The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is a world-renowned agency with a long tradition of protecting and promoting health in the nation’s most culturally and linguistically diverse city. Our 7,000-plus team members bring an extraordinary array of languages, cultures, and experiences to bear on the work of public health. Our diversity fuels creativity because all perspectives are heard and valued.

The Center for Health Equity & Community Wellness (CHECW) seeks to eliminate racial and other inequities resulting in premature mortality. With an unwavering grounding in history and structural analysis, CHECW works to increase visibility of the harm perpetuated by centuries of racist, socially unjust policy while pushing towards redress for the most impacted NYC communities. CHECW addresses inequity across community and healthcare systems in partnership with community, faith-based, and health care organizations. CHECW’s work focuses on social determinants of health, including environmental and commercial determinants, and addresses both upstream and downstream factors to improve health and well-being of New Yorkers. CHECW is comprised of the Bureau of Bronx Neighborhood Health, the Bureau of Brooklyn Neighborhood Health, the Bureau of Harlem Neighborhood Health, the Bureau of Chronic Disease Prevention, the Bureau of Health Equity Capacity Building, the Bureau of Equitable Health Systems and the Bureau of Finance, and Administration Services. Reporting directly to the Executive Deputy Commissioner/Chief Medical Officer, the Deputy Commissioner/Chief Equity Officer overseeing CHECW will provide leadership and strategic direction for a division that includes more than 500 employees and an operating budget of over $85M annually and over $70M in grant funds.


The Deputy Commissioner/Chief Equity Officer is responsible for managing the performance, enhancing the impact, and ensuring equity-oriented culture across the Race to Justice management team and the Center for Health Equity and Community Wellness. Race to Justice, the agency’s internal transformation reform initiative, works across the agency leadership and equity champions across staff levels to promote justice and build capacity within the agency among staff of how racism operates within our institutions and structures; developing and implementing strategies to advance racial equity and social justice across programs, policies, and practices; and collaborate with NYC’s communities to counter racist and oppressive systems within the Health Department and across the city. The Race to Justice management team works in close partnership and manages a community of division equity liaisons and equity champions. The team is centered on transforming DOHMH into an anti-racist organization that has the systems, policies, practices, and capacity to achieve measurable reductions in health inequities. Race to Justice Management Team is guided and works to advance the internal equity goals addressing pay equity, centering equity in program, policy, and practice, and building equity infrastructure by way of adding staff lines.


DUTIES WILL INCLUDE BUT NOT BE LIMITED TO:
- Advises the Commissioner, Executive Deputy Commissioner/Chief Medical Officer and colleagues on issues pertaining to the investment and advancement of creating healthy communities, anti-racist health practices and related issues.
- Supervise the Division’s Assistant Commissioners, and Race to Justice Management team, and provide executive decision making, problem-solving, goal setting, and accountability for outcomes.
- In partnership with the EDC/CMO, develop and promote collaborative relationships across health and social care systems to develop strategies that prevent injury and illness and promote physical health, mental health, equity, and wellness.
- Strengthen place-based approaches to advance health equity by improved coordination of existing services across the Neighborhood Health Action Centers and increased partnership with community and faith-based organizations, city agencies and other key partners.
- Partner with agency and CHECW leadership to develop and implement standardized practice grounded in equity around program implementation and goal setting.
- Collaborate with diverse staff and leadership to develop, implement, lead, assess, and measure key strategic initiatives/programs including but not limited to advancing five identified internal equity goals, preventing gun violence, reducing inequities in the impact of COVID-19 and chronic disease, and advancing birth equity.
- Work across DOHMH’s departments and working groups to develop and implement the current strategic plan with racial justice advocacy, research by organizing with community partnerships, public education, and legislation, including adjusting our existing work where necessary to better reflect a social and racial justice analysis.
- Lead the agency’s Race to Justice team, which addresses societal and racial health inequities through internal agency reform and accountable bidirectional partnership with divisions inside the agency to enhance equitable outcomes across operations and programs.
- Advance the implementation of ani-racist public health practices and policies that will improve health outcomes for all New Yorkers through partnerships with the Mayor’s Office of Equity and other stakeholders.
- Ensure social and racial equity is at the core of agency transformation, leading efforts to embed equity-centered decision-making models in program, fiscal, and policy review, operations, and internal practices.
- Oversee the Division’s operations to ensure maximization of divisional resources by closely monitoring PS and OTPS budgets in partnership with AC of Finance and Administrative Services
- Represent the division at external meetings with City Hall, elected officials, community-based organization and others as requested.

- Minimum of a Masters from an accredited college or university with major coursework in public policy, sociology, education, ethnic studies, public relations, social work, public health, public administration, or a related field
- A minimum of 5-7 years of managerial experience especially within governmental or nonprofit sectors
- A minimum of 5-7 years of progressive responsibility in policy advocacy and/or community organizing in areas at the intersection of racial justice and health.

- Demonstrable track record of advancing health equity and anti-racist program and policy implementation and results at a large institution. - A demonstrable commitment to pursuing equity. - An informed perspective on applying racial equity lens in decision making and planning. - Proven leadership and management experience, including ability to manage a large team and evaluate multiple programmatic areas. - Demonstrated ability influencing cross-functional decisions and managing an array of internal and external stakeholders. - Excellent program development skills, with proven success in instituting public health initiatives. - Demonstrated team player, with experience working collaboratively, building relationships at all levels of an organization to achieve goals. - Creative thinker with proven track record to advance public health in innovative ways. - An outstanding leader with exceptional strategic, analytical, and critical thinking skills and a demonstrable track record of achieving results related to strategic plan implementation and performance improvement in an environment that promotes anti-racism and health equity. - A leader with exceptional operational management skills of diverse portfolios with a focus on tracking key performance indicators using accountability management tools. Experience working with people of all identities at all levels of an organization. - Proven government, managerial and leadership experience to oversee a large public health program. - Ability to engage with diverse staff and leadership to promote trust, collaboration and partnership between departments and levels of leadership. - Strong interpersonal skills: able to quickly establish credibility to develop and manage productive relationships with internal and external individuals and agencies. - Ability to handle multiple and changing demands in a fast-paced environment.

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Except as otherwise provided herein, a person serving in a mayoral agency in any of the following civil service or office titles shall be a resident of the City on the date that he or she assumes such title or shall establish city residence within ninety days after such date and shall thereafter maintain city residency for as long as he or she serves in such title: agency heads, including but not limited to Commissioner, Director and Executive Director, First Deputy Commissioner, Executive Deputy Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner, General Counsel, Borough Commissioner, Assistant Deputy Commissioner, Associate Commissioner, Assistant Commissioner, and other senior level staff titles, identified on a list established pursuant to section 2(b) of this Order.

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.