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

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 Mayors 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 departments 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 Mayors 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.  

Qualifications :

Required Minimum Qualifications

1. Education: Possession of a bachelors 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 2000 hours (2000 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  ones 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. 

Additional Information :

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

• Information About the Hiring Process 
• Conviction History 
• Employee Benefits Overview   
• Equal Employment Opportunity 
• Disaster Service Worker 
• ADA Accommodation 
• Right to Work 
• Copies of Application Documents 
• Diversity Statement 

Where to Apply  

All job applications for the City and County of San Francisco must be submitted through our online portal. Please visit  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  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  or (628) 271-6820.  

Position #  

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.

Remote Work :

No

Employment Type :

Full-time