Senior Policy Advisor

Senior Policy Advisor

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. The Mayor's Office of Operations works to make New York City government more effective and efficient. The Office is responsible for managing and coordinating multiagency initiatives and using data to help the City make informed and equitable policy decisions and strategic, targeted investments. The Office coordinates citywide initiatives and assists agencies in improving service quality and in measuring performance to provide greater accountability. The Office of Operations is committed to achieving equity and creating an inclusive workplace. The Project Management Team supports policy and program implementation across the City. We work with City agencies and offices to launch new initiatives, improve existing projects and develop cross-agency relationships and work plans in order to drive efficiency and deliver on the Mayor's equity agenda. We also track and monitor the progress of mayoral commitments and initiatives.

The Senior Policy Advisor is responsible for the coordination and completion of multiple and diverse projects that improve the efficiency, effectiveness and accessibility of key City services. The Senior Policy Advisor will have latitude to exercise a wide degree of authority in performing this role and is expected to exercise judgment to make timely and appropriate decisions. Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Interagency Coordination: Initiate and coordinate interagency projects that increase overall City efficiency, collaboration, and the consistency of policy. Manage the development, formulation and coordination of inter-agency working groups or task forces.
• Analysis and Advice: Conduct quantitative and qualitative data analysis, identifying trends and producing research questions and analysis in support of project goals. Based on that analysis, make recommendations to Operations leadership, agency staff, Deputy Mayor staff, and other City Hall officials.
• Project Management: Manage project responsibilities, review work products, and ensure efficient progress on implementation. Specific tasks may involve:
• Team Management: Work directly with project team members to develop project engagement agreements, governance structures, project plans, status reports and project close-out documentation in order to estimate work effort, plan, oversee and carry out activities, track progress and achieve deliverables. Manage and coordinate work done by other parties both inside and outside the Office of Operations. Provide team direction and vision, including motivating people to perform, listening to people, providing feedback, recognizing strengths and providing challenges.
• Project Oversight: Manage the day-to-day operational aspects of a project. Identify resources needed and assign individual responsibilities. Revise project documents as appropriate to meet changing needs and requirements. Liaise with client agencies and manage expectations on engagement framework and progress reporting. Create a structure for project documentation and remain conscientious in using it and ensuring that the project team understands and uses it.
• Communication: Generate various project-related documents including status reports, presentations, meeting agendas and summary notes. Facilitate regular team and stakeholder meetings effectively. Communicate relevant project information to stakeholders. Prepare and deliver informative, well-organized presentations. Resolve and/or escalate issues in a timely fashion. Understand how and when to communicate difficult/sensitive information appropriately.

About You:

• You have an understanding of urban issues, especially New York City government and current city affairs/policies.
• You have a proven record of initiating and managing complex, interdisciplinary projects involving multiple constituents.
• You have extensive experience mediating among groups with competing perspectives; overseeing (and improving the operational efficiency) of complicated organizations; and pioneering innovative solutions to intricate problems.
• You have strong written and verbal communication skills.
• You are highly organized and detail-oriented with the ability to prioritize between conflicting demands and the flexibility to meet unpredictable demands.
• You can work independently and as part of a team, and have initiative, persistence and a positive attitude.
• You have analytical skills with experience in data collection, data analysis and performance reporting.
• You have advanced knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

Minimum Qualifications:

- A graduate degree and at least five years of professional experience, or a bachelor's degree. - 7+ years of professional experience is required.

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.

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.