Director, Research and Evaluation, Bureau of Maternal Infant and Reproductive Health

About the role

The Division of Family and Child Health (DFCH) of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is charged with the creation and oversight of programs, policies, services, and environments that support physical and socio-emotional health, and promote primary and reproductive health services, health equity, social justice, safety and well-being for New York City families and children.

Responsibilities

Duties will include but not be limited to strategic leadership and program direction, research design, implementation and oversight, data management, analysis and interpretation, evaluation, quality improvement and measurement, community engagement and equity-centered research, communications, dissemination and translation, team management and capacity building, and grant management, budgeting and compliance.

• Provide strategic vision and leadership for research, evaluation, and analytic priorities within the BMIRH portfolio, aligning activities with department goals, equity frameworks, and community needs.
• Develop and maintain a multi-year research and evaluation agenda that addresses disparities in maternal morbidity and mortality, infant outcomes, reproductive justice, family planning, perinatal mental health, and related social determinants.
• Lead development of research proposals, study designs, evaluation plans, and logic models for BMIRH programs.
• Oversee implementation of studies and evaluations, ensuring methodological rigor, cultural responsiveness, and appropriate community engagement.
• Manage relationships and contracts with academic partners, evaluators, consultants, and vendors; steward grant-funded research and evaluation projects.
• Ensure human subjects protections, IRB coordination/submissions, data governance and confidentiality practices in accordance with federal, state and local regulations.
• Oversee collection, linkage, management and analysis of data from multiple sources.
• Direct development of analytic plans, dashboards, performance metrics, and modeling efforts to monitor program impact and inform resource allocation.
• Lead rigorous program evaluations and continuous quality improvement initiatives for key BMIRH programs.
• Embed community-based participatory approaches in research and evaluation, partnering with community organizations, providers, and people with lived experience to co-design studies and interpret findings.
• Oversee development of clear, timely, accessible reports, policy briefs, peer-reviewed publications, and presentations for diverse audiences.
• Hire, supervise and mentor a multidisciplinary team.
• Lead development and stewardship of research and evaluation budgets; track expenditures and deliverables.

Qualifications

Preferred skills include an advanced degree in epidemiology, public health, health services research, biostatistics, social science, or related field, and minimum 7–10 years of progressively responsible experience in public health research, evaluation, or epidemiology.

• Advanced degree (PhD, DrPH, ScD, or Master’s degree with extensive experience) in epidemiology, public health, health services research, biostatistics, social science, or related field.
• Minimum 7–10 years of progressively responsible experience in public health research, evaluation, or epidemiology, including experience leading large, multidisciplinary teams and complex projects.
• Demonstrated experience leading evaluations and research in maternal, infant, reproductive health, perinatal substance use, or related areas.
• Strong skills in quantitative and qualitative methods, statistical modeling, data linkage, and program evaluation.
• Track record of peer-reviewed publications, policy briefs, and presentations; experience with grant-funded research and funder reporting.
• Familiarity with public health data systems and experience with analytic software and data visualization tools.
• Strong oral and written communication skills; ability to translate complex findings for non-technical audiences.
• Commitment to equity, anti-racism, and community-engaged approaches.

Benefits

City employees are entitled to unmatched benefits such as a premium-free health insurance plan, additional health, fitness, and financial benefits, a public sector defined benefit pension plan, a tax-deferred savings program, and a robust Worksite Wellness Program.

• 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.
• Premium-free health insurance plan that saves employees over $10K annually.
• Public sector defined benefit pension plan with steady monthly payments in retirement.
• Tax-deferred savings program.
• 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.