COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SPECIALIST

Community Engagement Specialist

New York City Emergency Management (NYCEM) helps New Yorkers before, during, and after emergencies through preparedness, education, and response. NYCEM is responsible for coordinating citywide emergency planning and response for all types and scales of emergencies. We are staffed by more than 200 dedicated professionals with diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise, including individuals assigned from other City agencies. The Community Engagement Bureau helps communities become more resilient by providing guidance for community emergency planning for the most common hazards in New York City and connecting established community organizations and networks to the Emergency Operations Center. Through outreach and training, the Community Preparedness division brings together leaders from volunteer programs, community and nonprofit organizations, and government to promote preparedness at the local level. The Community Preparedness unit provides programming to help local nonprofit and faith-based organizations build capacity within their communities to be able to respond to and recover from emergencies. Through programs such as Strengthening Communities, the unit provides training, resources, and support to integrate community networks in the emergency management cycle. Community Engagement is seeking a Community Engagement Specialist to support the development and growth of the Strengthening Communities program. The Community Engagement Specialist position requires a creative and proactive individual who has demonstrated excellent community development and communication skills as well as cultural and religious literacy. The position requires someone who has knowledge of New York City and has shown commitment to developing community resiliency and working with vulnerable populations. This role supports the implementation and expansion of the Strengthening Communities program, and the training of community networks that enhance preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation capabilities across New York City. Responsibilities may include but are not limited to:

• Lead and coordinate outreach to faith-based organizations, community-based organizations, networks, and coalitions throughout the five boroughs.
• Recruit, onboard, and support new partners participating in the Strengthening Communities program.
• Facilitate community emergency planning training classes to build the capacity of community-based organizations and houses of worship to prepare for and respond to emergencies.
• Lead data collection and data analysis for the unit. Integrating existing data into a centralized database.
• Implement a data analytics framework to measure program impact, partner engagement, and changes in community capacity over time. Monitor and create reports captured in ArcGIS tools and other databases.
• Plan and conduct special community emergency preparedness events including public presentations and training workshops.
• Support and enhance internal coordination among community outreach and volunteer programs and other emergency planning initiatives.
• Serve as a reliable NYCEM Community Engagement connection to community and faith-based organizations and houses of worship.
• Support community emergency networks through the entire emergency management cycle (preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation).
• Collaborate and contribute to the Community Engagement Bureau goals, priorities and programming by working with Ready NY, CERT, and other NYC Emergency Management units.
• Serve as an Emergency Support Function (ESF) Coordinator in the City's Emergency Operations Center.
• Any other tasks assigned by the Director.

The selected candidate will be assigned to an on-call Emergency Operations Center (EOC) team and will be expected to work non-business hours during some emergencies. These non-business hours include nights, weekends, holidays, and extended week hours outside of a 9AM-5PM schedule. The selected candidate will also participate in trainings to build skills and competencies in emergency response; will participate in drills and exercises associated with the on-call EOC team; and may volunteer to assist with Ready NY emergency preparedness presentations to external groups. EOC teams are on call for three weeks at a time, with six weeks off in between. Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States without employer support to be eligible for selection. Note that NYCEM does not participate in eVerify, which is required for the reauthorization of some visas. The selected candidate will be required to be in person in the office location three days per week, with exceptions for extenuating circumstances. For this position, the "Special Note" below in the Minimum Qualification Requirements does apply. In order to be considered for this job, please submit a separate cover letter in the attachments section of the application portal. Preferred skills include:

• Ability to interact respectfully and professionally with persons who have different cultural and socio-economic backgrounds and work well independently as well as part of a team.
• Excellent written and oral communication and organizational skills.
• Knowledge of and experience in working with community-based organizations, government agencies, local department of social services sites, and city-wide coalitions.
• Experience organizing and managing community engagement events or programs.
• Ability to travel between and throughout NYC boroughs.
• Proficiency with virtual platforms such as Zoom, MS Teams, etc.
• Some after-hours and weekend work are required.
• Bilingual or multilingual skills a plus.
• Experience with ArcGIS or similar tools is desirable.
• In addition, the selected candidate will be able to demonstrate a proven ability in the following areas, from the agency's performance management model:
• Knowledge – possesses appropriate subject matter expertise.
• Work Ethic and Productivity – produces consistently high quality, accurate, and on-time deliverables; takes responsibility, is dependable, and accountable, and follows through; is responsive to requests from leadership.
• Strategic Problem Solving and Innovation – is thoughtful and deliberate in approach to solving problems; demonstrates innovation and creative thinking.
• Effective Communication – communication is clear, precise, and timely; understands their audience and display confidence in delivering their message.
• Teamwork – encourage collaboration and motivate others; is able to both lead and follow when necessary; is an active listener and consider a broad range of perspectives.

Studies have shown that women, people of color, and other under-represented groups are less likely to apply for jobs unless they believe they are able to perform every task in the job description. We are interested in finding the best candidate for the job and will consider any equivalent combination of knowledge, skills, education and experience to meet qualifications. If you are interested in applying, we encourage you to think broadly about your background and skill set for the role.