Director - Policy and Program Development

About the Role

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. The Director will organize mandatory citywide best practice meetings and other educational programs for EEO Officers, promote compliance with training programs and reporting, guide agencies in effective use of workforce metrics, design and maintain compliance tools and reference resources, and provide general guidance to agencies on preparation of their annual EEO plans and quarterly updates required by the New York City Charter Chapter 35, Section 815 (19).

Responsibilities

Policy and Analysis

• Track and review proposed legislation for potential impact on CEI operations and help formulate the agency's position on 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.

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.
• Provide 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; include 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

Residency Requirement

New York City Residency is not required for this position.

Equal Opportunity Employment

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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