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 Public Health Clinics (BPHC) is to promote a healthy community by providing New Yorkers with the resources needed to make informed and empowered health decisions; identify and treat tuberculosis and provide immunization and sexual health services regardless of ability to pay or immigration status. To achieve this, BPHC provides direct clinical services at eight Sexual Health Clinics and three Tuberculosis Chest Centers; monitors disease trends; conducts outreach to providers and community groups; conducts research; and develops polices to improve sexual health and wellness and reduce racial inequities. BPHC's Workforce Engagement unit oversees all internal workforce engagement in BPHC including newsletters, needs assessments, staff feedback through suggestion box, listening tours and focus groups and more.

The Workforce Engagement (WE) Unit strives to build a supportive and inclusive workplace culture where all staff feel respected and empowered to contribute their diverse perspectives and skills.

The workforce engagement unit encourages open communication and transparency while maintaining humility. Our goal is to build accountability, capacity, and collaboration to improve workforce culture, reduce attrition, and ensure quality employment and job satisfaction. The Workforce Coordinator will promote opportunities for open and transparent communication within the bureau by creating channels with proper feedback loops for accountability and ensure satisfaction of engagement and communication mechanisms by evaluating employee engagement strategies. The Bureau of PHC seeks to hire a City Research Scientist, Level I to serve as Workforce Engagement Coordinator.

DUTIES WILL INCLUDE BUT NOT BE LIMITED TO:

-Co-lead execution of BPHC racial equity initiative strategic plan activities and serve as a point person for Race to Justice by organizing workgroup meetings and creating calendar of Bureau events.

-Serve as a member of the Division of Disease Control racial equity action team to support Division-wide Strategic Plan and subcommittees focusing on diverse hiring, mentoring, workforce equity and trauma.

-Work with Training Unit to research to identify and offer trainings including but not limited to cultural humility, racial justice, reproductive justice, customer service, and working with diverse patient populations (LGBTQI+ sensitivity, disability access, immigrant communities, youth etc.).

-Create and disseminate Bureau-wide newsletter to promote Bureau updates and relevant bureau or relevant information.

-Ensure satisfaction of engagement and communication mechanisms by evaluating employee engagement strategies such as measuring the usefulness of the newsletter, and monitoring employee feedback provided via email.

-Improve work culture, communication, and morale by implementing an employee recognition program.

-Create and maintain a training catalogue and SharePoint page for staff.

-Track training activities using Excel and internal databases.

-Assist the Workforce and Community Engagement Unit with other tasks as needed or upon request.

-Assist Workforce Engagement and Training Lead with research, measures and metrics that can be used to improve coordination of clinical services related to infectious diseases, including but not limited to Sexual Transmitted Infections, Tuberculosis, reproductive health services, medication abortion, and other Public Health Clinic health topics as need or upon request.

-Assist with the development of research methodologies such as surveys, focus groups, semi-structured interviews, and other qualitative and quantitative methods.

-Conduct literature reviews to inform and implement evidence-based workforce engagement practices and feedback loops.

-Create virtual suggestion box to gather feedback regarding trainings, workforce engagement activities, and other related topics.

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 with both quantitative and qualitative research, experience using SPSS and Excel, knowledge of social and reproductive justice.

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.