarize the impact and outcomes of community health improvement efforts of the Office of Statewide Health Improvement Initiatives (OSHII).
• Participate in strategic planning, assessment, and evaluation activities related to community health improvement initiatives and statewide prevention efforts. Maintain knowledge of the science base, evaluation methodologies, implementation science, research and analytic approaches to…