Job Description

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 Department's Division of Environmental Health works to prevent and control illness and injury related to environmental and occupational health through outreach and education, surveillance, and enforcement. The Division seeks an Assistant Commissioner to lead its Bureau of Food Safety (Bureau). New York City is home to a vibrant and dynamic food industry, and the Bureau has oversight of approximately 30,000 food service establishments including restaurants; food carts and trucks; temporary food service establishments; non-retail food commissaries; and institutional food service provided in correctional facilities, school cafeterias, homeless shelters, soup kitchens, older adult centers, social adult day care programs and more. Together, these establishments serve an estimated one billion meals a year, making oversight of food safety critical to protecting and promoting the health of all New Yorkers and the millions who visit our city from around the world.

The Health Department has also been in the forefront of efforts to use regulatory requirements to prevent chronic disease, such as by prohibiting food service establishments from offering food with trans fats, banning smoking in these establishments, and requiring chain restaurants to post calorie information and sodium warnings. Department innovations are often adopted by jurisdictions across the country and internationally.

The Bureau's staff of 250 include food safety scientists, public health inspectors, health educators, communications experts, and administrators. The Bureau enforces regulatory mandates, conducts outreach and education, operates the New York City Health Academy, enforces New York City's landmark Smoke-Free Air Act in restaurants and other locations, collaborates with epidemiologists and environmental disease specialists to address foodborne illness outbreaks, and conducts general sanitary inspections, as needed. The Bureau takes a data-driven approach and has day-to-day responsibility for applying principles of physical, biological and food safety science to detect, evaluate, control, and prevent hazards.

DUTIES WILL INCLUDE BUT NOT BE LIMITED TO:

Provide leadership, vision, and strategic planning for the Bureau of Food Safety.

Manage the Bureau's large and complex regulatory program, including permitting, inspections, and enforcement actions; oversee communications and ombuds office efforts;

Direct the Bureau's regulatory agenda, such as recommendations for updates to the New York City Health Code and agency regulations; review proposed legislation and regulations.

Establish policies and procedures, set goals and objectives, and oversee evaluation of programs. Participate in the development of divisional goals.

Collaborate with city, state and federal agencies, local stakeholders, and others to advance the mission of the Bureau and the overarching goals of the agency.

Represent the agency in meetings, conferences, and media interviews, and before the New York City Council and the Board of Health.

Support and advance Bureau and Division racial equity initiatives.

Advise the Health Commissioner and the Deputy Commissioner for Environmental Health on all matters relating to the Bureau's areas of expertise.

Participate in agency-wide emergency response and preparedness activities as a member of the Incident Command System. Advise the Deputy Commissioner during environmental emergencies, provide technical assistance, subject matter expertise, and risk assessment and communication. Support planning for environmental health emergencies.

**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”

“This position MAY be eligible for remote work up to two days per week, pursuant to the Remote Work Pilot Program.”

Qualifications

1. A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college and five (5) years of broad, responsible executive or administrative experience involving program management or analysis and evaluation, in a government agency, business firm, civic organization or educational institution; or

2. A satisfactory equivalent combination of education and experience. However, all candidates must have a baccalaureate degree.

Additional Information

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.