The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) 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. The Center for Health Equity and 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 affected NYC communities. CHECW addresses inequity across community and health-care systems in partnership with community, faith-based, and health-care organizations. CHECW's work focuses on the social determinants of health, including environmental and commercial determinants, and addresses both upstream and downstream factors to improve the health and well-being of New Yorkers. CHECW employs anti-racism approaches to reduce and minimize unfair exposure to risk and to advance health justice and social change.

One important area of focus is perinatal health, especially eliminating the inequities in maternal and child health outcomes that currently exist in New York City. CHECW’s birth equity work is centered in three Bureaus of Neighborhood Health (one each in the Bronx, Harlem, and Brooklyn), which partner with community stakeholders to address health inequities and the drivers of premature mortality. Poor maternal and infant outcomes result from longstanding structural inequality, among other factors. Therefore, the Bureaus of Neighborhood Health (BNH) provide tangible resources, practical support, community capacity-building, and workforce development; partner with health systems to improve the provision of care; and inform policy through broad-based coalitions.

Each BNH hosts a Family Wellness Suite, which supports the portfolio of perinatal health programs within that bureau. Physically, the Family Wellness Suites (FWS) are safe, welcoming, and supportive spaces where families and individuals can connect to community resources and city services, such as workshops to lower the risk of chronic diseases and promote health and well-being, fitness activities, classes to support fathers, referrals to social-service and medical providers, referrals to doulas (childbirth-support professionals), and other programs to support a healthy pregnancy, childbirth, and newborn. The FWS’s support the work of the Citywide Doula Initiative, Healthy Start Brooklyn, the Breastfeeding/Lactation Equity Initiative, and other grant-funded perinatal health programs and initiatives.

The Citywide Doula Initiative (CDI) advances the Health Department’s birth equity work by providing doula services in neighborhoods that face elevated social and health burdens. The work of the CDI falls into three broad categories: providing no-cost, professional doula support to eligible residents; building and strengthening the city’s doula workforce; and partnering with hospitals to create a doula-friendly environment and refer patients to doula services. The Doula-Community Liaisons will divide among them the 33 neighborhoods served by the CDI, conducting direct outreach and forming partnerships with health and social-service providers who serve those neighborhoods.
Each Doula-Community Liaison will be based in one of CHECW’s Bureaus of Neighborhood Health and will report to the Family Wellness Suite Coordinator at that site.

Responsibilities:
- Serve as a liaison between public and private-sector clinical and social service providers within an assigned catchment area, ensuring rapport is established between all service providers to best care for program participants;
- Conduct outreach activities for the FWS, CDI, and Breastfeeding/Lactation Equity Initiative through tabling at events, street outreach, and presentations to community members within the catchment area, paying special attention to community led coalitions, and tenant associations ; ensuring residents have access to relevant subject matter flyers, brochures, incentives, and other outreach materials are always on hand;
- Facilitate referrals and coordination of care for perinatal health programs; develop resources for health and social service needs that are identified by the CDI doulas, BNH health promoters, and other community engagement and partnership staff;
- Elicit support and participation from community through direct recruitment of clients and recruitment of community members to be trained as doulas, Community Breastfeeding Educators, and Certified Lactation Consultants;
- Represent the Health Department at community board meetings, town halls, and public meetings to promote programming and community engagement;
- Facilitate monthly outreach meetings for BNH perinatal health programs and initiatives.
- Responsible for tracking client participation in workshops and trainings being offered, maintaining an accurate data base of residents that attend;
- Collaborate on the Coordinated Intake and Referral system as part of the Citywide Doula Initiative;
- Other duties as assigned.

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.

- Strong understanding of and commitment to birth equity - Experience in outreach and recruitment for a community-based doula, health, or social-service organization - Comfortable with direct outreach at clinics, social service agencies, and in the community - Strong coordination and organizational skills - Detail oriented able to manage projects and work independently - Strong written and oral communications skills - Positive attitude, strong work ethic, and excellent customer-service skills - Proficient with Microsoft Office suite, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint

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.