ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF EVALUATION

The goals of the Health Services Office at the Department of Social Services (DSS), are to improve the health and well-being of New Yorkers experiencing homelessness, reduce morbidity and mortality, thereby increasing their chances of succeeding in permanent housing and independent living, improving access to care and health outcomes for low-income and vulnerable populations. The Office brings public health and evidence-based interventions to DSS in the areas of health, mental health, substance use and nutrition and our staff work with other divisions at DSS and with shelter and clinical providers on linkage to health services, coordination with hospitals and other health care providers, implement interventions, conduct programmatic research and evaluation and provide medical consultation.

Visiting Psychiatric Services provides psychiatric evaluation and crisis intervention services, housing eligibility services, and assistance in obtaining federal disability benefits by working in collaboration with the Department of Homeless Services (DHS), Adult Protective Services (APS), HIV/AIDS Services Administration (HASA), and Permanent Supportive Housing Providers throughout New York City. DSS is developing their capacity to track clients evaluated through VPS to ensure that clients identified with outstanding needs are linked to appropriate care and services, perform QA/QI, and develop standard reports; they will also develop a new program to identify those in need of psychiatric services in the DHS shelter system and methods for evaluating current service delivery outcome as well as new programming initiatives to drive service delivery improvements.

Under the supervision of the Assistant Deputy Commissioner of Mental Health Services, the Assistant Director of Evaluation will ensure that people currently experiencing or at risk for homelessness receive mental health evaluation and are provided with appropriate care and services.

The Office of Medical Director is recruiting for one (1) City Research Scientist III to function as an Assistant Director of Evaluation who will:

- Monitor data obtained from social science and public health research investigations, by analyzing reports and trends to determine that findings are based on valid reliable social research methods and prepare and present regular reports on findings to agency leadership.

- Direct program development and research in the field of health among people experiencing homelessness, by evaluating relevant research literature, selecting appropriate quantitative and qualitative research methods, and analyzing findings to evaluate and improve program services and workflows. Statistical methods include descriptive statistics, chi-square tests and other tests for differences, regression models, propensity score matching and survival analyses.

- Develop, supervise, and train subordinate staff to use program standards, practice tools, training materials, and data collection instruments. Monitors and Evaluates job performance using standard performance metrics.

- Research relevant peer-reviewed statistical and health literature, select appropriate quantitative and qualitative research methods, and analyze findings to evaluate and improve programs and report on results to a variety of stakeholders.

- Conduct program evaluation of VPS and related services to analyze the impact of programmatic interventions on poverty reduction, homelessness prevention, and housing stability; use findings to develop original ideas and new approaches to problems, by critically reviewing agency practices, identifying problems and designing innovative strategies to improve outcomes.

- Design and manage data informed quality improvement initiatives by developing performance metrics, documentation, and monitoring tools and dashboards; review and analyze data to prompt performance improvement.

- Lead collaborations and workgroups with external agencies, including but not limited to other City agencies (e.g., ACS, HRA, DOHMH, H&H), State agencies (e.g., SDOH, SOMH, OASAS, OPWDD), community health, mental health, and managed care organizations around psychiatric and other health services at DHS.

Salary Range: $95,070 - $124,935
Monday-Friday 9 AM-5 PM

CITY RESEARCH SCIENTIST - 21744