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 New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's Division of Environmental Health works to prevent and control illness and injury related to environmental and occupational health risks through outreach, education, surveillance and enforcement. With staff of 1,000, the Division covers a broad range of subject matter, including oversight of environmental investigations, lead poisoning injury prevention, occupational health, food safety, child care, radiation control, recreational and drinking water quality, air quality, climate health, vector control, veterinary public health and pest control.

The Bureau of Environmental Surveillance and Policy (BESP) in the Division of Environmental Health at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) works to inform and improve its mission to ground Health Department programs and policy in science and law to support a healthy and equitable natural, built, and occupational environment for all New Yorkers. We promote environmental health through legal and data-driven program support, using innovative methods to track environmental determinants of health with a focus on New Yorkers disproportionately impacted by environmental risk. We share data and research findings to encourage evidence-based decision-making, and partner with communities in community science and outreach to address stakeholder concerns and empower residents.

A Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: BESP is an equal opportunity employer committed to a diverse and inclusive workforce. BESP leadership and non-leadership staff collectively strive toward racial and social justice by continuously monitoring for and eliminating systemic inequities in all aspects of our work while promoting a culture of education, empowerment, and healing.

Proposed Duties:

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's Division of Environmental Health works to prevent and control illness and injury related to environmental and occupational health risks through outreach, education, surveillance and enforcement. With staff of 1,000, the Division covers a broad range of subject matter, including oversight of environmental investigations, lead poisoning injury prevention, occupational health, food safety, child care, radiation control, recreational and drinking water quality, air quality, climate health, vector control, veterinary public health and pest control.

The Bureau of Environmental Surveillance and Policy (BESP) in the Division of Environmental Health at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) works to inform and improve its mission to ground Health Department programs and policy in science and law to support a healthy and equitable natural, built, and occupational environment for all New Yorkers. We promote environmental health through legal and data-driven program support, using innovative methods to track environmental determinants of health with a focus on New Yorkers disproportionately impacted by environmental risk. We share data and research findings to encourage evidence-based decision-making, and partner with communities in community science and outreach to address stakeholder concerns and empower residents.
A Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: BESP is an equal opportunity employer committed to a diverse and inclusive workforce. BESP leadership and non-leadership staff collectively strive toward racial and social justice by continuously monitoring for and eliminating systemic inequities in all aspects of our work while promoting a culture of education, empowerment, and healing.
Mandatory Vaccination Policy: All new hires must be vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus unless they have been granted a reasonable accommodation for religion or disability. If you are offered city employment, this requirement must be met by your date of hire, unless a reasonable accommodation for exemption is received and approved by the hiring agency.


Justification and Critical Hire Statement
The Bureau of Environmental Surveillance and Policy (BESP) provides data and analytic services to support research for the Division of Environmental Health Services (EHS). An integral part of this research process is the capacity to collect, store, retrieve and report on these data. As part of a research team, the proposed position will perform all of these functions: working with the Division of Information Technology (DIT) to create and manage data integration processes, overseeing and managing analytic databases and attendant governance policies, creating views and stored procedures, and managing the reporting server. If this position were to be vacant, the bureau would have little capacity to perform these tasks, all of which require specialized skills. To the degree that the bureau could perform these functions, it would entail diverting resources from other vital functions.
BESP seeks an experienced data analyst to improve the bureau’s research capacity by supporting and modernizing its internal data infrastructure including databases, data integration process, and reporting tools. The candidate will manage a team of informatics specialists ad work with analysts and technologists and the Division of Information Technology to ensure that the programs have access to the data they need to make timely and informed decisions. The data manager will also facilitate coordination between researchers and other users by creating and enforcing policies for data management and governance that align with industry standards and best research practices.
Proposed Duties
- Support environmental health program operations, policy initiatives and epidemiological research by creating and maintaining data integration processes that regularly retrieve data from external sources and load them into DOHMH databases
- Manage analytic databases to support environmental health program operations, policy initiatives and epidemiological research by structuring data, managing permissions, and optimizing queries
- Manage the Environmental Health Data Warehouse that integrates operational data from Division of Environmental Health programs and transforms those data to optimize reporting
- Provide Division of Environmental Health program real-time operational data by overseeing, optimizing performance, and regularly upgrading of the Division of Environmental Health SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) server
- Collaborate with the Division of Information Technology (DIT) to leverage existing agency IT infrastructure and comply with existing Agency policy
- Work with Division of Environmental Health subject matter experts to create data governance policies that ensure security and access to data in support of Division of Environmental Health operations, epidemiological research and policy initiatives
- Manage informatics staff in support of the above tasks
- Mentor staff on the use of SSIS, SSRS, and SQL
- Support the Division during emergency environmental responses.

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.

- 3 years experience doing data analysis and data management as part of a research team - At least 5 years experience managing MS SQL database including structuring databases, creating indexes, optimizing queries, and managing security - Excellent SQL skills - At least 3 years experience creating and instituting data governance practices - At least 3 years experience creating SSRS reports - Knowledge of the research process - Very strong communication skills and a demonstrated ability to work with diverse stakeholders - Experience managing an SSRS server is a plus - Knowledge of Azure a plus - Knowledge and experience developing code in Python is a plus

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.