Job Description

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's (NYC Health Department) Bureau of Hepatitis, HIV, and Sexually Transmitted Infections (BHHS) oversees the City's response to viral hepatitis, HIV, and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Its mission is to improve the lives of New Yorkers by ending transmission, illness, stigma, and inequities related to viral hepatitis, HIV, and STIs. Across a range of programs and through extensive collaboration with other parts of NYC Health Department and external stakeholders, BHHS's work includes testing initiatives; prevention, care, and treatment programming; epidemiology and surveillance; research and evaluation; training and technical assistance; community engagement; social marketing; policy advocacy; and racial equity and social justice initiatives. BHHS's HIV Prevention Program oversees the Bureau's HIV prevention initiatives. The Prevention Program Planning Unit in the HIV Prevention Program of BHHS has an opening for a City Research Scientist II. Under the supervision of the Director of Program Planning, and in collaboration with other staff, as part of a diverse team conducting a dynamic portfolio of high priority projects aimed to end the epidemic of HIV in New York City, the Program Planner will research, develop, and plan implementation of evidence-based HIV prevention programs. They will support all aspects of the Unit's work, including activities to support the operationalization of these efforts in the context of long-term HIV prevention planning.

DUTIES WILL INCLUDE BUT NOT BE LIMITED TO:
-Provide planning and coordination support to the activities of the Program Planning Unit, including the development of tools for planning purposes and tracking and documentation of activities and work products.
-Support the development of new evidence-based requests for proposals (RFPs) to competitively award Health Department funding to community and clinical partners citywide, including conducting key informant interviews and/or focus groups, conducting literature reviews, and culling existing resources and best practices These RFPs should be developed in collaboration with the Director of Program Planning and other Prevention teams.
-Conduct comprehensive clinical and public health research of secondary sources (e.g., published and gray literature review) to identify possible new interventions for HIV prevention with applicability to the NYC environment.
-Support implementation planning of new programs in coordination with leadership from the Programs Unit, including identification and/or development of needed materials, curricula and trainings; interaction with staff/contractors involved in development of materials, and coordination with staff across the BHHS to ensure that such materials, curricula and trainings are developed in a timely and appropriate manner.
-Support the Director's work with other units/programs within BHHS to obtain needed data for the planning process.
-Develop and operationalize HIV prevention pilot research projects, including preparation and management of IRB approvals, and leading data analysis and cleaning.
-Support quality improvement activities to ensure effective collaboration and coordination across both Prevention Program units and the bureau to inform planning activities.
-Plan community engagement activities to inform the development and implementation of programmatic activities and pilot research projects.
-Identify funding opportunities and support grant writing and submission efforts related to securing new funding. Assist in the management of new and existing awards, including preparation and submission of progress reports and other reporting efforts as required.
-Support the Director's work with the community HIV Planning Group (HPG) and other HIV-related community groups, as needed, to collaborate on programming development, and to communicate planning goals, objectives and model outputs. This includes conducting formative work and presentations with HPG leadership and members to inform the development of RFPs and research pilot projects.
-Collaborate with other NYC Health Department Bureaus and programs within BHHS to find synergies for HIV prevention programs.

PREFERRED SKILLS:
-Experience in public health program planning, including HIV programmatic implementation and management of research projects.
-Strong planning, coordination, and project management skills; ability to handle multiple and diverse assignments and priorities.
-Excellent written, oral, and interpersonal skills with good problem-solving, communication, and presentation skills, including experience with Request for Proposal (RFP) writing.
-Ability to collaborate and coordinate across different teams and units to help develop and achieve common goals and objectives.
-Experience working with diverse service providers and community members impacted by racism and populations that face oppression, including people living with HIV, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, gender non-conforming, and non-binary individuals.
-Knowledge of health equity and racial/social justice frameworks, with an understanding of how these intersect with and help further exacerbate barriers to optimal health outcomes for communities.
-Ability to understand and interpret clinical and public health data.
-Proficiency in using Microsoft Office applications (Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint).
-Experience with survey and database applications (REDCap, Survey Alchemer, Salesforce).

-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 (https://studentaid.gov/pslf/)
-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.

CITY RESEARCH SCIENTIST - 21744

Qualifications

1. 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:
1. 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
2. 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
3. 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.