Job Description

The Director of Public Affairs (0953 Deputy Director III) is a senior executive-level manager responsible for department-wide public affairs, communications, public records, and media strategy affecting multiple major divisions within DPH, including Population Health, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, Laguna Honda Hospital, Behavioral Health, Primary Care, and Administration.

Under policy direction of the Director of Health and the Deputy Director of Health, the Director of Public Affairs operates at the highest level of department leadership, providing vision, leadership, and execution across communications, media relations, legislative messaging, and public-facing strategy. The role routinely engages with City and County department heads, elected officials, the Mayor's Office, the Board of Supervisors, and media outlets on complex and sensitive public health matters with significant organizational, fiscal, and public trust implications.

In addition, the Director of Public Affairs is accountable for translating executive direction into coordinated action across the department's public affairs and communications ecosystem. Acting under the policy direction of the Director of Health and the Deputy Director of Health, the Director establishes clear priorities, timelines, and decision pathways for high-impact public-facing initiatives, aligns senior leaders around those priorities, and ensures disciplined follow-through. The role elevates risks, surfaces trade-offs, and reinforces accountability to ensure that public commitments and records are credible, coordinated, and executable within existing governance and operational frameworks.

The Director of Public Affairs plays a critical, cross-divisional role in protecting public trust, advancing public health priorities, and ensuring the department communicates effectively during both routine operations and moments of crisis. Decisions made in this role carry department-wide and citywide impact.

The Director of Public Affairs (0953 Deputy Director III) performs the following essential job duties:

Department-wide Public Affairs and Communications Leadership

• Directs the development and implementation of department-wide public affairs, communications, and media strategies spanning multiple DPH divisions
• Ensures alignment between public messaging, department priorities, and operational realities
• Independently represents DPH on highly complex and sensitive public health issues affecting public safety, regulatory standing, and departmental credibility
• Provides executive oversight of public records and disclosure functions, including coordination with designated custodians and legal partners

Executive Strategy, Coordination, and Execution

• Coordinates and aligns senior executives across DPH, under deputized authority of the Director of Health and the Deputy Director of Health, to resolve cross-divisional issues requiring policy, procedural, or communications solutions including disclosure-related matters
• Sets department-wide priorities and sequencing of public-facing initiatives and guides leadership through decision points
• Reinforces execution discipline through structured coordination, issue resolution, and escalation of risks and trade-offs

Media, Legislative, and Government Relations

• Leads media strategy and oversees all media relations for the department
• Consults and coordinates with the Mayor's Office and Board of Supervisors on public health policy messaging
• Represents the department before commissions, boards, committees, and federal, state, and local agencies

Crisis, Emergency, and High-Impact Issue Leadership

• Leads public affairs and communications strategy during public health emergencies, regulatory actions, and other high-impact events
• Ensures rapid, accurate, and coordinated communication and information disclosure across leadership, operational divisions, and external stakeholders

People, Budget, and Organizational Impact

• Directly supervises department-wide communications and public affairs functions and associated public records operations
• Leads and supports subordinate managers to promote high standards of performance and continuous improvement
• Develops, administers, and monitors budgets exceeding $5 million, including legislative and policy matters affecting $10+ million in revenues and expenditures

The Director of Public Affairs (0953 Deputy Director III) may perform other duties as assigned/required.

Qualifications

Required Minimum Qualifications

1. Education: Possession of a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university, AND
2. Experience: Four (4) years of managerial experience in public affairs, communications, government affairs, media management, or a closely related field, all of which must include supervision of staff.

EDUCATION SUBSTITUTION: Additional qualifying experience as described above may be substituted for the required degree on a year-for-year basis for up to 2 years. One year is equivalent to thirty (30) semester or forty-five (45) quarter units.

Applicants must meet the minimum qualification requirements by the final filing date unless otherwise noted.

One-year full-time employment is equivalent to 2,000 hours (2,000 hours of qualifying work experience is based on a 40-hour work week).

Desirable Qualifications

• Experience working in public-sector public affairs, preferably within a public health, homelessness, or healthcare system
• Knowledge of City and County of San Francisco governmental structures and public health issues
• Experience communicating complex legislative, regulatory, and administrative issues to the public

Verification of Education and Experience

Every application is reviewed to ensure that you meet the minimum qualifications as listed in the job ad. Review SF Careers Employment Applications for considerations taken when reviewing applications.

Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. If education or experience verification is required, information on how to verify education and experience requirements, including verifying foreign education credits or degree equivalency, can be found at https://careers.sf.gov/knowledge/experience-education/.

Note: Falsifying one's education, training, or work experience or attempted deception on the application, may result in disqualification for this and future job opportunities with the City and County of San Francisco.

Additional Information

Where to Apply

All job applications for the City and County of San Francisco must be submitted through our online portal. Please visit https://careers.sf.gov/ to begin your application process.

Applicants may be contacted by email about this recruitment. Please consider using a personal email address that you check regularly rather than a work or school account.

Computers are available for the public (9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday) to file online applications in the lobby of the Dept. of Human Resources at 1 South Van Ness Avenue, 4th Floor and at the City Career Center at City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 110.

Ensure your application information is accurate, as changes may not be possible after submission. Your first and last name must match your legal ID for verification, and preferred names can be included in parentheses. Use your personal email address, not a shared or work email, to avoid unfixable issues.

Applicants will receive a confirmation email from [redacted] that their online application has been received in response to every announcement for which they file. Applicants should retain this confirmation email for their records. Failure to receive this email means that the online application was not submitted or received.

If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the analyst, Marielle Saldajeno at [redacted] or [redacted].



We may use text messaging to communicate with you on the phone number provided in your application. The first message will ask you to opt in to text messaging.

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