Senior Director, Bureau of Food Safety and Community Sanitation

City of New York • New York, NY

6d • $68,214 - $150,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior Director leads the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s Bureau of Food Safety within the Division of Environmental Health. The role reports directly to the Executive Director of Field Operations and manages enforcement of the New York City Health and Administrative Codes, the New York State Sanitary Code, and applicable City laws. The Bureau conducts more than 50,000 food safety inspections annually, including pre-permit, routine, reinspection, compliance, complaint, and limited inspections.

The Senior Director oversees inspection and enforcement programs, complaint response, emergency preparedness, staff development, and the systems and data used to manage performance. The position develops procedures and compliance guidance, supports training for staff and the regulated community, represents the Department with stakeholders, and contributes to revisions of the New York City Health Code to reflect current science, best practices, and applicable laws and guidance.

The position is part of the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, which works to protect and improve the health of New Yorkers. Depending on the position, employees may be able to work from home up to two days during the week. The City describes its employment as offering job security and a range of employee benefits.

Requirements

• Meet one of the stated education and experience pathways: a bachelor’s degree with the required science credits and four years of qualifying inspection experience, including 18 months in an administrative, managerial, executive, or supervisory capacity; or an associate degree with the required science credits and six years of qualifying experience; or equivalent education and experience subject to the stated minimum college-credit, science-credit, public health sanitarian, and supervisory-experience requirements.
• Demonstrate leadership ability and the ability to implement new strategies and protocols and identify when existing procedures need improvement in a large, complex field operation.
• Know how field and office staff should perform and be able to take appropriate disciplinary action when necessary.
• Interpret and enforce rules and regulations.
• Perform statistical analysis and use data to drive decisions.
• Write and communicate effectively with staff and the public.
• Have strong interpersonal skills, including conflict resolution.
• Have motivational skills, including coaching and performance management.

Nice To Haves

• Excellent leadership skills.
• Ability to implement new strategies and protocols and identify procedures needing improvement in a large and complex field staff operation.
• Knowledge of how field and office staff should perform and ability to take appropriate disciplinary action when necessary.
• Ability to interpret and enforce rules and regulations.
• Ability to complete statistical analysis and use data to drive decisions.
• Effective written and verbal communication with staff and the public.
• Interpersonal skills, including conflict resolution.
• Motivational skills, including coaching and performance management.

Responsibilities

• Oversee inspections of food service establishments, including restaurants, mobile food vendors, schools, senior centers, shelters, and food commissaries; make enforcement determinations, including notices of violation, closures or embargoes, and hearing referrals.
• Evaluate enforcement and prevention systems, analyze statistics, set priorities, oversee scheduling, monitor targets, and adjust them as needed to meet Bureau objectives.
• Oversee timely and policy-compliant responses to complaints received through 311 and the Correspondence Tracking System.
• Coordinate the Bureau’s emergency response capabilities for environmental emergencies, working with senior management on field operations and staff deployment.
• Use data and data infrastructure to measure performance, improve output, identify training needs, and address performance gaps.
• Develop written protocols and procedures for implementing policies and enforcing regulations; create compliance guidelines for the regulated industry and ensure staff are appropriately trained.
• Arrange routine inspections, sweeps, and complaint-generated inspections under the Smoke-Free Air Act, ensuring violations of applicable New York State and New York City indoor-air laws are addressed.
• Manage staff development and training activities, including coordination, development, and implementation of Bureau training.
• Manage Bureau supervisory and office staff and ensure programs, procedures, processes, publications, and training materials are accurate, relevant, current, and adequately resourced.
• Represent the Department and Bureau at departmental, inter-agency, and external meetings; respond to elected officials and stakeholders; and provide training and workshops for the regulated community.
• Manage preparedness and response for food-related emergencies, such as listeria or salmonella outbreaks and other food hazards, in coordination with senior management.
• Participate in periodic revisions of the New York City Health Code to align it with current food safety science, field best practices, applicable laws, regulations, and guidance.

Benefits

• Premium-free health insurance plan; the posting says it saves employees over $10,000 annually based on a 2024 assessment.
• Additional health, fitness, and financial benefits may be available depending on the position’s associated union or benefit fund.
• Public sector defined benefit pension plan with steady monthly payments in retirement.
• Tax-deferred savings program.
• Worksite Wellness Program.
• Potential to work from home up to two days during the week, depending on the position.
• Job security compared with private-sector employment.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior