The Department of Social Services (DSS) is comprised of the administrative units of the NYC Human Resources Administration (HRA) and the Department of Homeless Services (DHS). DHS’s mission statement is to prevent homelessness, when possible, address street homelessness, provide safe temporary shelter, and connect New Yorkers experiencing homelessness to suitable housing. The New York City Human Resources Administration (HRA) is dedicated to fighting poverty and income inequality by providing New Yorkers in need with essential benefits such as Cash, Food and Rental Assistance as well as Medicaid.

The DSS Medical and Health Services Office aims to improve the health and well-being of individuals who are experiencing homelessness reduce morbidity and mortality and increase access to care that supports readiness for independent living. The office develops and implements public health initiatives and evidence-based prevention programs for clients in shelters, safe havens, and those living on the streets.

The Health Service Office is launching the Bronx Hub Project to reduce street homelessness and substance use risks among individuals congregating in public spaces in the South Bronx. The project will collaborate with City and State agencies and community-based organizations to identify the root causes of persistent street homelessness and public substance use in the region and design interventions that support successful transitions to harm reduction and substance use programs, health care facilities, shelters, safe havens, or permanent housing. Project staff will: Take a leadership role in interagency task forces to identify individuals experiencing homelessness in public spaces; Coordinate transitions into shelters or safe havens when appropriate and deploy street-based health care services as needed; Strengthen the capacity of local shelters and safe havens to provide onsite risk reduction services and link clients to medical, substance use, mental health, and social services; and, Deliver long-term, complex care coordination for individuals with high needs.

The Health Services Office (HSO) is recruiting one (1) City Research Scientist II, to function as a Bronx Hub Project Manager, who will:

Under the supervision of the Harm Reduction Program Manager:

- Work with leadership to develop, implement, monitor, and evaluate the intervention.

- Conduct formative biological and social science research to inform project design, including literature reviews, expert interviews, community resource mapping, surveys, and focus groups.

- Participate actively in the Bronx Hub Task Force, which brings together City, State, and community-based stakeholders in street outreach, substance use, and medical treatment, and coordinating a homeless workgroup.

- Supervise field based staff who work in shelters and safe havens to provide onsite risk reduction and linkage to care services.

- Collaborate with supervisors to develop methods to integrate task force referrals with DHS and health system data, enabling rapid identification, enrollment, and provision of risk reduction, linkage to care, shelter intake and complex care coordination services.

- Record and analyze client health data and service delivery outcomes in a database to contribute to statistical reports, identify trends, and recommend system improvements.

- Develop monitoring tools, quality improvement methods, and surveys to support qualitative evaluation.

- Presenting evaluation findings to internal and external stakeholders.


Hours/Shift:
Schedule needs to be flexible; some staff need to be able to work at least some days as early as 7am-7:30am while others would start later and end later

CITY RESEARCH SCIENTIST - 21744

1. For Assignment Level I (only physical, biological and environmental sciences and public health) A master's degree from an accredited college or university with a specialization in an appropriate field of physical, biological or environmental science or in public health.
To be appointed to Assignment Level II and above, candidates must have:
1. A doctorate degree from an accredited college or university with specialization in an appropriate field of physical, biological, environmental or social science and one year of full-time experience in a responsible supervisory, administrative or research capacity in the appropriate field of specialization; or
2. A master's degree from an accredited college or university with specialization in an appropriate field of physical, biological, environmental or social science and three years of responsible full-time research experience in the appropriate field of specialization; or
3. Education and/or experience which is equivalent to "1" or "2" above. However, all candidates must have at least a master's degree in an appropriate field of specialization and at least two years of experience described in "2" above. Two years as a City Research Scientist Level I can be substituted for the experience required in "1" and "2" above.

NOTE:
Probationary Period
Appointments to this position are subject to a minimum probationary period of one year.

- Knowledge of South Bronx homeless services, medical, behavioral health, and social service systems. - Direct experience working with individuals experiencing homelessness in health care, substance use treatment, street outreach, shelter, or safe haven settings. - Strong project management skills. - Proficiency in Microsoft Office and database platforms such as REDCap. - Experience participating activity in community coalitions. - Strong public speaking skills, including ability to provide training to diverse stakeholders. - Strong communication and documentation skills, with the ability to adapt messaging for diverse stakeholders. - Experience conducting social science or biological formative research on complex health conditions.

As a prospective employee of the City of New York, you may be eligible for federal loan forgiveness programs and state repayment assistance programs. For more information, please visit the U.S. Department of Education’s website at https://studentaid.gov/pslf/.

New York City residency is generally required within 90 days of appointment. However, City Employees in certain titles who have worked for the City for 2 continuous years may also be eligible to reside in Nassau, Suffolk, Putnam, Westchester, Rockland, or Orange County. To determine if the residency requirement applies to you, please discuss with the agency representative at the time of interview.

The City of New York is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.