Surveillance Director

Company Overview

With an annual budget of $2.3 billion and more than 7,000 employees throughout the five boroughs, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH) is one of the largest public health agencies in the world, serving 8 million New Yorkers from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds. We're tackling a broad range of public health issues with innovative policies and programs and getting exceptional results, but our work is never finished. The breadth of our innovative programs provides the widest range of choices for every member of our team.

With grant funds from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), DOHMH is undertaking a new initiative that will meet critical infrastructure needs and make possible strategic investments that will have lasting effects on public health. Investments and improvements through this initiative will help modernize DOHMH’s foundational capabilities and data infrastructure, enabling it to partner in complex health and health care environments and, in turn, support better public health outcomes, including COVID-19. This initiative supports larger efforts to rebalance investments in public health and more equitably serve communities and populations.

The selected candidate will be an employee of Public Health Solutions, a nonprofit organization which is the fiscal and administrative manager of the grant but will work be supervised by DOHMH. This is a grant-funded position ending in November 2027.

The New York City Health Department's Division of Disease Control is responsible for the prevention, identification, surveillance, and control of infectious diseases in NYC. The Division is composed of seven bureaus: Bureau of Division Management and Systems Coordination, Bureau of Communicable Disease Control, Bureau of Hepatitis, HIV and STIs, Bureau of Immunization, Bureau of Tuberculosis Control, Bureau of Public Health Clinics and the Public Health Laboratory.

The Bureau of Division Management and Systems Coordination (DMSC) leads administrative, surveillance, informatics, preparedness, policy, communications, community engagement, and racial equity and social justice activities for the Division, and guides the strategic use of Division resources to advance innovative and effective policies and programming.

DMSC’s Surveillance Unit coordinates with disease surveillance programs within the Division of Disease Control, the Division of Information Technology, and external partners to maintain and enhance existing surveillance system applications and implements new surveillance system applications to support complete, timely, and equitable case detection and health information exchange while ensuring data confidentiality, data quality, and compliance toward regulatory standards.

Job Description

DOHMH has an opening for a Surveillance Director. Reporting to the Executive Director of DMSC, the Surveillance Director to provide strategic leadership to this unit, oversee a large portfolio of surveillance system applications and grant-funded projects, and foster cross-bureau collaboration.

Duties

Duties will include, but not be limited to:

• Lead, coordinate, and execute a comprehensive public health data strategy to inform decision-making regarding disease surveillance policies and programs, epidemiologic investigations of communicable disease outbreaks and unforeseen public health threats, and scientific research efforts.
• Monitor trends in infectious disease outbreaks or increased occurrences of health conditions and engage in comparative analysis of surveillance data, in collaboration with other members of the Disease Surveillance team and other Division of Disease Control bureaus, as appropriate, in support of optimal data collection, contact monitoring, and linking of notified cases to Disease Control and Agency-Wide Executive Leadership in a timely manner.
• Direct the Surveillance Unit’s day-to-day operations, which is responsible for operating, maintaining, and enhancing the technology infrastructure and workflows to bring in high quality data from health information exchanges, electronic laboratory reports, provider reports, electronic health records, and other sources for effective disease surveillance and outbreak detection in NYC.
• Oversee improvements for a portfolio of surveillance system applications including the Electronic Disease Reporting Infrastructure (EDRI), Reporting Central/Provider Reporting Interface and Secure Messenger (PRISM), Electronic Clinical Laboratory Reporting System (ECLRS), syndromic surveillance, and electronic case reporting (eCR); escalate emergent and ongoing surveillance needs to agency leadership.
• Supervise key Surveillance Unit staff: provide training and professional development; conduct biweekly check ins; complete performance evaluations; provide constructive feedback and overall support; and assist with hiring of new staff by writing position descriptions, interviewing, and onboarding.
• With DMSC leadership and Surveillance Unit staff, collaborate with Division of Disease Control bureau surveillance programs, Division of IT (DIT) staff, and external vendors through regular meetings and responsive correspondence.
• Serve as Governance Team Lead for the Health Information Systems Project within the Epidemiology and Laboratory and Capacity grant; lead grant-funded initiatives by coordinating projects, budget, and narratives, and reporting on activities, metrics, and milestones for deliverables.
• Coordinate with administrative staff to budget and purchase Surveillance Unit needs, including, but not limited to systems architecture, software, hardware, trainings, and supplies.
• Participate in division-wide and agency-wide Data Modernization Initiative efforts.
• Model collaborative cross-bureau and interdivisional partnerships.
• Provide strategic leadership including recommendations on prioritizing projects and identifying future surveillance program needs.
• Other duties as assigned including, but not limited to, assisting with strategic planning, and assisting with public health emergency responses.
  
  

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in public health, epidemiology, or relevant physical, biological, or environmental science
• Previous experience working in fields related to disease surveillance and/or public health informatics for 2 years.
• Capacity and willingness to learn new data systems quickly and to comply with data integrity and security to safeguard all personal identifiable information and proficiency in navigating computer systems.
• The ideal candidate for this position must be a pro-active and self-motivated individual with the ability to work in teams and in a highly dynamic environment with multiple stakeholders and timelines.
• Salary - $133,000 - $133,000
  
  

Additional Desired Qualities

• Experience with stakeholder engagement and project management.
• Demonstrated management experience and supervisory skills.
• Experience or interest in facilitative leadership.
• Strong analytical skills and ability to manage and report complex information.
• Experience conducting data quality assurance, preparing reports, troubleshooting data issues, and providing feedback.
• Excellent communication (verbal & written) and interpersonal skills.
• Experience with data collection, analysis, and interpretation.
• Desire to grow professionally, develop new skills and willingness to work outside of comfort zone.
• Experience working with the public health sector and coordinating projects involving multiple stakeholders.
• Ability to prioritize and work in fast-paced environment with hard deadlines.
• Fluency in Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint.
  
  

Additional Information

• This is a temporary grant-funded position ending in November 2027.
• This individual must reside in the tri-state area (NY, NJ, CT) by their confirmed start date.
• Preference may be given to individuals residing in New York City (5 boroughs) or surrounding New York State counties.
• This individual will be expected to work non-business hours during emergencies.
  
  

PHS is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and encourages applications from women, people of color, persons with disabilities, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals, and veterans.

Monday-Friday

Hybrid

35 Hours Per week