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 New York City (NYC) Department of Health & Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) Public Health Laboratory (PHL) serves as the first line of defense in controlling the spread of infectious disease in NYC through laboratory testing. Established in 1892, the Public Health Laboratory was the world's first Municipal Bacteriological Laboratory. In the century since its first campaign, to control diphtheria in New York City, the bureau has expanded to provide a wide variety of clinical and environmental laboratory testing services. Today, the Public Health Laboratory performs testing on more than two hundred thousand specimens it receives each year.

The NYC DOHMH Public Health Laboratory is seeking to hire a qualified Assistant Commissioner to lead the Bureau.

We strongly encourage people to apply and contribute your diversity in thought, racial identity, national origin, gender, age, religion, disability status, veteran status, and/or LGBTQI+ status to enhance the work of the DOHMH and promote the health of all New Yorkers.

We welcome applicants who share the vision for a city where all New Yorkers can realize their full health potential, regardless of who they are, where they are from or where they live. DOHMH extends this vision of wellness by providing every member of our team and prospective job applicants dynamic benefits: Benefits - NYC Health, and a robust Worksite Wellness program with a wide range of offerings. As a current or prospective employee of the City of New York, you may be eligible for federal loan forgiveness programs and state repayment assistance programs.

Please review the notice to see if you may be eligible for programs and how to apply at nyc.gov/studentloans

DUTIES WILL INCLUDE BUT NOT BE LIMITED TO:

Under executive direction of the Commissioner of Health with the widest degree of latitude for the exercise of independent judgement and authority, engages in policy development, planning, organization and direction of all laboratory services of DOHMH and is responsible for the enforcement of the Health Code regulations of the City of New York relating to the operation and licensing of the Public Health Laboratory and certification of all personnel employed therein. Specific duties and responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

Assumes oversight responsibility for activities of all units within the Public Health Laboratory including Virology, Microbiology, Environmental Science, Quality Management, Safety and Health, Laboratory Information Systems, and Bureau Administration, as well as for PHL-associated off-site laboratories at DOHMH facilities.

Provide executive leadership, vision, and strategic planning for the Bureau.

Supervise and mentor bureau senior management responsible for the day-to-day operations of the bureau, including setting appropriate and measurable goals and objectives and working closely with senior management to ensure successful execution.

Oversee and support priority activities across all facets of the bureau's human resources activities, including maintaining equitable and inclusive recruitment, hiring, professional development, and retention practices; and monitoring and promoting compliance with staff training and performance evaluation.

Plans, directs, operates, administers, monitors, and evaluates the services and activities of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's Bureau of Public Health Laboratory.

Formulates policy and procedures governing the Public Health Laboratory and all associated off-site laboratories in compliance with all applicable regulatory requirements and quality and biosafety standards.

Provides scientific and administrative direction, evaluation, and resource allocation for the Public Health Laboratory.

Ensures policy and procedures governing the Public Health Laboratory are followed and develops policies, protocols and procedures for the operation of the lab.

Ensures compliance with all applicable regulatory requirements, professional accrediting organizations' recommendations and guidelines, applicable state, local, and federal guidelines, and other applicable guidelines and requirements.

Plans objectives and goals for the Public Health Laboratory in concert with the mission of the Division of Disease Control and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

Develop, implement, and evaluate strategies that advance racial equity, inclusion and social justice at PHL.

Represents the PHL at conferences and meetings.

Provides leadership and direction to all senior staff and Associate Directors at the Public Health Laboratory.

Evaluates and monitors the impact of local, state and federal regulations, procedures and programs on the operations, plans and goals of the Public Health Laboratory.

Collaborates with DOHMH, City, State, federal, and community partners.

Provides subject matter expertise on public health laboratory science to the DOHMH.

Ensure the delivery of optimal public health laboratory services within the scope of a health equity lens, consistent with DOHMH's internal reform process of Race to Justice and the elimination of health disparities.

Demonstrated commitment to supporting communities who have experienced systemic oppression and bias (e.g., people of color, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQI+) people, immigrants, justice involved persons, etc.).

Qualifications

1. Possession of an M.D. Degree from an accredited school of medicine or possession of a doctorate degree from an accredited college in biology, chemistry, biochemistry, microbiology, or a related field; and five years of full-time paid administrative experience in charge of a large laboratory program in a field as described above; or

2. A satisfactory equivalent combination of education and experience as described above. However, all candidates must have a least an M.D. degree or a master’s degree in a field as described above and all candidates must have at least three (3 years) experience as described above.

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.