Job Information
City of New York Assistant Commissioner, Office of School Health in New York, New York
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 Division of Family and Child Health (DFCH) of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) is charged with the creation and oversight of programs, policies, services, and environments that support physical and socio-emotional health, and promote primary and reproductive health services, health equity, social justice, safety and well-being for New York City families and children. The Division is comprised of the Bureau of Maternal Infant and Reproductive Health, the Bureau of Early Intervention, the Office of School Health (OSH), and the Bureau of Administration.
OSH is a unique dual office reporting to and promoting the goals, mission, vision and objectives of both the DOHMH and the NYC Public Schools (NYCPS), directing staff and resources across both agencies to maximize quality health and mental health programs and service for NYC students. With a nearly $200 million annual budget and 2,000 employees, working in almost 2,000 schools serving one million students, early childhood through adult education, OSH is responsible for designing, providing and evaluating clinical and public health services and programs in NYC public schools for over one million NYC students. DFCH is seeking a strategic, effective and creative leader as the Assistant Commissioner of OSH who will report both to the Deputy Commissioner of DFCH and the Deputy Chancellor/Chief Operating Officer of NYC Public Schools.
DUTIES WILL INCLUDE BUT NOT BE LIMITED TO:
The Assistant Commissioner will be responsible for overseeing implementation of the bureau’s public health and educational programs and services across NYC Public Schools, through a large cross-agency team; managing the bureau’s budget; fiscal planning; human resources; contracts, grants, and procurement; facilities; and emergency planning and operations. Under the direction of the Deputy Commissioner for DFCH and the Chief Operating Officer of NYC Public Schools, with wide latitude for the exercise of independent judgment, initiative, problem solving and creativity, the Assistant Commissioner will be responsible for:
Provide leadership, vision, and strategic planning for the Office of School Health.
Set priorities and ensure that work is in alignment with the public health and educational goals of both DOHMH and NYCPS.
Assume oversight responsibility for the daily management of human resources, including recruitment, hiring and retention of key leadership team members across both DOHMH and NYCPS staff
Oversee and manage all budgetary, personnel, and administrative aspects to run OSH effectively.
Review contract proposals and performance reports to ensure compliance with the
agency's requirements, and federal/state/city guidelines.
Promote and prioritize health equity, racial justice and advance the needs of children in school.
Develop and lead programs, initiatives, and research to create measurable impact on children's health, in partnership with NYC Public Schools
Stay abreast of innovative and effective public health efforts in schools within and beyond NYC, to ensure NYC remains a leader in serving our students
Ensure efficient use of resources and seek new funding opportunities for services and programming.
Assure effective ongoing program implementation, evaluation, and re-design when needed. Monitor and assess progress of ongoing OSH programs including review of key performance indicators, budgets and program activities, accomplishments, and challenges.
Initiate and build key relationships within and between NYCPS, NYC DOHMH and with external partners, including funders, community based partners, and advocates to further public health goals, including external engagement, participation on Boards of Directors and/or other related activities.
Engage stakeholders from the most inequitably affected communities with authenticity, collaboration, and the ability to build trust.
Represent both agencies and the city to promote agency, divisional and office goals through media, conferences, published literature and/or other public and professional meetings and events.
Provide overall leadership and accountability to an interdisciplinary team in support of OSH's implementation and citywide scale-up of services to children in schools, for all health-related emergencies.
Participate in the executive leadership team of the NYC DOHMH Division of Family and Child Health and NYCPS Division of Operations and Finance.
Qualifications
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.