Established in 1805, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (the NYC Health Department) is the oldest and largest health department in the country. Our mission is to protect and improve the health of all New Yorkers, in service of a vision of a city in which all New Yorkers can realize their full health potential, regardless of who they are, how old they are, where they are from, or where they live.

As a world-renowned public health agency with a history of building transformative public health programming and infrastructure, innovating in science and scholarship to advance public health knowledge, and responding to urgent public health crises from New York City’s yellow fever outbreak in 1822, to the COVID-19 pandemic we are a hub for public health innovation, expertise, and programs, and services. We serve as the population health strategist, and policy, and planning authority for the City of New York, while also having a vast impact on national and international public policy, including programs and services focused on food and nutrition, anti-tobacco support, chronic disease prevention, HIV/AIDS treatment, family and child health, environmental health, mental health, and racial and social justice work, among others.

Our Agency’s five strategic priorities, building off a recently-completed strategic planning process emerging from the COVID-19 emergency, are:
1) To re-envision how the Health Department prepares for and responds to health emergencies, with a focus on building a “response-ready” organization, with faster decision-making, transparent public communications, and stronger surveillance and bridges to healthcare systems 2) Address and prevent chronic and diet-related disease, including addressing rising rates of childhood obesity and the impact of diabetes, and transforming our food systems to improve nutrition and enhance access to healthy foods
3) Address the second pandemic of mental illness including: reducing overdose deaths, strengthening our youth mental health systems, and supporting people with serious mental illness
4) Reduce black maternal mortality and make New York a model city for women’s health
5) Mobilize against and combat the health impacts of climate change

Our 7,000-plus team members bring extraordinary diversity to the work of public health. True to our value of equity as a foundational element of all of our work, and a critical foundation to achieving population health impact in New York City, the NYC Health Department has been a leader in recognizing and dismantling racism’s impacts on the health of New Yorkers and beyond. In 2021, the NYC Board of Health declared racism as a public health crisis. With commitment to advance anti-racist public health practices that dismantle systems that perpetuate inequitable power, opportunity and access, the NYC Health Department continues to work in and with communities and community organizations to increase their access to health services and decrease avoidable health outcomes.

PROGRAM AND JOB DESCRIPTION:

The NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) is an agency recognized worldwide for being a leader in public health. The Bureau of Vital Statistics is responsible for registering and certifying all birth, deaths, spontaneous and induced terminations of pregnancy in NYC. The Bureau issues analyzes and reports on 285,000 vital events each year. The bureau is a very large customer service operation, providing death certification services on a 24/7 basis, issuing more than 900,000 certified copies of birth and death records, and fulfilling hundreds of data requests annually.

DUTIES WILL INCLUDE BUT NOT BE LIMITED TO:

* Greet and professionally interact with internal and external customers and stakeholders delivering excellent customer service in addressing and resolving customer inquiries, including with in-person customers, via email and telephone.

* Assist with the improvement of community services by performing liaison functions among or between internal departments, City agencies, community organizations and groups and the individuals they represent and service.

* Respond to telephone and written inquiries from customers, including other City, State and Federal agencies.

* Receive and accurately examine physical and/or electronic birth and or death correction applications and supporting documents, including, Acknowledgement of Paternity, Court Ordered Filiations, Adoption Orders and Transgender amendments; ensuring documentary evidence, identification and fee(s) are appropriately submitted. Review confidential documents submitted with application for completeness.

* Accurately complete or reject amendments according to DOHMH, Vital Records guidelines.

* Adhere to established turn-around times for accurately processing applications.

* Provide staff coverage and train in other OVRS units as assigned.

* Perform other related clerical support functions, including assisting with special projects, testing new workflow processes, faxing,filing, and indexing. Transfer cases to and from other Office of Vital Records Units as needed.

Qualification Requirements
1. High school graduation or equivalent and three years of experience in community work or community centered activities in an area related to duties described above; or
2. Education and/or experience which is equivalent to "1" above.

The ability to understand and carry out simple instructions is required. Candidates must be able to understand and be understood in English.

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.