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 Bureau of Communicable Disease (BCD), part of the Division of Disease Control, is responsible for the surveillance, prevention, and control of over 70 infectious diseases including foodborne, enteric, waterborne, respiratory (including COVID-19), zoonotic and Vectorborne diseases.

BCD is seeking a Medical Director to oversee several units including provider outreach, community engagement activities as well as the antibiotic resistance prevention unit.

DUTIES WILL INCLUDE BUT NOT BE LIMITED TO:

Under the supervision of the BCD Assistant Commissioner, responsibilities will include:

1) Take a leadership role in advising on all aspects of operational infectious disease work particularly in the following areas:
a) Oversight of Antibiotic Resistance Prevention Unit which works with providers on antibiotic stewardship, infection control capacity building and surveillance and investigations of drug-resistant pathogens.
b) Oversee the testing and vaccination team that was established during the COVID pandemic.
c) Oversee the coordination of provider engagement activities across BCD. d) Oversee the coordination of community engagement activities across BCD.

2) Participate in senior level meetings and policy discussions.

3) Contribute to special projects and analyses, as review abstracts and manuscripts.

4) Serve as a Physician on Call for acute communicable disease issues.

5) Assist with grant report writing and renewal applications.

6) Serve in a leadership role in the Agency's Incident Command System for any public health emergency.

Possession of a valid license to practice medicine in the State of New York; and either:
a) Valid Board Certification issued by the appropriate American Specialty Board in any specialty area required by the agency; or
b) Current approved application on file for admission to the certifying examination given by the appropriate American Specialty Board in any specialty area required by the agency.
To be assigned to Assignment Level II, individuals must have, in addition to meeting the minimum qualification requirements for Assignment Level I described above, one year of satisfactory experience practicing in the specialty area.
To be assigned to Assignment Level III, individuals must possess:
a) A valid license to practice medicine in the State of New York; and
b) A Master's degree in Public Health, or equivalent Master's degree, including or supplemented by graduate credits in epidemiology and biostatistics. Completion of Epidemic Intelligence Service program of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention may be used to substitute for this Master's degree; and
c) At least two years of satisfactory experience after receipt of the Master's degree, or equivalent, in the practice of epidemiology. Specialty Board Certification or eligibility may be substituted for one year of this experience.
To be assigned to Assignment Level IV, individuals must possess:
a) A valid license to practice medicine in the State of New York; and
b) Completion of an approved residency program in an accredited hospital, including three years of experience, in either internal medicine, or family practice, or pediatrics, or another related specialty area required by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene; and
c) Valid board certification or board eligibility issued by the appropriate American Subspecialty Board in Infectious Disease, Pulmonary Medicine, or a related subspecialty; and
d) Completion of an approved fellowship program in an accredited hospital, including two years of experience, in either infectious diseases, or pulmonary medicine, or another related subspecialty required by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

Expertise in infectious diseases and public health surveillance as well as strong communication skills. Specific Training: In depth experience working in a local or state public health agency, especially in communicable disease surveillance and outbreak detection and response. Grant writing and administration experience preferred but not required. Strong supervisory and team building experience. Effective leadership skills. Excellent written, oral and interpersonal skills, and ability to communicate expertly with clinical and non-clinical providers. Ability to handle multiple and diverse assignments and manage multiple projects in a fast-paced and high-pressure environment.

NYC RESIDENCY IS NOT REQUIRED FOR THIS TITLE.

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.