Director of Public Affairs (0953 Deputy Director III) - DPH - EXEMPT

The Department of Public Health prioritizes equitable and inclusive access to quality healthcare for its community and values the importance of diversity in its workforce. All employees at the Department of Public Health work to advance equity, inclusion, and diversity with a specific lens and focus on race, ethnicity, gender, sex, sexuality, disability, and immigration status.    Application Opening: Thursday, January 29, 2026  Application Deadline: Continuous  Salary:  $196,612 to $250,978 Annually (Range A)    Appointment Type:  Permanent Exempt     Recruitment ID: PEX-0953-EXEMPT  Work Arrangement: Onsite Becoming a City employee means being a part of a team that cares about making a difference. Your work will shape both the present and future of San Francisco. When you work for the City, you’re choosing a job with purpose.   The Mission of the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) is to protect and promote the health of all San Franciscans. Fulfilling this mission requires employees working across our hospitals, clinics, programs, and offices to deliver services and support the communities we serve. Individuals interested in joining SFDPH should expect to work in person across these settings. The San Francisco Health Network, Population Health, Behavioral Health Services, and Administration are the core divisions of SFDPH. The San Francisco Health Network is the City’s only complete system of care and has locations throughout the City, including Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center, and over 15 primary care health centers. The Population Health Division (PHD) provides core public health services for the City and County of San Francisco: health protection, health promotion, disease and injury prevention, and disaster preparedness and response. Behavioral Health Services operates in conjunction with SFHN and provides a range of mental health and substance use treatment services. SFDPH is intentionally evolving toward a department-wide, performance-managed operating model, requiring senior leaders who can set direction, drive execution, and deliver results across a highly complex public health and healthcare environment.  The Director of Public Affairs (0953 Deputy Director III) is a senior executive-level manager responsible for department-wide public affairs, communications, public records, and media strategy affecting multiple major divisions within DPH, including Population Health, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, Laguna Honda Hospital, Behavioral Health, Primary Care, and Administration.   Under policy direction of the Director of Health and the Deputy Director of Health, the Director of Public Affairs operates at the highest level of department leadership, providing vision, leadership, and execution across communications, media relations, legislative messaging, and public-facing strategy. The role routinely engages with City and County department heads, elected officials, the Mayor’s Office, the Board of Supervisors, and media outlets on complex and sensitive public health matters with significant organizational, fiscal, and public trust implications.   In addition, the Director of Public Affairs is accountable for translating executive direction into coordinated action across the department’s public affairs and communications ecosystem. Acting under the policy direction of the Director of Health and the Deputy Director of Health, the Director establishes clear priorities, timelines, and decision pathways for high-impact public-facing initiatives, aligns senior leaders around those priorities, and ensures disciplined follow-through. The role elevates risks, surfaces trade-offs, and reinforces accountability to ensure that public commitments and records are credible, coordinated, and executable within existing governance and operational frameworks.   The Director of Public Affairs plays a critical, cross-divisional role in protecting public trust, advancing public health priorities, and ensuring the department communicates effectively during both routine operations and moments of crisis. Decisions made in this role carry department-wide and citywide impact.   The Director of Public Affairs (0953 Deputy Director III) performs the following essential job duties:   Department-wide Public Affairs and Communications Leadership Directs the development and implementation of department-wide public affairs, communications, and media strategies spanning multiple DPH divisions  Ensures alignment between public messaging, department priorities, and operational realities  Independently represents DPH on highly complex and sensitive public health issues affecting public safety, regulatory standing, and departmental credibility  Provides executive oversight of public records and disclosure functions, including coordination with designated custodians and legal partners  Executive Strategy, Coordination, and Execution  Coordinates and aligns senior executives across DPH, under deputized authority of the Director of Health and the Deputy Director of Health, to resolve cross-divisional issues requiring policy, procedural, or communications solutions including disclosure-related matters  Sets department-wide priorities and sequencing of public-facing initiatives and guides leadership through decision points  Reinforces execution discipline through structured coordination, issue resolution, and escalation of risks and trade-offs  Media, Legislative, and Government Relations  Leads media strategy and oversees all media relations for the department  Consults and coordinates with the Mayor’s Office and Board of Supervisors on public health policy messaging  Represents the department before commissions, boards, committees, and federal, state, and local agencies  Crisis, Emergency, and High-Impact Issue Leadership  Leads public affairs and communications strategy during public h