Director of Strategic Communications and Partnerships, Bureau of Communicable Diseases

About the role

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 vector-borne diseases.

Reporting to BCD's Assistant Commissioner, the Director of Strategic Communications and Partnerships will oversee the development and implementation of policies, strategic communications, community outreach initiatives and partnerships related to the prevention and control of communicable diseases.

This role will also involve building and maintaining strategic partnerships related to emergency preparedness, laboratory, community outreach and utilizing data visualization to inform and enhance public health strategies.

Duties Will Include but Not Be Limited to

• Strategic Communications:
• Develop and implement communication strategies to disseminate critical public health information effectively.
• Create data visualizations and reports to effectively communicate communicable disease information to a wide variety of audiences from the public to providers.
• Community Outreach and Partnerships:
• Supervise the Community Outreach and Health Education team.
• Coordinate community outreach activities to promote awareness and prevention of communicable diseases and work closely with subject matter experts to develop a strategy for health education
• Build and maintain partnerships with other government agencies, community organizations, laboratories and other stakeholders of communicable disease control in NYC.
• Emergency preparedness and response:
• Formulate and review policies related to communicable diseases, emergency response and outbreak resilience to ensure alignment with public health goals.
• Collaborate with colleagues engaged in emergency planning at the Division of Disease Control and with the Division of Emergency Preparedness on communicable disease emergency planning.
• Team Leadership:
• Provide daily supervision and guidance to the strategic communications and partnership team.
• Foster a collaborative and inclusive work environment that supports professional growth and development.

Preferred Skills

• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Experience in community outreach and engagement, emergency planning and response, programmatic policy development, and program evaluation.
• Proficiency in data visualization tools and techniques.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate, lead and manage teams effectively

Why you should work for us

• Loan Forgiveness: As a prospective employee of the City of New York, you may be eligible for federal/state loan forgiveness and repayment assistance programs that lessen your payments or even fully forgive your full balance. For more information, please visit the U.S. Department of Education's website
• Benefits: City employees are entitled to unmatched benefits such as:

• o a premium-free health insurance plan that saves employees over $10K annually, per a 2024 assessment.
• o additional health, fitness, and financial benefits may be available based on the position's associated union/benefit fund.
• o a public sector defined benefit pension plan with steady monthly payments in retirement.
• o a tax-deferred savings program and o a robust Worksite Wellness Program that offers resources and opportunities to keep you healthy while serving New Yorkers.

• Work From Home Policy: Depending on your position, you may be able to work up to two days during the week from home.
• Job Security - you could enjoy more job security compared to private sector employment and be able to contribute to making NYC a healthy place to live and work.

Additional information

Established in 1805, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC Health Department) is the oldest and largest health department in the U.S., dedicated to protecting and improving the health of NYC.

We provide a wide array of 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 social justice initiatives.

As the primary population health strategist and policy authority for NYC, with a rich history of public health initiatives and scientific advancements, from addressing the 1822 yellow fever outbreak to the COVID-19 pandemic, we serve as a global leader in public health innovation and expertise.

Come join us and help to continue our efforts in making a difference in the lives of all New Yorkers!

Qualifications & Requirements

• 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

• 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
• 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
• 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.