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.

DIVISION/PROGRAMDESCRIPTION:

New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Division of Mental Hygiene seeks one (1) full-time HEAT Director to oversee the Health Engagement & Assessment Team (HEAT) initiative.

Launched November 2018, HEAT is comprised of behavioral health professionals and peer workers (person with lived experience) who provide health, behavioral health, social and other support services/ resources to people referred by the community & first responder agencies. Staff use a variety of methods to promote positive engagement with clients and community members. Through targeted outreach and canvassing and referrals, HEAT also offers rapid support and services across NYC communities with emerging issues related to mental health and substance misuse. The program also conducts tabling events to promote mental health, violence prevention, substance misuse awareness and more. Furthermore, HEAT promotes racial equity and supports community members to stay connected to organizations within their community.

HEAT is operational 16 hours a day, 7 days a week throughout the 5 boroughs.

The HEAT Director will be primarily responsible for clinical and operational oversight of all program activities. The HEAT Director will report directly to the Executive Director and will work closely with all assigned community supervisors and other bureau leads as assigned.

Responsibilities include:

- Provide field-based clinical observations for supervisors and ongoing coaching
- Implement peer supervision structure and work with operations to develop unit protocols and workflows
- Work closely with operations and oversee the recruitment and interview process for all HEAT lines
- Oversee case assignments and processing
- Supervise HEAT Community Supervisors
- Oversee the rollout and implementation of preliminary canvassing strategy as well as ongoing review and development of new outreach goals/ strategies
- Work closely with operations to address all unit operational and procurement needs
- Oversee QA process for HEAT operations and workflows
- Plan and implement corrective action activities to improve program operations as needed
- Provide sound clinical direction to staff, leadership and stakeholders
- Coordinate all shift schedules and adequate planning to ensure all shifts are adequately staffed
- Approval of any trainings, presentation request, and all other requests for matters outside of work-related purposes.
- Approval of processing time and leave, including - approval codes, mandated & voluntary OT needs
- Track/ distribute (or generate distribution protocol) for all program related equipment and resources. Including:
- Uniforms
- Naloxone Kits
- MetroCard’s
- Zip Car/ agency vehicles
- Oversee and monitor petty cash usage
- Work in collaboration with monitoring and Evaluation to ensure proper data collection
- Be readily accessible to program supervisors and staff to ensure the most appropriate response to emergency and crisis situations
- Oversee daily organizational and weekly review meetings
- Troubleshoot any challenges, issues or concerns that might arise and escalate issues to management as necessary
- Oversight and coordination of HEAT Advisory Group activities, including scheduling, developing agenda and strategic plan identifying goals and strategies to implement and fold into program operations
- Maintain collaborate relationship and communication with NYPD, Co-Response Program Director, Triage Director, and all other Unit leadership
- Licensed NYS LCSW, or LMHC required.

1. A masters degree in social work, public health, public administration, organizational psychology, or adult education and four years of professional administrative/managerial experience in mental hygiene programs, including clinical mental health experience, experience in developing grant proposals, policy analysis and research methodology, and the development and evaluation of training programs; or,
2. A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college and five years full-time paid professional administrative/managerial experience as described in “1” above; or,
3. A satisfactory equivalent. A graduate degree in social work, public health, public administration, organizational psychology or adult education may be substituted for one year of the required managerial experience.

- 3 years clinical supervision experience with highly vulnerable populations, particularly the homeless and people with health, mental health, and substance abuse issues. - Strong understanding of the intersection of NYC’s criminal justice and behavioral health systems - Demonstrated knowledge and experience with best practices around violence risk identification and management, engagement of hard-to-reach clients, harm reduction, motivational interviewing, trauma informed care, and non-violent crisis intervention techniques. - Significant provider experience in behavioral health treatment and/or services. Research experience and strong written, oral, presentation, and facilitation skills. - Strong interpersonal skills. - Highly developed management, analytical, and motivational skills. - Proven track record building cohesive and productive teams ability to work effectively with diverse team and remain highly organized. - Proficient in computers, including Microsoft suite. - Creative problem-solver who enjoys working in fast-paced environment, is highly motivated and ability to coordinate multiple projects/tasks

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 https://studentaid.gov/pslf/

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.