Director - Policy and Program Development

NYC Citywide Administrative Services; New York (NY); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

NYC Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) is seeking a Director of Policy and Program Development to lead the Policy and Program Development Unit, aligning with legal mandates and equity goals. You will guide agencies on compliance, reporting, and best practices to advance citywide workforce initiatives.

The role requires strong policy, legal, and project management skills, with experience supervising staff and collaborating with internal and external stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Admission to the New York State Bar and four years of recent full-time legal experience after admission.
• Eighteen months of supervisory experience over other attorneys in a managerial or executive capacity.

Responsibilities

• Track and review proposed legislation impacting CEI operations and advise on agency positions.
• Direct implementation of relevant legislation and ensure compliance.
• Design and deliver policy, program development, and training initiatives for the City workforce.
• Lead and supervise the Policy and Program Development Unit, including SOPs and performance tracking.

Skills

Policy analysis

Project management

Program development

Diversity and inclusion initiatives

Public speaking

Written communication

Data visualization

Collaboration

Education

Admission to New York State Bar

Tools

Westlaw

Microsoft Teams

Word

PowerPoint

Excel

Zoom

Job description

DCAS's mission is to make city government work for all New Yorkers. From managing New York City’s most iconic courthouses and municipal buildings, to purchasing over $1 billion annually in goods and services for more than 80 City agencies what we do ensures that all agencies can deliver on their mission. Our reach touches every facet of city government and is instrumental to the successful day-to-day operations of the City of New York.

Our Commitment To Equity, Effectiveness, And Sustainability Guides Our Work Providing City Agencies With The Critical Resources And Support Needed To Succeed, Including

• Recruiting, hiring, and training City employees.
• Managing 56 public buildings.
• Acquiring, selling, and leasing City property.
• Purchasing over $1 billion in goods and services for City agencies.
• Overseeing the greenest municipal vehicle fleet in the country.
• Leading the City's efforts to reduce carbon emissions from government operations.

When you work at DCAS, you're not just working for one agency, but in service of them all. It's an opportunity to provide impactful support, quality customer service, and help protect the future of New York City for generations to come. Visit our website at nyc.gov/dcas to learn more about the work we do.

The mission of DCAS' Citywide Equity and Inclusion (CEI) is to foster the City of New York's emergence as an innovative and global leader in fair and effective employment practices, impacting the workforce across approximately 80 agencies (mayoral and non-mayoral). CEI sets the standard for City agencies to implement the City's Equal Employment Opportunity Policy (EEO Policy), procedures, laws, City Charter and other mandates designed to prevent workplace discrimination and harassment under the City's legally protected status categories and which promotes respectful workplaces, engagement, and retention for the entire 350,000+ City workforce. CEI designs and implements initiatives that align with and operationalize legislation and related initiatives; develops and updates the City's EEO trainings portfolio to promote awareness of rights, responsibilities and resources for the City workforce and develops best practice guidance on emerging issues related to equal employment opportunity principles.

Reporting directly to the Chief Citywide Equity and Inclusion Officer/Deputy Commissioner and functioning as a key advisor on initiatives related to Citywide program development and legislative priorities, the Director of Policy and Program Development will manage the Policy, Program Development Unit (PPD), which designs and implements initiatives that align with and operationalize legal mandates and legislation; organizes mandatory citywide best practice meetings and other educational programs for EEO Officers; promotes compliance with training programs and reporting; guides agencies in effective use of workforce metrics; designs and maintains compliance tools and reference resources; provides general guidance to agencies on preparation of their annual EEO plans and quarterly updates, which agencies are required to file pursuant to the New York City Charter Chapter 35, Section 815 (19).

Director's Primary Duties Include

Policy and Analysis

• Track and review proposed legislation for potential impact on CEI operations and to help formulate the agency's position on the draft bills and language; respond to related questions and perform legal research.
• Direct the implementation of relevant legislation and develop methods to manage compliance.
• Research City Council hearing topics and gather information for testimony and Q&A preparation.
• Develop and provide tolls to assist agencies with compliance reporting obligations and enable staff to hold compliance consultation meetings with agencies.
• Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders on policy initiatives and projects.
• Draft reports required by local laws, policies, processes, and project workstreams.

Programming And Data Analysis

• Create and identify industry best practices that are shared with agency EEO Officers at mandatory citywide EEO Best Practices meetings.
• Design, develop and implement educational programs and platforms to share relevant strategies, programs, and processes to achieve specific legislative mandates and goals.
• Make regular updates to interfaces and platforms used for sharing resources with EEO Officers, including on Teams.
• Research trends and develop programming pursuant to the objectives of New York City Charter Chapter 35, Section 814.1.
• Design, establish and analyze baseline and benchmark workforce metrics to track, monitor and report on the effectiveness of related initiatives, including assessing outcomes from agencies' annual EEO plans and quarterly reports.
• Make recommendations using data visualizations, dashboards, and other reports.
• Provide data for reporting requirements, e.g. Mayor's Management Report (MMR), local law reports, etc.

Citywide Training Content And Presentations

• Conduct presentations to various groups (e.g. meetings, panels, for senior leadership).
• Within the City Training portfolio on workplace practices, assess needs, develop curricula ideas, review existing trainings for necessary updates, curate and assist in identifying subject matter experts, address issues regarding agencies utilizing various training modalities such as live sessions, e-learning, and train-the-trainer offerings; this includes professional development opportunities for EEO Officers and opportunities to cultivate content that qualifies for CLE credit, given that many of the EEO Officers are attorneys.

Supervision And Optimizing PPD Processes

• Determine PPD's short and long-term goals, develop metrics and key performance indicators to track success, develop and update standard operating procedures (SOPs).
• Lead and guide PPD staff through training, coaching, including weekly one on one meetings, and performance evaluations according to the agency schedule.
• Ensure staff prepare and abide by timelines in project plans.
• Ensure inquiries PPD receives are addressed and tracked.
• Cross-collaborate with other CEI managers on projects and to promote employee engagement and success.

Minimum Qualifications

Admission to the New York State Bar; and four years of recent full-time responsible, relevant, satisfactory legal experience subsequent to admission to any bar, eighteen months of which must have been in the supervision of other attorneys, in an administrative, managerial or executive capacity, or performing highly complex and significant legal work. Incumbents must remain Members of the New York State Bar in good standing for the duration of this employment.

Preferred Skills

• Demonstrated background in policy analysis, project management, ability to develop, implement and monitor programs that support the City's workforce diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. - Ability to drive managerial prerogatives and engage staff through attentive supervision and feedback. - Ability to effectively present, speak in public and communicate goals and vision in writing and verbally. - Knowledge and ability to interpret the Citywide EEO Policy, federal, state, and City EEO laws, the NYC Charter, regulations, and the City Council legislative process. - Experience working collaboratively in small teams and simultaneously handling multiple priorities under tight deadlines. - Statistical and quantitative analysis skills and ability to distill complex data sets into engaging visualizations. - Ability to work collegially, build and maintain positive relationships internally and externally, at all levels. - High level of initiative, motivation, and attention to detail. - Proficiency in Microsoft Teams, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Westlaw, and Zoom.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness

As a prospective employee of the City of New York, you may be eligible for federal loan forgiveness programs and state repayment assistance programs. For more information, please visit the U.S. Department of Education’s website at https://studentaid.gov/pslf/.

Residency Requirement

New York City Residency is not required for this position

The City of New York is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.