Job Description

Established in 1805, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (the NYC Health Department) is the oldest and largest health department in the country. Our mission is to protect and improve the health of all New Yorkers, in service of a vision of a city in which all New Yorkers can realize their full health potential, regardless of who they are, how old they are, where they are from, or where they live.

As a world-renowned public health agency with a history of building transformative public health programming and infrastructure, innovating in science and scholarship to advance public health knowledge, and responding to urgent public health crises from New York City’s yellow fever outbreak in 1822, to the COVID-19 pandemic we are a hub for public health innovation, expertise, and programs, and services. We serve as the population health strategist, and policy, and planning authority for the City of New York, while also having a vast impact on national and international public policy, including programs and services focused on food and nutrition, anti-tobacco support, chronic disease prevention, HIV/AIDS treatment, family and child health, environmental health, mental health, and racial and social justice work, among others.

Our Agency’s five strategic priorities, building off a recently-completed strategic planning process emerging from the COVID-19 emergency, are:

1) To re-envision how the Health Department prepares for and responds to health emergencies, with a focus on building a “response-ready” organization, with faster decision-making, transparent public communications, and stronger surveillance and bridges to healthcare systems 2) Address and prevent chronic and diet-related disease, including addressing rising rates of childhood obesity and the impact of diabetes, and transforming our food systems to improve nutrition and enhance access to healthy foods

3) Address the second pandemic of mental illness including: reducing overdose deaths, strengthening our youth mental health systems, and supporting people with serious mental illness

4) Reduce black maternal mortality and make New York a model city for women’s health

5) Mobilize against and combat the health impacts of climate change

Our 7,000-plus team members bring extraordinary diversity to the work of public health. True to our value of equity as a foundational element of all of our work, and a critical foundation to achieving population health impact in New York City, the NYC Health Department has been a leader in recognizing and dismantling racism’s impacts on the health of New Yorkers and beyond. In 2021, the NYC Board of Health declared racism as a public health crisis. With commitment to advance anti-racist public health practices that dismantle systems that perpetuate inequitable power, opportunity and access, the NYC Health Department continues to work in and with communities and community organizations to increase their access to health services and decrease avoidable health outcomes.

PROGRAM AND JOB DESCRIPTION:

With an annual budget of $1.6 billion and more than 7,000 employees, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is one of the largest public health agencies in the world with a long tradition of protecting and promoting the health of its residents. The Office of External Affairs (OEA) manages many of the agency's most critical interactions with the public, from raising awareness and promoting healthy behaviors to advancing policies and responding to health emergencies. Within this office, the Language Services Unit works to ensure that differences in language, culture, and literacy do not create barriers to health care access. The unit's main mission is to coordinate language services for the agency. During the COVID-19 pandemic, our team has worked tirelessly to make sure all New Yorkers have all the information they need to be safe in their preferred language.

DUTIES WILL INCLUDE BUT NOT BE LIMITED TO:

Reporting to the Assistant Director of Translations and Research, the Chinese Translator's duties include but not limited to:

Supporting the Agency in its efforts to comply with Local Law 30: The Citywide Policy on Language Access to ensure the effective delivery of City Services and meaningful access to City Programs and activities for all City residents regardless of their proficiency in English.

Translating and proof-reading the translation of a vast range of communication materials (such as booklets, fact sheets, emergency communication materials, press releases, social media posts and marketing campaigns) into Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese for distribution to community-based organizations and the City at large.

Providing input on cultural and linguistic issues related to the development of communications materials for diverse New York City audiences and for the outreach to community-based organizations, other City Agencies, and constituents.

Assisting/contributing to the development of in-house resources like translation style guides and glossaries that aim to improve the effectiveness of the agency's language services across New York City neighborhoods/communities.

Perform clerical work, such as review invoices, submit for payments, and assist the unit with special projects, when not engaged in translation duties.

Improving outreach to diverse communities throughout New York City via the establishment of collaborative working relationships with community-based organizations throughout New York City.

Manage language services projects including coordinating with the Publications Unit, outside vendors and in-house translators to deliver high-quality translations for programmatic events.

**IMPORTANT NOTES TO ALL CANDIDATES:

Please note: If you are called for an interview you will be required to bring to your interview copies of original documentation, such as:

• A document that establishes identity for employment eligibility, such as: A Valid U.S. Passport, Permanent Resident Card/Green Card, or Driver’s license.

• Proof of Education according to the education requirements of the civil service title.

• Current Resume

• Proof of Address/NYC Residency dated within the last 60 days, such as: Recent Utility Bill (i.e. Telephone, Cable, Mobile Phone)

Additional documentation may be required to evaluate your qualification as outlined in this posting’s “Minimum Qualification Requirements” section. Examples of additional documentation may be, but not limited to: college transcript, experience verification or professional trade licenses.

If after your interview you are the selected candidate you will be contacted to schedule an on-boarding appointment. By the time of this appointment you will be asked to produce the originals of the above documents along with your original Social Security card.

**LOAN FORGIVENESS

As a prospective employee of the City of New York, you may be eligible for federal loan forgiveness programs and state repayment assistance programs. For more information, please visit the U.S. Department of Education’s website at StudentAid.gov/PSLF.

"FINAL APPOINTMENTS ARE SUBJECT TO OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT & BUDGET APPROVAL”

“This position MAY be eligible for remote work up to two days per week, pursuant to the Remote Work Pilot Program.”

Qualifications

Converse and write fluently in English and any two of the major Chinese dialects. In addition:

1. Two years of full-time experience in translating any two of the major Chinese dialects - conversational Cantonese, Mandarin, oR Taiwanese into English, and vice-versa in a practical setting; or

2. A satisfactory equivalent.

Additional Information

The City of New York is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.