Sr. Research Advisor

Senior Research Advisor

The Fund for Public Health in New York City (FPHNYC) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that is dedicated to the advancement of the health and well-being of all New Yorkers. To this end, in partnership with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), FPHNYC incubates innovative public health initiatives implemented by DOHMH to advance community health throughout the city.

It facilitates partnerships, often new and unconventional, between government and the private sector to develop, test, and launch new initiatives. These collaborations speed the execution of demonstration projects, effect expansion of successful pilot programs, and support rapid implementation to meet the public health needs of individuals, families, and communities across New York City.

We embrace a culture of learning, collaboration, innovation, and well-being, where open communication drives our impact.

The Research and Evaluation (R&E) Unit in the Bureau of Maternal, Infant and Reproductive Health (BMIRH) in the Family and Child Health Division, conducts population-level surveillance and research related to maternal and infant health outcomes, including maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity.

The R&E Unit of BMIRH is seeking a Senior Research Advisor to conduct quantitative research with a focus on maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity. Reporting to the Deputy Director, R&E Unit, this position will support the Bureau's research agenda by identifying gaps in the scientific literature, developing high-impact research questions to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity and other adverse maternal and infant outcomes, and collaborating on the preparation of manuscripts to peer-reviewed publications.

The Senior Research Advisor will conduct and provide technical assistance to staff in the conduct of rigorous quantitative analyses using large administrative datasets, including Vital Statistics, Medicaid claims and hospital discharge data. The role will apply advanced statistical and analytic methods to assess relationships between social, behavioral, and clinical risk factors and maternal health outcomes. Responsibilities include working with complex datasets, ensuring methodological rigor, and producing high-quality, program- and policy-relevant research findings.

The ideal candidate will have deep experience in academic research, expertise in research methods such as causal inference, longitudinal data analysis, and applied machine learning methods, along with a strong record of peer-reviewed publications. The Senior Research Advisor will collaborate with staff to prepare manuscripts and technical reports and translate research findings into actionable recommendations to inform programs and policy.

• Take required DOHMH CITI training online courses
• Receive orientation to research datasets
• Sign and submit all confidentiality forms
• Provide guidance on epidemiological research literature on health topics to appropriately frame and interpret research and data.

• Assist in the development of research questions
• Conduct analyses and develop manuscripts in collaboration with staff
• Provide mentoring to research staff on research design, statistical methods and development of journal articles
• Other duties as assigned to support the overall goals and mission of the department/ organization.

• Ph.D. in Epidemiology, Public Health, Social Sciences, or a related quantitative field.
• Senior level epidemiologist with at least 15 years of experience.
• Experience as Principal Investigator on public health studies, conducting independent academic research from study design through publication.
• Expertise in quantitative research methods, including causal inference (e.g. propensity score matching), machine learning techniques (e.g. random forests, decision trees, gradient boosting, principal component analysis) and advanced longitudinal analysis (e.g. mixed-effects, survival analysis).
• Experience conducting maternal mortality, severe maternal morbidity, or related maternal health research.
• Proven track record of substantive publication in…