Chief Prosecutor

The Office of General Counsel (OGC) within the Department of Public Health (DPH) is seeking a seasoned attorney to serve as **Chief for** **its Prosecution Unit** (Unit). The Chief Board Prosecutor will be responsible for the overall management of administrative prosecutions before the 21 boards of registration and certification in health professions that comprise the Bureau of Health Professions Licensure (Bureau). The Bureau issues 57 separate types of professional licenses and permits and establishes standards and regulations for its licensees to maintain the integrity and competence of all health care professionals in Massachusetts. There are currently over 250,000 active licenses.
- The Unit prosecutes complaints referred for adjudicatory hearing by the professional and occupational regulatory boards within the Bureau to ensure that the standards and regulations are upheld. On average, the Bureau initiates over 500 prosecutions annually. The role of the Chief Board Prosecutor is to effectively manage the day-to-day operation of the Unit, provide supervision to the attorneys working in the Unit, and maintain their own caseload. The Chief Board Prosecutor will also be responsible for facilitating communication between and among the Boards, boards counsel, and the OGC as appropriate.

**Duties and Responsibilities (these duties are a general summary and not all inclusive)**:

- Recruits, trains, supervises, and evaluates prosecuting attorneys (Counsel I and II level).
- Manages the day-to-day operations of the Prosecutions Unit, including case management, quality assurance and control.
- Manages and supervises all legal services necessary to prosecute Board complaints referred for prosecution and adjudication.
- Delivers quality legal services in the areas of consumer protection, public health, and safety.
- Serves as the principal legal consultant to the prosecuting attorneys on a wide variety of legal issues as they arise during the prosecution of complaints.
- Strategically plans, develops, and implements all initiatives, operations, and special projects of the Prosecution Unit.
- Creates standardized methods and procedures for streamlining the adjudicatory process.
- Coordinates with General Counsel and Chief Board Counsel to develop and implement legal policies and procedures to facilitate fair and expeditious resolution of complaints.
- Acts as liaison with the Office of Attorney General, the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, the Insurance Fraud Bureau, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the Food and Drug Administration, the insurance industry, and other state, federal, and private agencies involved in investigating, prosecuting, and deterring fraud, negligence, and professional misconduct.

**Preferred Qualifications**:

- Excellent communication skills and the ability to work well with individuals from all levels of education and social backgrounds.
- Comprehension of public protection implications of the various priorities asserted by the boards and ability to synthesize competing priorities to maximize the public protection achievable with existing resources.
- Expertise in the management of legal personnel associated with a professional disciplinary agency.
- Knowledge of, and experience in, the areas of process improvement, systems dynamics, and systems re-engineering.
- Strongly grounded in an understanding of trial practice and procedure, appellate practice, and administrative law.
- Thorough knowledge of litigation practice and procedure, evidence, trial practice skills, and investigative techniques and significant experience in the implementation and evaluation of these matters.
- Ability to be diplomatic, assertive, and politically astute in dealing with other law enforcement agencies and the public sector.

**About the Department of Public Health**:
The mission of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) is to prevent illness, injury, and premature death, to assure access to high quality public health and health care services, and to promote wellness and health equity for all people in the Commonwealth. We envision a Commonwealth in which all people enjoy optimal health. Massachusetts ranks among the healthiest of states according to comparative analyses, but we face numerous challenges, including chronic and infectious disease, substance abuse, violence, preventable hospitalizations, and health disparities. DPH coordinates programs and policies to address specific diseases and conditions and offer services to address the needs of vulnerable populations. We also develop, implement, promote, and enforce regulations and policies to assure that the conditions under which people live are most conducive to health and enable people to make healthy choices for themselves and their families. We license health professionals, healthcare facilities and a variety of businesses that impact public health. We operate the state laboratory and four