*** Part-Time

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 mission of the Bureau of Immunization (BOI) is to prevent the occurrence and transmission of diseases through immunization. The BOI promotes the immunization of children and adults against numerous vaccine preventable diseases (VPDs), including COVID-19 and influenza. The Immunization Infrastructure and Clinical Support Unit (IICSU) promotes vaccination across the lifespan, equitable access to high-quality vaccination services across New York City and elimination of disparities in vaccination coverage. The Unit provides infrastructure support to immunizing providers, pharmacies and healthcare facilities, promotes implementation of evidence-based practices for increasing vaccination coverage in clinical settings, educates providers on vaccine indications and clinical recommendations, and advocates for regulatory actions to increase vaccination coverage.

The Unit also provides immunization expertise for public-facing educational campaigns and community outreach programs.

The Bureau of Immunization is seeking a City Medical Specialist, assignment level III to serve as the Director of the IICSU. Reporting to the BOI Assistant Commissioner, the Director will serve as a member of the Bureau's senior staff.

The incumbent will participate in strategic planning and will lead the implementation of programs to increase uptake of routinely recommended vaccines (including COVID-19 and influenza) and eliminate existing racial, ethnic and geographic disparities in vaccination coverage among children and adults. This position will lead work with the provider community to ensure Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommendations are followed and evidence-based strategies for increasing vaccination coverage are implemented. Activities will include utilization of data to develop and implement new vaccination projects and programs, development of educational materials for providers and the public, provision of technical assistance to providers and stakeholders, management and oversight of vaccination programs with independent pharmacies and federally qualified health centers and expanding access to vaccination in populations with low vaccination coverage.

The Director of the IICSU will also serve as the primary subject matter expert for the Health Department's immunization clinic at the Fort Greene Health Center, ensuring clinical protocols and standing orders are in place, the electronic health record is up-to-date and meeting the needs of the clinic, vaccine supply is being used according to funding requirements, and staff are fully trained on immunization protocols and recommendations. The Director of the IICSU will also work closely with the other BOI units, coordinating with the Executive Director, administration, the surveillance and school compliance units, the Citywide Immunization Registry and the vaccine management teams to ensure the IICSU is aligned with Bureau-wide priorities. The incumbent will also participate in the BOI doctor-of-the-week program, agency on-call programs, and emergency preparedness and response activities.

DUTIES WILL INCLUDE BUT NOT BE LIMITED TO:

Oversee the work of the Immunization Infrastructure and Clinical Support Unit (IICSU), currently a team of 4 physicians, 1 PhD epidemiologist, 1 pharmacist and 3 research scientists.

Serve as a subject matter expert on vaccines and vaccination, providing clinical guidance and technical assistance to BOI and DOHMH staff and immunizing providers across NYC.

Conduct strategic planning to identify opportunities to increase vaccination and reduce disparities in coverage by race, ethnicity and across neighborhoods among children and adults.

Conduct research and analyze data to identify populations with low vaccination coverage.

Establish effective partnerships with vaccination providers, facilities, and professional organizations.

Support vaccination providers in implementing the Standards for Pediatric Immunization Practices and the Standards for Adult Immunization Practices across New York City.

Leverage opportunities to increase the number of adult providers registered and reporting to the Citywide Immunization Registry.

Work to expand the network of vaccination providers serving uninsured adults across New York City.

Serve as the primary subject matter expert for the Fort Greene Immunization Clinic.

Identify and support effective legislation and regulatory policies/strategies to increase vaccination.

Participate in Bureau activities: participate in Bureau Doctor-of-the-Week program, conduct provider and community talks on vaccine preventable diseases and immunization, and participate in emergency preparedness and response activities.

Participate in DOHMH activities: participate in the Agency's Doctor-on-Call program, provide immunization expertise to other Bureaus and Divisions, participate in agencywide emergency preparedness and response activities.

Possession of a valid license to practice medicine in the State of New York; and either:
a) Valid Board Certification issued by the appropriate American Specialty Board in any specialty area required by the agency; or
b) Current approved application on file for admission to the certifying examination given by the appropriate American Specialty Board in any specialty area required by the agency.
To be assigned to Assignment Level II, individuals must have, in addition to meeting the minimum qualification requirements for Assignment Level I described above, one year of satisfactory experience practicing in the specialty area.
To be assigned to Assignment Level III, individuals must possess:
a) A valid license to practice medicine in the State of New York; and
b) A Master's degree in Public Health, or equivalent Master's degree, including or supplemented by graduate credits in epidemiology and biostatistics. Completion of Epidemic Intelligence Service program of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention may be used to substitute for this Master's degree; and
c) At least two years of satisfactory experience after receipt of the Master's degree, or equivalent, in the practice of epidemiology. Specialty Board Certification or eligibility may be substituted for one year of this experience.
To be assigned to Assignment Level IV, individuals must possess:
a) A valid license to practice medicine in the State of New York; and
b) Completion of an approved residency program in an accredited hospital, including three years of experience, in either internal medicine, or family practice, or pediatrics, or another related specialty area required by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene; and
c) Valid board certification or board eligibility issued by the appropriate American Subspecialty Board in Infectious Disease, Pulmonary Medicine, or a related subspecialty; and
d) Completion of an approved fellowship program in an accredited hospital, including two years of experience, in either infectious diseases, or pulmonary medicine, or another related subspecialty required by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

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.