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 mission of the Bureau of Immunization (BOI) is to prevent the occurrence and transmission of diseases through immunization. The BOI promotes the immunization of children, adolescents, and adults against numerous diseases such as hepatitis A, hepatitis B, measles, mumps, rubella, varicella, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, Haemophilus Influenzae type B, polio, influenza, and pneumococcal disease and the human papillomavirus (HPV).

BOI maintains the Citywide Immunization Registry (CIR), a database of immunizations reported to the health department by NYC immunization providers. To improve reporting, the BOI established a Health Level 7 (HL7) Web Service to support real-time, bidirectional exchange of immunization data with Electronic Health Records (EHRs). Currently, over 85% of immunizations are reported to the CIR by providers directly from their Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems through the HL7 Web Service.

The Interoperability Unit Chief position is responsible for supervising staff that manages the connections between the CIR Web Service and EHR systems and works on improving the quality of data reported to the CIR.

DUTIES WILL INCLUDE BUT NOT BE LIMITED TO:

* Oversee the development and implementation of protocols and measures to monitor and analyze the completeness, accuracy and timeliness of vaccination data reported to CIR by providers via their Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems in Health Level 7 (HL7) message format.

* Lead and coordinates Quality Assurance (QA) activities related to new connections, operational changes, and data QA issues.

* Supervise staff working with medical providers, EHR vendors and other systems to establish and maintain a connection with CIR, and to measure and improve the quality of data submitted.

* Implement and maintains standards for the management, storage and transmission of vaccination data

* Work closely with the CIR vendor to design, develop, test and implement database and Web Service enhancements to ensure compliance with national standards.

* Develop solutions to optimize data capture, including data mapping, cleaning, quality assurance and testing activities.

* Develop complex data queries, reports and dashboards to summarize data exchange activities.

* Assist BOI senior leadership in developing indicators relating to CIR reporting by providers immunizing children, adolescents, and adults.

* Coordinate data exchange with out-of-state partners via the CDC IZ Gateway.

* Coordinate research efforts using CIR data and assists with research projects in collaboration with other DOHMH programs, CDC, other Immunization Information Systems (IIS) and outside agencies.

* Develop long-term goals, objectives, and priorities in collaboration with the CIR Director and other senior CIR staff.

* Participate in national workgroups and meetings that address the challenges, best practices and latest advances in improving IIS-EHR interoperability and immunization data quality.

* Responsible for writing grant reports, proposals and other funding requests.

* Prepare reports and presentations for national, regional, and local, conferences and meetings, and manuscripts for peer-reviewed publication.

**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”

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 in health informatics and health systems interoperability *Working knowledge of health information technology and interoperability principles and standards * Experience with Health Level 7 (HL7) messaging format * Extensive data analysis and project management experience * Experience in manipulation of large datasets, preferably healthcare data * Proficiency in SQL, R, data visualization tools such as Tableau or Power BI, and Microsoft applications * Experience in research methods and using quantitative data analysis techniques and tools * Strong management, interpersonal and organizational skills * Strong analytical skills and ability to interpret and present findings in various settings * Excellent oral and written communication skills * Ability to multi-task in rapidly changing environment * Strong supervisory experience 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.

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.