Evaluation Lead, Bureau of Mental

The Bureau of Mental Health’s (BMH) mission is to improve mental health and wellness for people in New York City, and to eliminate racial and other long-standing societal disparities by providing services, resources, and opportunities to New Yorkers that are grounded in accurate, data-driven information that fosters community participation, thus reducing the stigma around mental health.

Position Summary: The Office of Research and Evaluation (ORE) supports Bureau Leadership and Bureau Offices by providing surveillance, needs assessment research, program evaluation, data system development, and maintenance, and program data reporting to support the work of the bureau.

The Evaluation Lead will work in the Office of Research and Evaluation to improve the Bureau's evaluation activities to better meet the mental health needs of New Yorkers. The individual will serve as a centralized research and analytic resource for Mental Health Bureau leadership and staff regarding evaluation activities in order to inform Bureau planning and policy decisions with a focus on actionable steps.

Job Duties and Responsibilities: The Evaluation Lead will:

- Participate in the planning, development, and implementation of Bureau-wide evaluation activities. This may include evaluation research design, program survey development, oversight of data collection and metric development, data analysis, project management and report writing.
- Design and conduct analyses of existing survey, program and administrative data to evaluate outcomes and support planning for process change and improvement of quality of services.
- Work with BMH Offices and programs to develop key outcomes and indicators.
- Identify and respond rapidly to requests for data analysis from the Commissioner’s Office and the Mental Health Bureau units. This may include analysis of program-level data, and Citywide or national data that informs the work of the Bureau and its respective units.
- Utilize different methods to communicate findings to BMH staff and leadership, programs, and external stakeholders. Some examples include presentations and reports.
- Author technical and research publications based on findings from the above analyses.
- Provide expert scientific background and research summaries for strategic communications and policy options.
- Provide direct supervision and mentoring to junior and mid-level research analysts

Preferred Skills:

The successful candidate will have strong analytic and statistical skills with the ability to manipulate and analyze data using sophisticated statistical software such as SAS or R. Competency in the use of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and SAS/R is strongly preferred. A background and experience with research, evaluation methodologies, survey development and implementation, and data analysis is required. The candidate will have excellent written and oral communication skills, and experience with scientific writing.

In addition, the preferred candidate will be self-motivated and self-disciplined, will have a strong sense of teamwork, and will have the ability to get along with a wide range of people. The ability to work independently, solve problems, and research issues is imperative. The individual will possess project management skills and the capacity to lead and advise staff involved in various projects as well as an ability to easily adapt to multiple programmatic (Treatment, Rehabilitation, Case Management, Housing, etc.) and/or functional areas (Administration, Finance, Budgeting and Contracting) to support Bureau-wide programmatic planning.

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.

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. Our mission is to safeguard the health of every resident and cultivate a city where everyone, regardless of age, background, or location, can achieve their optimal health. 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!

The NYC Health Department is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to providing access and reasonable accommodation to all individuals. To request reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, contact Sye-Eun Ahn, Director of the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity, at sahn1@health.nyc.gov or 347-396-6549.

CITY RESEARCH SCIENTIST - 21744