POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT

Assistant General Counsel

Salary Grade: 25

Salary Range: $92,055 - $107,000/annually

Hybrid Position

Long Island City, New York

The Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene, Inc. is seeking one (1) qualified candidate to fill the full-time position as Assistant General Counsel to be assigned to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH). With more than 6,000 employees throughout the five boroughs, NYC DOHMH is one of the largest -- and most highly regarded -- public health agencies in the world, serving 8 million New Yorkers from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds. NYC DOHMH tackles a broad range of public health issues with innovative policies and programs and seeing significant results from our efforts.

The Office of General Counsel (OGC) at the NYC DOHMH works to ensure that the innovative programs and initiatives developed and implemented by the agency are supported by a dedicated legal team comprised of health justice-focused attorneys. In addition, attorneys help to develop the appropriate regulatory / legal avenues for NYC DOHMH policy work. Over the course of the pandemic, OGC's docket has included issuing Commissioner Orders to mandate vaccination (and assisting to defend those mandates when subject to challenge); advising on legal issues related to reopening schools and businesses; protecting data systems; and ensuring vaccine distribution compliance with federal and state laws. As the agency moves forward, NYC DOHMH attorneys work to support an array of initiatives addressing health disparities through targeted initiatives.

The Assistant General Counsel would work within OGC on legal needs arising from the mental health division at the NYC DOHMH, including legal questions, legal analysis of policy and legislative issues, researching case law regarding mental health issues, and drafting contracts and data use agreements.

The successful candidate will have excellent research and writing skills and be highly detail-orientated with the ability to prioritize and manage multiple projects. Current working knowledge of NYC DOHMH procedures, policies and practices and experience in or knowledge in Privacy Issues and other public health matters are a plus.

Responsibilities/Duties:

• Serve as a liaison between OGC and the Division of Mental Hygiene on legal matters.
• Conduct legal research and draft written analyses as needed, often on time-sensitive basis.
• Provide recommendations on questions of law and public health and/or administrative policy.
• Draft amendments to the NYC Health Code and Commissioner of Health regulations.
• Draft legal documents including Orders of the Commissioner, as well as varied types of agreements, contracts, and/or memoranda of understanding.
• Address concerns related to (but not limited to) enforcement of NYC Health Code, Freedom of Information Law requests, privacy issues, and environmental health.
• Maintain sensitive and confidential information.
• Manage and distribute information accurately and appropriately.
• Establish positive working relationships with co-workers and programs.
• Perform other additional duties, as needed.

Minimum Qualifications

• Admission to the New York State Bar,
• Two (2) years of satisfactory United States legal experience after admission to any state bar; and,
• Incumbents must be in good standing for the duration of their employment as a member of the New York State Bar.

Preferred Qualifications

• At least two (2) years of experience with litigation and transactional law
• Previous experience using online legal databases such as West Law, CLEAR or Lexis Nexis

Location: 42-09 28th Street, Long Island City, NY 11101

Remote Work Policy: The employee working through RFMH at NYC DOHMH are allowed a Hybrid option post training and onboarding.

Sponsorship Policy: Applicants must be authorized to work in the U.S. Unfortunately, we are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of employment Visa at this time.

To Apply: Submit an application through our website at https://rfmh.applicantpro.com/jobs/. Please note only applications submitted through our website will be considered.

The Mission of the Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene, Inc. (RFMH) is to promote the mental health of all New Yorkers, with a focus on providing hope and supporting recovery for adults with serious mental illness and children with serious emotional disturbances. Applicants with lived mental health experience are encouraged to apply. RFMH is deeply committed to supporting underserved individuals, organizations, and communities. To this end, RFMH is focused on implementing activities and initiatives to reduce disparities in access, quality, and treatment outcomes for underserved populations. A critical component of these efforts is ensuring that RFMH is a diverse and inclusive workplace where all employees' unique attributes and skills are valued and utilized to support the mission of the Agency. RFMH is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.

The Research Foundation is a private not-for-profit corporation and is not an agency or instrumentality of the State of New York. Employees of the Research Foundation are not state employees, do not participate in any state retirement system, and do not receive state fringe benefits. Excellent Benefits Package. Employer/Minority/Women/Disabled/Veteran Employer. VEVRAA 41 CFR 60-300.5(a) compliant.