Nutrition Analyst Jobs

Panum is seeking an experienced Nutrition Analyst to service an existing contract with the Nutrition and Economic Analysis Branch (NEAB)

The Nutrition and Economic Analysis Branch (NEAB) team, housed within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion (CNPP), is an interdisciplinary team of nutritionists and economists that have a unique combination of experience and expertise in nutritional sciences, public health, and applied economics and analysis. NEAB supports CNPP’s mission to improve the health of Americans by planning and conducting data analyses that inform dietary guidance including technical analyses for the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, Thrifty Food Plan, and Healthy Eating Index as well as other special initiatives at CNPP. NEAB’s work also helps the agency uphold the Data Quality Act, which mandates that Federal agencies ensure the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of the information used to form Federal guidance.

Applicants should have strong knowledge of study design and research principles and experience in conducting research and data analyses on topics related to nutrition and health and in critically evaluating evidence-based nutrition/health literature. Applicants should also have experience using SAS. Knowledge of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the Thrifty Food Plan, use of data and corresponding databases from What We Eat in America, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, and application of the Healthy Eating Index is preferred but not required.

Applicants should also have experience in coordinating multiple complex tasks, managing research projects, and facilitating expert groups. Candidates should have strong written and oral communication skills, be detail oriented, and be able to work both collaboratively and independently within a research team conducting research and producing publications and reports.

Roles and Responsibilities

• Continuous quality advancement (CQA): Application of strong knowledge of data analysis best practices and relevant scientific literature to routinely evaluate and refine Food Pattern Modelling, Healthy Eating Index, and Thrifty Food Plan methodologies and tools through continuous quality advancement initiatives. Ensure that NEAB’s approaches to data analysis remain state-of the-art. CQA work results in timely updates to the NEAB analytical approaches for various projects.
• Data analysis and food pattern modeling projects: NEAB conducts data analyses and food pattern modeling to answer questions about dietary patterns to achieve nutrient adequacy, diet quality in the U.S., the prevalence of diet-related conditions. Key projects include Food Pattern Modeling to inform the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the Healthy Eating Index to measure diet quality, and analyses of nutrition and health-related data to inform the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the Thrifty Food Plan. Work is within a team and with subject matter experts to critically analyze, synthesize, model, and interpret nutrition and health related data to inform policy.
• Outreach: NEAB uses a variety of strategies to translate and disseminate complex research findings and information about our work to a range of audiences.

NEAB Nutrition Analysts work collaboratively with the NEAB team, as well as others within CNPP, FNS, USDA, and other Federal agencies. In addition, Analysts also collaborate with and provide support to external scientific experts (e.g., the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee).

Minimum Requirements

• Work experience that demonstrates that the applicant has acquired the level of knowledge and skill necessary for the position.
• Completed a Master’s degree or PhD, DrPH, or ScD in Nutritional Sciences, or a closely related field.
• Experience and proficiency with Microsoft Office (i.e., Teams, Excel, Word, PowerPoint).
• Experience and proficiency coding in SAS.

Panum Telecom LLC (dba Panum Group) Established in 1997, Panum Group provides unique expertise and innovative solutions that address federal customers’ greatest business and mission challenges. A culture of excellence through innovation and problem-solving has resulted in 100 percent growth in employees and revenue over the last three years. Panum provides program & project management, acquisition & contract management, business & strategy consulting and next generation information and communications technology services for more than 20 federal agencies. For more information, please visit www.panum.com.