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 Finance Division at DOHMH has central responsibility and authority for all the finance, contracting, procurement, payroll, and revenue functions of the nation's largest local health department. DOHMH has approximately 7,000 employees and serves the nation's largest city of 8.8 million New Yorkers. Finance oversees policy analysis, program development, performance improvement, financial management, resource maximization, and technical assistance. Finance helps to ensure that programs and operations have the information, analysis, funding, and capacity to deliver critical services effectively and meet DOHMH's health and racial equity objectives. Finance is organized into four bureaus, which vary in size from 25 to 85 employees each. The bureaus are each led by an Assistant Commissioner. The bureaus include: Bureau of the Agency Chief Contracting Officer Bureau of Budget Bureau of the Controller Bureau of Finance Administration and Planning Bureau of Revenue.

DUTIES WILL INCLUDE BUT NOT BE LIMITED TO:

This position reports to the Special Projects Director in the Office of the Finance Deputy Commissioner/Chief Financial Officer, in the Division of Finance.
The Equity Liaison will exercise independent judgment, use discretion and organizational savvy, coordinate multiple and diverse projects, respond quickly to changing conditions, complete tasks in a short turnaround timeframe, manage the logistics of diverse projects and work streams, and identify and address issues.
The Equity Liaison will work across the Division of Finance and whole of DOHMH to bring together the division's work with the agency's goals on equity and serve as the equity advisor for division leadership. The liaison will be responsible for guiding the implementation of an internal and external Equity Action Plan, including management, logistics, and communication with all stakeholders involved in the process. Additional duties will be performed as assigned.
The Equity Liaison will join an agency wide community of colleagues to advance equity. Namely, this role will support and be supported by the Race to Justice Management team and the Chief Equity and Strategy Officer (CESO). The Chief Equity and Strategy Officer oversees DOHMH's internal and external equity and health strategic planning efforts, initiatives, policies and program development in support of protecting and promoting the health and safety of New Yorkers.
Manage projects, as identified by Finance leadership and the Equity Liaison, that promote health equity, racial equity, and social justice for Finance and agency staff and external partners, including vendors and NYC residents, through the work of the division's five bureaus
Collect data on equity initiatives, perform analysis, and create presentations and reports to inform Finance leadership of the impact of equity work on Finance staff, agency staff, and external partners, and make recommendations on future equity initiatives
Assess current state and develop recommendations for policy and practice improvements that promote racial equity and social justice
Participate and represent Finance in various agency-wide workgroups focused on equity
Provide direct support to Division Equity Liaison Committee, Division and Bureau Action Teams and other division equity workgroups
Facilitate meetings on implementation of equity priorities with internal and external stakeholders, including Finance staff and leadership, DOHMH equity leadership, and relevant external consultants or organizations
Develop communication plans for equity initiatives rollout
Track the implementation of Finance equity goals
Assist with other special projects and needs.

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.

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.