Senior Advisor, Digital Strategy

City of New York; New York (NY); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

The City of New York, Mayor’s Office, seeks a Senior Advisor for Digital Strategy to lead cross‑agency technology initiatives that improve child care and early childhood education programs. You will oversee data governance, digital tools, and project management while aligning investments with policy goals.

You will supervise the Data Manager, engage with multiple agencies, and guide change management across the department to deliver equitable, efficient city services.

Qualifications

• Understanding of policy, legal, operational, technology and security constraints.
• Proven success aligning technology initiatives with organizational goals.
• Strong program analysis and documentation skills (business requirements, user stories, workflows).
• Experience tracking ROI of technology initiatives and products.
• Exceptional communication and stakeholder relationship management.

Responsibilities

• Partner with program leads and stakeholders to translate needs into technology initiatives.
• Contribute to ideation, efficiency, and research workstreams with tech solutions.
• Create robust use cases for IT solutions aligning with city goals.
• Analyze proposals for feasibility and alignment with program needs.
• Oversee design, deployment, and governance of digital tools and data systems.
• Lead cross‑functional teams across IT, data, product, and policy counsel.
• Establish metrics and evaluate impact on service delivery and equity.
• Identify opportunities to modernize legacy systems and automate workflows.
• Develop governance processes to enable collaboration and informed decisions.

Skills

Policy understanding

Strategic technology alignment

Program analysis & documentation

ROI tracking & evaluation

Stakeholder management

Cross-functional leadership

Digital modernization

Change management

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Associate degree + 2 years experience

High school diploma + 4 years experience

Education/experience combination

Job description

The Agency You’ll Join

The New York City Mayor’s Office is responsible for overseeing city services throughout the five boroughs, coordinating public agencies and departments, and managing public property. The administration is leading the fight in making the city more affordable, reducing inequality, improving public safety, ensuring delivery of efficient and effective services, and working to make New York City’s economy stronger. We value leadership, transparency, fairness, and efficiency as we actively seek diverse talents from various sectors to join our team. For current job opportunities, visit our careers page.

The Team You’ll Work With

The Mayor’s Office of Child Care and Early Childhood Education (OCCECE) is responsible for delivering on the Mayor’s Universal Child Care priority. This includes setting the Administration’s child care strategy, coordinating work across City agencies to deliver a high-quality early care and education system that is responsive to child care providers and meets family needs, collaborating with a range of partners internal and external to City government, and engaging with the public. The Office serves as a central hub for citywide policy implementation and coordination across more than a dozen agencies, including New York City Public Schools (NYCPS), Administration of Children’s Services (ACS), Department of Health & Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), and Department of Social Services (DSS), and fosters strategic partnerships with all levels of government, private entities, nonprofits, and foundations. The Office works closely with families and providers to ensure their voices are represented in the design and implementation of City policy and programs.

The Problems You’ll Solve

The Senior Advisor for Digital Strategy reports to the Executive Director and supervises the Data Manager.

The Senior Advisor for Digital Strategy leads strategic planning and implementation of technology solutions that strengthen child care program delivery across multiple agencies and offices. This role works at the intersection of child care policy, operations, and digital innovation to ensure that proposed technology investments are feasible, actionable, and strongly aligned with New York City leadership's priorities and goals.

This position also provides oversight to enterprise technology implementation projects, though implementation itself may be driven by City agency partners, and ensures that the technology being developed remains aligned with the program goals and needs throughout the life cycle of the project.

Responsibilities

• Partner with program leads, executive leaders, and external stakeholders to understand operational and policy needs and translate them into actionable technology initiatives.
• Actively contribute to ideation, efficiency, and research workstreams that address program needs with technology solutions.
• Articulate robust and persuasive use cases for new IT solutions and features that further New York City’s child care and early childhood education goals.
• Analyze and score technology proposals and recommendations by estimating their feasibility and alignment with program need and intention.
• Oversee the design, deployment, and governance of digital tools, data systems, and infrastructure supporting City programs.
• Lead multi-disciplinary teams across IT, data, product, program operations, and legal/policy counsel to solve common problems and achieve shared goals.
• Establish performance metrics and in partnership with agency teams, evaluate the impact of technology initiatives on service delivery, equity, and operational efficiency.
• Identify opportunities to modernize legacy systems, streamline workflows, and introduce user-centered digital solutions; this includes increased adoption of automation to further the Administration’s goals and objectives.
• Create and administer robust technology and project governance processes that facilitate continuous collaboration, prioritization, and informed decisions by technology and program stakeholders.
• Champion child care innovation, change management, and continuous improvement across multiple agencies and offices.
• Engage in broader child care policy work and discussions as a senior leader within the Office.
• Supervise the Data Manager, providing oversight, management, and coaching.
• Perform other relevant duties as directed.

About You

• You have an understanding of policy, legal, operational, technology, and security constraints that may impact the scope and feasibility of proposed projects and products.
• You have a proven success aligning technology initiatives with organizational goals before, during, and after the project develops.
• You have strong program analysis and documentation skills, including the drafting of business requirements, user stories, process workflows, and journey mapping.
• You have substantial experience in tracking and evaluating return on investment of technology initiatives and products.
• You have exceptional communication and stakeholder relationship management skills.
• You have experience working within NYC government or other comparable government ecosystems.
• You have a familiarity with Citywide IT policies, NYC Cyber Command guidelines, and digital accessibility requirements.
• You have a background in product management, project management, service design, operational analysis, or technology modernization.
• You have a demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams in a collaborative, mission-driven environment.

Minimum Required Qualifications

• 8+ years of senior leadership experience in directing and synchronizing technology, digital strategy, and program operation workstreams.
• 8+ years of project management experience in implementing complex technology solutions in government, public sector, or highly regulated environments.

Minimum Qualifications

1. Do you have a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university?

2. Do you have an associate degree from an accredited college or university along with two (2) years of experience with administrative, analytic, coordinative, supervisory or liaison responsibilities?

3. Do you have a four-year high school diploma, or its educational equivalent approved by a state's Department of Education or a recognized accrediting organization along with four (4) years of experience as described in question "2" above?

4. Do you have a satisfactory combination of education and/or experience equivalent to that described in questions "1," "2," and/or "3" above?

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 generally required within 90 days of appointment. However, City Employees in certain titles who have worked for the City for 2 continuous years may also be eligible to reside in Nassau, Suffolk, Putnam, Westchester, Rockland, or Orange County. To determine if the residency requirement applies to you, please discuss with the agency representative at the time of the interview.

Additional Information

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.

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