Director-Policy and Program Development

Job DescriptionDCAS'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 55 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.

DCAS’ Citywide Equity and Inclusion (CEI) provides critical guidance and support to all city agencies to ensure the proper implementation and adherence to federal, state and city mandated workplace non-discrimination policy and procedures, including responsibilities under the New York City Charter and promulgated by the citywide EEO Policy: The City of New York Equal Employment Opportunity Policy (2021). 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 equitable, diverse and inclusive employment practices. CEI is responsible for the development of the City’s EEO Policy and other equal employment opportunity (EEO)- best practice guidance impacting the workforce across over 80 agencies (mayoral or non-mayoral).

CEI's Policy and Program Development organizes mandatory EEO best practice meetings and other educational programs for EEO Officers; designs and implements citywide diversity and inclusion programs and initiatives that align with and operationalize legal mandates and legislation; reviews and approves agency annual diversity EEO plans and quarterly updates required by the New York City Charter Chapter 35, Section 814.1.

CEI develops and collaborates on strategies that fulfill the City’s EEO mandates, under local laws and executive orders, and equity and inclusion initiatives that drive the development, engagement, advancement, and retention of a diverse and inclusive workforce. CEI also guides city agencies as they establish their own D&I strategies through the charter-mandated annual Diversity & EEO plans that set forth objectives and best practices to implement EEO policies, promote equitable workforce practices, and create engaging and respectful workplace environments.

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/Executive Agency Counsel 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; and reviews and approves agency annual diversity EEO plans and quarterly updates required by the New York City Charter Chapter 35, Section 814.1.

The 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 tools 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.

DEI PROGRAMMING:

Research DEI trends and develop programming to enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion across the City.

Create and identify diversity and inclusion 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.

DATA:

Design, establish and analyze baseline and benchmark workforce metrics to track, monitor and report on the effectiveness of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, including assessing outcomes from agencies’ annual EEO-DEI 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), EquityNYC, local law reports, etc.

TRAINING/PRESENTATIONS:

Conduct presentations to different size groups in various fora. (e.g. meetings, panels, for senior leadership)

Provide input on development of workplace practices trainings on diversity, equity and inclusion.

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:

Supervise staff by providing leadership, training, coaching, including weekly one on one meetings, and performance evaluations according to the agency schedule.

Determine PPD’s short and long-term goals and develop metrics and key performance indicators to track success.

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.

QualificationsAdmission 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.Additional InformationThe 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.