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

Company Description

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 

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. 

Job 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