Director of Accessibility / Disability Services Facilitator, Administration Office

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH) is one of the largest public health agencies in the world, serving 8 million New Yorkers from diverse backgrounds including over 1 million New Yorkers with disabilities. NYC DOHMH is seeking a motivated, experienced Director of Accessibility / Disability Services Facilitator (DSF) to serve at Public Health Emergency Preparedness Specialist assignment level II, to engage with members of the public and elevate disability justice throughout the agency.

Duties:

Under the general direction of the Deputy Commissioner of Administration, with very wide latitude for the exercise of independent judgment and initiative, the DSF will perform the mandated functions of the DSF per Local Law 27 of 2016, including:

• serve as the primary contact for persons with disabilities requesting auxiliary services;
• coordinate auxiliary services for persons with disabilities.
• respond to inquiries from members of the public concerning accessibility.
• develop agency policies and procedures to ensure full programmatic and communication accessibility for persons with disabilities.
• conduct periodic training for agency staff on disability access issues.
• provide accessible notices to members of the public advising them of their rights under the ADA, the New York State Human Rights Law, the New York City Human Rights Law, and regulations promulgated by such agency related to persons with disabilities, as well as the agency’s ADA grievance procedure.
• assist in the investigation of any complaint communicated to such respective agency alleging its noncompliance with the ADA and/or other applicable federal, state, and local laws relating to people with disabilities, or alleging any actions that would be prohibited by such laws;
• document and maintain records of complaints made pursuant to the ADA and other applicable federal, state, and local laws relating to people with disabilities, and forward such complaints to the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities (MOPD).
• analyze and make recommendations to the head of each agency and to the MOPD to resolve physical and programmatic access issues; and perform any other functions as may be assigned by the head of each agency.
• Incorporate accessibility and disability justice in emergency preparedness and response, including pandemics and other disease outbreaks, extreme weather conditions, bioterrorism, mental health disaster response, and continual public health emergency preparedness activities. This includes high-level strategy for deploying the Accessibility Triage Center for COVID-19 and monkeypox (MPV) responses, and assessing emergent emergency planning and response training needs with regards to disability accessibility.
• Provide vision and strategic planning for NYC DOHMH’s accessibility work agency-wide.
• Liaise with key external partners including community-based organizations and represent Agency with other City agencies.
• Engage with bureaus/units throughout the Agency to build an inclusive culture and incorporate accessibility into planning for communications, programs (including emergency response), policies, and research.
• Supervise an internally-facing staff member responsible for supporting accommodations for staff and job applicants, supervise other staff assisting in the performance of public health emergency preparedness.
• Work with vendors and NYC DOHMH’s Information Technology team to improve User Experience (UX) design to ensure web resources are accessible for staff and the public.
• Research and evaluate interventions, follow best practices in the scientific literature, coordinate research efforts regarding interventions for people with disabilities, and disseminate findings on success of interventions.

1.Master’s degree from an accredited college in emergency management, public health, disaster management, emergency preparedness/administration, public administration, or related field and one (1) year of satisfactory full-time professional experience in one or a combination of the following area(s): emergency preparedness planning/management, emergency medical services, fire or public safety, law enforcement, homeland security, public health, mental health, environmental/occupational health and safety or a related specialized area; or

2.A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college and two (2) years of satisfactory full-time professional experience in one of the areas described in “1” above; or

3.A satisfactory equivalent combination of education and experience. However all candidates must have a minimum of one (1) year of satisfactory full-time professional experience in one of the areas described in “1” above.