: Cambridge Public Health Commission 

 Professional and Management

: CPHO Administrative Office

: Full time

Non Union

Job Hours: 8:30a-5:00p with flexibility. 24/7 Department Responsibility
Hours/Week: 40

The Cambridge Public Health Department (CPHD), a recipient of the 2013 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Culture of Health Prize, works to protect and promote the health of everyone in the city, with a special focus on vulnerable populations. Administered by the Cambridge Health Alliance, the CPHD uses a Social Determinants of Health framework to address factors like economic stability, education, and racism that affect community well-being. Its key areas of focus include communicable disease prevention, environmental health, and emergency preparedness. The department is also responsible for creating and enforcing public health regulations within Cambridge.

Are you a visionary public health leader ready to shape the health and wellness of a vibrant community? The Cambridge Public Health Department (CPHD), which protects and promotes the health of Cambridge residents through services, information, policies, and regulations, seeks an experienced and inspirational Chief Public Health Officer (CPHO).

The CPHO serves as the city’s head of public health, acting as the local board of health to carry out public health strategy and improve the health of Cambridge residents. This role involves managing the department's fiscal operations and leading a full team of employees, interfacing directly with key city and CHA leaders, including the Cambridge City Manager and the CEO of Cambridge Health Alliance/Commissioner of Public Health, Assaad Sayah M.D.

Key Responsibilities

The CPHO will lead the strategic direction and operational functions of the CPHD, which focuses on community health and wellness, communicable disease prevention and control, emergency preparedness, environmental health, epidemiology, regulatory enforcement, and school health.

Immediate priorities include:

• Strategic Leadership: Develop and implement a new strategic plan in partnership with the Commissioner of Public Health, the City Manager, CHA leaders, and internal/external stakeholders.

• Equity Advancement: Identify new opportunities to address equity within the community, focusing on areas including housing, food security, and homelessness where the CPHD can make a major impact.

• Program Oversight: Manage core departmental functions, including school and public health nursing, environmental health, emergency preparedness, regulatory functions, tuberculosis clinical services, and community health initiatives.

• Specific CPHD focus areas include programs addressing children’s health (like the Healthy Smiles dental program and Lead-Safe Kids), communicable disease prevention (including flu vaccine distribution and monitoring reportable diseases), and leading the city’s disaster preparedness efforts as a member of the state-funded Metro Regional Preparedness Coalition.

• Accreditation and Improvement: Lead the CPHD's journey toward reaccreditation by ensuring the department continues to evolve and improve to meet community needs and the requirements established by the Public Health Accreditation Board.

• Advocacy & Collaboration: Publicly advocate for community health, build strong trusting relationships with staff and local/regional leaders, and seek out opportunities for greater partnership within CHA where service areas may overlap.

• Data and Policy: Assess and disseminate information and data concerning the health and health needs of the people of Cambridge, track disease and identify emerging health issues, and fulfill required duties of the local boards of health in Massachusetts, including the authority to make and enforce new public health regulations.

Required Qualifications

• Education: An advanced degree in public health, medicine, nursing, health administration, or another appropriate discipline.

• Experience:

• Minimum of 5 years’ experience in a leadership position in a public health setting. Previous experience in a hospital or health system is a plus, and experience in community health is highly preferred.

• Demonstrated knowledge in areas such as health policy, communicable diseases, epidemiology, and maternal/child health.

• Experience addressing issues of equity and health equity as it relates to public health.

• Strong budgetary and fiscal management skills, and a thorough understanding of working with city, state, and federal governments.

• Skills: Exceptional interpersonal, oral, and written communication skills with the ability to synthesize, analyze, and present materials. Public speaking experience in presentational and capacity-building contexts is required.

Desired Leadership Profile

We seek an emotionally intelligent and visible leader with:

• Social Consciousness: A commitment to social responsibility, community health, and ethical behavior, with a record of being highly visible within the community.

• Integrity: Impeccable reputation, the capacity to build trusting relationships, and a transparent, accountable management style that shares information and welcomes input.

• Vision & Innovation: The ability to drive innovation, establish an environment that encourages transformation and calculated risk-taking, and serve as an aspirational guidepost for the organization.

• Acumen & Collaboration: Political acumen to constructively balance the interests of various constituencies and strong collaborative skills to build partnerships and meet shared goals.

• Mentorship: A focus on strong mentorship, ensuring accountability, being supportive and open with staff, and engaging others by showing confidence and optimism about the organization's future.

Please note that the final offer may vary within the listed Pay Range, based on a candidate's experience, skills, qualifications, and internal equity considerations.

In keeping with federal, state and local laws, Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) policy forbids employees and associates to discriminate against anyone based on race, religion, color, gender, age, marital status, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, disability or any other characteristic protected by law. We are committed to establishing and maintaining a workplace free of discrimination. We are fully committed to equal employment opportunity. We will not tolerate unlawful discrimination in the recruitment, hiring, termination, promotion, salary treatment or any other condition of employment or career development. Furthermore, we will not tolerate the use of discriminatory slurs, or other remarks, jokes or conduct, that in the judgment of CHA, encourage or permit an offensive or hostile work environment.