Public Health Advisor

About the role

ONLY PERMANENT EMPLOYEES IN THE TITLE AND THOSE THAT ARE REACHABLE ON THE PUBLIC HEALTH ADVISER CIVIL SERVICE LIST ARE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY.

Division/Program Summary

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH)'s Bureau of Hepatitis, HIV, and Sexually Transmitted Infections (BHHS) oversees the City's response to viral hepatitis, HIV, and sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

Across a range of programs and through extensive collaboration with other parts of NYC DOHMH and external stakeholders, BHHS leads testing initiatives; prevention, treatment programming; epidemiology and surveillance; research and evaluation; training and technical assistance; community engagement; social marketing; policy advocacy; and racial equity and social initiatives. The ACE (Assess. Connect. Engage.)

Team within the BHHS is staffed with Public Health Advisors (PHAs).

Position Summary

The PHA is responsible for providing partner services to approximately 2000 New Yorkers newly diagnosed each year, including the identification, tracing, notification and HIV-testing of their sex and needle-partners. The PHA ensures that all newly HIV-diagnosed persons are linked to HIV clinical care. The PHA is responsible for outreach to the approximately 2,000 HIV providers and community-based organizations.

The PHA undertakes the continuous education of providers and community members about HIV-related laws and regulations and build/maintain structure for timely reporting of HIV diagnosis and linkage and services for patients and partners to curb the further spread of HIV.

Job Duties and Responsibilities

• Interview HIV-diagnosed persons to elicit HIV-exposed partners, locate and notify partners, and provide HIV rapid testing in mobile settings to notified partners.
• Connect persons with a new HIV diagnosis to clinical care.
• Use HIV transmission network data to identify and reach out to not in care persons, including contact tracing.
• Trace and locate HIV-diagnosed persons who are out-of-care and connect them to clinical care.
• Engage HIV-diagnosed persons and their partners with HIV prevention and ancillary services.
• Link HIV-negative partners to PrEP providers for evaluation and counseling.
• Collect data on HIV cases to fulfill surveillance and case investigation data requirements, including record review, patient and provider interviews.
• Serve in an activated role and reassigned to work as emergency response work needed by serving in an emergency within Surveillance/Epidemiology or Clinical Operations groups.
• Other duties as assigned to support overall goals and mission of the department/organization.

Why you should work for us

• 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

• A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college, including or supplemented by twelve semester credits in health education, or in health, social or biological sciences; or

Note

• For certain assignments, satisfactory completion of training in phlebotomy or other necessary procedures is required. Certification in HIV counseling may be required for certain other assignments.
• Public Health Advisers are required to have an annual health assessment.
• A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college, and six months of full-time satisfactory experience in a health promotion or disease intervention/prevention program, performing one or more of the following: interviewing, conducting community investigations, assessing health risks, making referrals, or collecting and analyzing epidemiological data; or

Note

• A four-year high school diploma or its educational equivalent, and four years of full-time satisfactory experience as described in "2" above; or

Note

• Education and/or experience equivalent to "1", "2" or "3" above. Undergraduate college credit can be substituted for experience on the basis of 30 semester credits from an accredited college for one year of full-time experience. However, all candidates must have a four-year high school diploma or its educational equivalent, and either twelve semester credits as described in "1" above or six months of experience as described in "2" above.

Note

• To be assigned to Assignment Level II, candidates must have, in addition to meeting the minimum qualification requirements listed above, at least one year of experience as a Public Health Adviser, Assignment Level I, or at least one additional year of experience as described in Qualification Requirement "2" above.