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
New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Division of Mental Hygiene seeks one (1) full- time Director of The Health and Justice Epi Center for the Bureau of Health Promotion for Justice- Impacted Populations.

BUREAU DESCRIPTION:

The Bureau of Health Promotion for Justice-Impacted Populations (HPJIP) aims to reduce the negative social and health consequences of criminal legal system involvement through innovative policy and practice change. By centering community, addressing racial inequities, honoring lived experience, and elevating trauma-and-resilience-informed-approaches, we promote evidence-based best practices to address the needs of those disproportionately impacted by the criminal legal system.

UNIT DESCRIPTION:

The Health and Justice Epi Center is responsible for providing support to HPJIP programmatic initiatives, conducting public health surveillance, and generating new knowledge about the health of justice-impacted New Yorkers by publishing relevant data and research.


JOB DESCRIPTION:

The Director of The Health and Justice Epi Center, reporting to the Assistant Commissioner of HPJIP and leading a team dedicated to promoting the health of justice-impacted populations, will be responsible for:

- Demonstrating an unwavering commitment to health equity and dedication to addressing both historical and contemporary injustices across social positions and social identities, with a specific focus and understanding of how the criminal legal system cuts across these factors.
- A commitment to centering lived experience and to reducing the scope and negative impact of the criminal legal system in New York City.
- Directing and overseeing all HPJIP public health surveillance, program monitoring, evaluation, and research activities.
- Overseeing the characterization of the behavioral and physical health of individuals and communities who have interacted with and are impacted by the criminal legal system.
- Providing expert input on research questions, analytical guidance, research instruments, and publications.
- Supporting staff in the development and dissemination of internal and external publications, including agency data briefs, reports, and peer-reviewed publications.
- Collaborating with internal and external partners to identify, integrate, and analyze available health data to incorporate into public health surveillance, program monitoring, and evaluation activities.
- Providing relevant statistics for presentations/conferences and talking points for Agency/HPJIP leadership.
- Leading the incorporation of criminal legal system measures on DOHMH surveys and subsequent analyses, as well as advocating for and guiding opportunities to expand the research and evaluation activities of the Epi Center.
- Managing work expectations and areas of responsibility for staff as well as timelines and workflow; providing support to Epi Center staff as needed.
- Providing direct regular supervision to senior members of Health and Justice Epi Center staff.
- Communicating and liaising regularly with the Assistant Commissioner and bureau leadership and representing The Health and Justice Epi Center/HPJIP at Division- and Agency-wide meetings. This includes participating in ongoing discussions across bureaus and divisions to share insight and ideas on content related to the behavioral and physical health of individuals and communities impacted by the criminal legal system and relevant methodologic approaches.
- Preparing written documents, including grant proposals, study protocols and IRB applications, manuscripts, memos, reports, and presentations.
- Participating in special studies and activities as assigned and other duties as deemed necessary by the Assistant Commissioner of HPJIP, or their designee.
- Other duties or tasks may be assigned on an as-needed basis.

**IMPORTANT NOTES TO ALL CANDIDATES:

Please note: If you are called for an interview you will be required to bring to your interview copies of original documentation, such as:
- A document that establishes identity for employment eligibility, such as: A Valid U.S. Passport, Permanent Resident Card/Green Card, or Driver’s license.

- Proof of Education according to the education requirements of the civil service title.

- Current Resume

- Proof of Address/NYC Residency dated within the last 60 days, such as: Recent Utility Bill (i.e. Telephone, Cable, Mobile Phone)

Additional documentation may be required to evaluate your qualification as outlined in this posting’s “Minimum Qualification Requirements” section. Examples of additional documentation may be, but not limited to: college transcript, experience verification or professional trade licenses.

If after your interview you are the selected candidate you will be contacted to schedule an on-boarding appointment. By the time of this appointment you will be asked to produce the originals of the above documents along with your original Social Security card.

**LOAN FORGIVENESS

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 StudentAid.gov/PSLF

"FINAL APPOINTMENTS ARE SUBJECT TO OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT & BUDGET APPROVAL”

NOTE: This position may be eligible for remote work up to two days per week, pursuant to the Remote Work Pilot Program agreed to between the City and DC37.

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.

- Experience working with populations who have been involved with the criminal legal system and understanding of the criminal legal system in New York City. - Two years of strong senior-level team supervisory experience, such as leading and advising multiple staff involved in various projects. - Demonstrated expertise in epidemiological data analysis and health services research, as well as quantitative and qualitative research design and program evaluation methodologies, especially as applied to the areas of behavioral health. - Experience developing strategic working documents, such as research agendas and analytic plans, grant funding and IRB applications and managing submission procedures. - Experience with scientific writing as demonstrated through a strong track record of publishing in peer-reviewed journals. - Excellent project management, written, and oral communication skills. - Strong analytic and statistical skills with experience in manipulating and analyzing data using statistical software such as SAS, Stata, SPSS, R, as well as experience with geographical information software and mapping tools such as ArcGIS. - Experience with behavioral and physical health data sources such as DOHMH’s Community Health or HOP Surveys, Youth Risk Behavior Survey, SPARCS, Salient or other Medicaid claims databases, MEPS, BRFSS. - Experience using a racial equity lens to develop research plans and ideas as well as to manage and conceptualize data. - Ability to quickly familiarize oneself with priority public health and health policy topics without prior experience.

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.