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Career Opportunity

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

Recruitment: REF59980U

Published: January 29, 2026

Contact:

Marielle Francine Saldajeno - marielle.saldajeno@sfdph.org

Apply using SmartRecruiters, the City and County of San Francisco's application portal.

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Department: Public Health
Job class: 0953-Deputy Director III
Starting salary range: $196,612.00 - $250,978.00 (Range A)
Role type: Permanent Exempt What does this mean?
Hours: Full-time
 

About:

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.   

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. SFDPH strives to achieve its mission through the work of multiple divisions - the San Francisco Health Network, Population Health, Behavioral Health Services, and Administration. 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 operates one of the nation’s most complex and integrated public health systems, managing an annual budget of $3.5 billion and a workforce of more than 8,000 employees.  

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. 

Role description

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 health emergencies, regulatory actions, and other high-impact events 
  • Ensures rapid, accurate, and coordinated communication and information disclosure across leadership, operational divisions, and external stakeholders 

People, Budget, and Organizational Impact 

  • Directly supervises department-wide communications and public affairs functions and associated public records operations 
  • Leads and supports subordinate managers to promote high standards of performance and continuous improvement 
  • Develops, administers, and monitors budgets exceeding $5 million, including legislative and policy matters affecting $10+ million in revenues and expenditures 

The Director of Public Affairs (0953 Deputy Director III) may perform other duties as assigned/required.  

How to qualify

Required Minimum Qualifications

  1. Education: Possession of a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university, AND 
  2. Experience: Four (4) years of managerial experience in public affairs, communications, government affairs, media management, or a closely related field, all of which must include supervision of staff.  

EDUCATION SUBSTITUTION: Additional qualifying experience as described above may be substituted for the required degree on a year-for-year basis for up to 2 years. One year is equivalent to thirty (30) semester or forty-five (45) quarter units.    

Applicants must meet the minimum qualification requirements by the final filing date unless otherwise noted.  

One-year full-time employment is equivalent to 2,000 hours (2,000 hours of qualifying work experience is based on a 40-hour work week). 

Desirable Qualifications

  • Experience working in public-sector public affairs, preferably within a public health, homelessness, or healthcare system 
  • Knowledge of City and County of San Francisco governmental structures and public health issues 
  • Experience communicating complex legislative, regulatory, and administrative issues to the public 

Verification of Education and Experience 

Every application is reviewed to ensure that you meet the minimum qualifications as listed in the job ad. Review SF Careers Employment Applications for considerations taken when reviewing applications.   

Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. If education or experience verification is required, information on how to verify education and experience requirements, including verifying foreign education credits or degree equivalency, can be found at https://careers.sf.gov/knowledge/experience-education/.  

Note: Falsifying one’s education, training, or work experience or attempted deception on the application, may result in disqualification for this and future job opportunities with the City and County of San Francisco. 

What else should I know?

Additional information regarding Employment with the City and County of San Francisco:  

Where to Apply   

All job applications for the City and County of San Francisco must be submitted through our online portal. Please visit https://careers.sf.gov/ to begin your application process.   

Applicants may be contacted by email about this recruitment. Please consider using a personal email address that you check regularly rather than a work or school account.  

Computers are available for the public (9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday) to file online applications in the lobby of the Dept. of Human Resources at 1 South Van Ness Avenue, 4th Floor and at the City Career Center at City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 110.

Ensure your application information is accurate, as changes may not be possible after submission. Your first and last name must match your legal ID for verification, and preferred names can be included in parentheses. Use your personal email address, not a shared or work email, to avoid unfixable issues.  

Applicants will receive a confirmation email from notification@smartrecruiters.com that their online application has been received in response to every announcement for which they file. Applicants should retain this confirmation email for their records. Failure to receive this email means that the online application was not submitted or received.  

If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the analyst, Marielle Saldajeno at marielle.saldajeno@sfdph.org or (628) 271-6820.  

Position # 01125569 

We may use text messaging to communicate with you on the phone number provided in your application. The first message will ask you to opt in to text messaging. 

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.