Job Announcement – December 2014

Director, Division of Chronic Disease Prevention

Philadelphia Department of Public Health

www.phila.gov/gethealthyphilly

Summary

The Philadelphia Department of Public Health (PDPH) seeks a dynamic, skilled, and experienced leader to direct the Division of Chronic Disease Prevention, whose initiatives are collectively known as Get Healthy Philly.

Get Healthy Philly works with partners inside and outside of government to promote transformational change in schools, communities, workplaces, health care settings, and the media and the policy environments with a focus on tobacco control, healthy eating, and active living. Get Healthy Philly’s goals are to reduce smoking among youth and adults, promote tobacco-free environments, improve access to and affordability of healthy foods, create opportunities for physical activity, and prevent and help manage tobacco- and obesity-related health conditions. The Division has approximately 30 staff and an annual budget of $6.5 million.

In the last several years, Get Healthy Philly has contributed to reductions in child obesity (5%) and smoking among youth (30%) and adults (15%) in Philadelphia. Improvements have been seen in the general population and among racial/ethnic minorities. Get Healthy Philly has been recognized by local, state, national, and international organizations for its innovative andeffective efforts to foster healthier communities.

The Director is responsible for leading all aspects of the Division, including programmatic, policy, evaluation, fiscal, and administrative activities. The Director supervises three managers who oversee tobacco control, healthy eating & active living, and fiscal matters; and a research and evaluation unit. S/he also works closely with a Senior Policy Advisor. The Director reports to the Director of Policy and Planning, Philadelphia Department of Public Health.

The Division of Chronic Disease Prevention is one of nine operating divisions of PDPH, which provides comprehensive public services spanning prevention, health promotion, and clinical treatment services. PDPH has approximately 1,200 employees and a budget exceeding $350 million. PDPH is a leading big-city public health agency and seeks to achieve public health accreditation in 2015.

Specific responsibilities

· Shapes the vision of the Division and develops/modifies strategic plans and priorities for tobacco control, healthy eating, and active living. This may include expanding the scope of the Division to address other chronic conditions as appropriate.

· Develops, implements, and evaluates—via staff and partners—public health policies, prevention and disease management programs, and collaborative public health-clinical efforts to address smoking and obesity

Supervises a management team directly responsible for tobacco control, healthy eating and active living, and fiscal issues

· Manages organizational change for the Division, including team building, strategic re-alignment, and human resources planning

· Ensures rigorous evaluation of interventions, resulting in quality improvement activities, resource re-allocation (as needed), peer-reviewed manuscripts, and national conference presentations

· Fosters collaborations with other City agencies, universities, businesses, non-profit entities, health systems, and health insurers through contractual agreements, coalitions, MOUs, and other arrangements

· Informs, assesses, and helps implement City legislation, regulation, and administrative actions to address smoking, poor diet, and physical inactivity

· Serves as a content expert and liaison to the Mayor’s Legislative Office, the Board of Health, and City Council as directed by Director of Policy and Planning or Health Commissioner

· Develops successful applications for funding from local, state, and federal government agencies, along with foundations and non-traditional sources

· Represents PDPH and the City at local, state, and national forums on chronic disease prevention

· Works with other PDPH Division Directors and City of Philadelphia agency leaders to identify and execute cross-sectoral interventions

· Briefs the Director of Policy and Planning and Health Commissioner regularly on key policy, program, evaluation, and administrative issues

· Prepares testimony, talking points, press releases, and other documents enabling the Director of Policy and Planning or Health Commissioner to engage with stakeholders

Required knowledge, skills, and abilities

Ability to shape, implement, and evaluate a shared vision for the Division

· Ability to recruit, supervise, nurture, and assess the performance of a diverse staff

· Ability to manage internal organizational changes related to funding, staffing, and leadership agendas

Ability to represent the interests of the Division and the Department of Public Health before diverse audiences, including the public, the media, public health stakeholders, advocates, academic institutions, policy makers, and funders
Ability to build and sustain multi-sectoral coalitions to advance population health
Ability to manage complex program, policy, and evaluation partnerships with governmental and non-governmental partners
Knowledge of the problems, diseases, and conditions related to tobacco use, poor diet, and physical inactivity along with the principles and practices of disease prevention and health promotion
Knowledge of the social and environmental determinants of health at the individual, family, and community levels
Knowledge of public health evaluation principles, epidemiology, biostatistics, and health services research
Ability to synthesize the scientific literature on chronic disease prevention and integrate findings into program design and policy development

· Ability to design and implement evidence-based programs with well-articulated outcomes and well-conducted evaluation

· Ability to identify policy gaps and recommend policy and regulatory solutions

Ability to analyze complex problems and proactively adopt an effective course of action
Ability to express ideas effectively, both orally and in writing, for lay and scientific audiences
Ability to develop large, complex proposals for funding from governmental, foundation, and private sector sources
Ability to develop and manage budgets based on multiple sources of funding with various rules, expectations, and reporting requirements
Familiarity with the rules and regulations of Federal and State funding of chronic disease prevention programs

Education and experience

· A minimum of an M.D. or Ph.D. in public health or a related field. Training in epidemiology, biostatistics, health policy, public policy, public administration, and/or business administration is desired but not required

· Minimum of five years of experience successfully managing a complex initiative providing public health and/or health care services related to chronic disease

Salary

· Based on training and experience

Residency requirement

· Must establish his or her bona fide residence in Philadelphia within six (6) months of his or her appointment, and must thereafter maintain bona fide residence in Philadelphia.

QUALIFIED APPLICANTS: If you are interested in applying for this position, please email a cover letter and CV to Giridhar Mallya, MD, MSHP, Philadelphia Department of Public Health, via Health Commissioner’s Office Representative,[log in to unmask].