Press Secretary

With a staff of more than 7,000 and a budget of $2.3 billion , the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is the nation's premier city health agency.  Its 100-plus programs protect and promote the health of the world's most culturally and linguistically diverse city.  Each of those programs relies on the press office in the Office of External Affairs to convey critical messages to the public and respond to media inquiries in a timely, accurate fashion.

DUTIES WILL INCLUDE BUT NOT BE LIMITED TO:

Proactive Media Outreach:

--Develop and implement strong media strategies for agency initiatives.

--Build relationships with reporters and to ensure balanced, accurate coverage of agency initiatives.

--Write and edit press releases and agency statements on health and mental-health topics in coverage.

--Advise the Commissioner and other senior staff on how to effectively present agency information.

--Write and edit articles for newsletters, letter to the editor, and other written materials.

--Responding to Media Inquiries: ? Disseminate accurate, high-quality information about agency initiatives ? Respond rapidly to numerous media inquiries; work closely and professionally with program staff to collect information pertinent to reporters' inquiries and make the information understandable to journalist and the public ? Provide spot training to prepare agency staff to handle print, TV and radio interviews.

Emergency Communications - Planning and Project Management:

--Manage press relations during emergencies, working closely with others in the agency's incident command structure to disseminate accurate information in a timely fashion.

--Participate in emergency communications planning and manage contracts with outside consultants.

--Represent the Press Office at internal and external emergency-preparedness meeting.

--Coordinate risk communications training for emergency spokespersons.

Administration:

--Oversee day-to-day operations of the press office.

--Mentor and supervise a staff of four press officers and one senior writer.

--Interact regularly with the City hall press office to clear and coordinate the Health Department's press activity.

Minimum Qual Requirements

1. A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university, and five (5) years of responsible experience in public relations, journalism, advertising or in other closely related fields; or

2. A master's degree from an accredited college or university with specialization in public health, public relations, journalism, or a related field, and three (3) years of responsible experience as above; or

3. A satisfactory equivalent.

Preferred Skills

Five years of press and media experience with demonstrated career trajectory of increasing responsibility in press relations; excellent writing, editing and interpersonal skills, including the ability to make technical/medical information easy for journalists and the public to understand;

Sound judgement and equanimity in high-pressure situations;

Ability to handle multiple deadline assignments in a quickly changing environment;

Understanding of public health issues;

Sensitive to political context;

Ability to work effectively with diverse constituencies at all levels.

To Apply

Apply online with a cover letter to https://a127-jobs.nyc.gov/. In the Job ID search bar, enter: job ID number # 487441.

We appreciate the interest and thank all applicants who apply, but only those candidates under consideration will be contacted.

The NYC Health Department is committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse and culturally responsive workforce. We strongly encourage people of color, people with disabilities, veterans, women, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender and gender non-conforming persons to apply.

All applicants will be considered without regard to actual or perceived race, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, marital or parental status, disability, sex, gender identity or expression, age, prior record of arrest; or any other basis prohibited by law.

NOTE: This position is open to qualified persons with a disability who are eligible for the 55-a Program. Please indicate in your resume that you would like to be considered for the position under the 55-a Program.

Residency Requirement

New York City residency is generally required within 90 days of appointment. However, City Employees in certain titles who have worked for the City for 2 continuous years may also be eligible to reside in Nassau, Suffolk, Putnam, Westchester, Rockland, or Orange County. To determine if the residency requirement applies to you, please discuss with the agency representative at the time of interview.