The Office for the Public Advocate for the City of New York Hiring for Multiple Positions

Overview: The Public Advocate for the City of New York is a citywide elected official who serves as a direct link between the electorate and city government, effectively acting as an ombudsman, or “watchdog,” for New Yorkers by providing oversight of city agencies, investigating citizens’ complaints about city services and making legislative or policy proposals to address perceived shortcomings of those services. The Public Advocate presides over New York City Council stated meetings and is a non-voting member of the Council with the right to introduce and co-sponsor legislation. Public Advocate Jumaane Williams seeks qualified candidates who value all of the diversity that exists within New York City, and believe that all New Yorkers deserve a government that is equitable, efficient and accountable.

Description: Under the leadership of the Public Advocate and reporting to the First Deputy Public Advocate, the Deputy Public Advocates are essential members of the policy team, with organizing and advocacy expertise in key areas impacting the lives of our community–and the ability to operationalize action plans. The Deputy Public Advocates support the Public Advocate address multiple areas simultaneously, and design strategies to increase accountability and transparency in furtherance of a more efficient New York City that prioritizes all people.

The office is seeking Deputy Public Advocates in the following areas:

•Deputy Public Advocate of Housing Equity: lead policy member responsible for assessing the state of housing security within the City by addressing a range of interrelated government management concerns, including the city’s response to homelessness; NYCHA conditions and repairs; zoning; access to affordable and quality living spaces; and the state of emergency shelters and temporary housing.

•Deputy Public Advocate of Justice, Health Equity & Safety: lead policy member responsible for assessing the access and delivery of justice, safety and health services; analyzing the level of exposure to unhealthy and unsafe conditions–with keen attention to conditions that weaken protections for targeted and/or underprotected communities; and shaping accountability through a restorative, human rights and equity framework.

•Deputy Public Advocate of Education & Opportunity: lead policy member responsible for assessing the pathways towards a quality work life balance–starting from access, quality and delivery of education, to career preparation and programs. This role will deepen our understanding of complex crisis, including the threats to the working class, working poor and unemployed; the realities of school segregation; disparities in school discipline; and agency responses to marginalized communities including, but not limited to, people of color, disabled, LGBTQ, returning and immigrant persons.

•Deputy Public Advocate of Civic & Community Empowerment: lead policy member responsible for monitoring infrastructure for immigrant persons and communities; electoral processes, democratic participation, community support and civic engagement–including census outreach; inclusion and support of diverse populations; and assessment of campaign procedures and agencies, such as Board of Elections and other related offices.

•Deputy Public Advocate of Infrastructure & Environmental Justice: lead policy member responsible for evaluating the resiliency of the city’s environment and infrastructure, including transportation; food, air and water quality; construction plans and processes; public parks and buildings; and green infrastructure.

Responsibilities:

•Shapes the policy priorities for their respective field, and clearly outlines the various ways the Office of Public Advocate could leverage platform to address key concerns within the City;
•Provides accountability recommendations for agencies based on findings, data and ongoing cases;
•Works closely with the First Deputy Public Advocate to align findings, data and strategy with the Public Advocate’s overall citywide vision;
•Manages the process for the creation of reports, policy snapshots, and briefings intended to educate the public;
•Supports the Public Advocate with regular updates, reports and talking points–the frequency of which to be determined by the First Deputy Public Advocate;
•Synthesizes information from various team members, including Director of Constituent Services, Data and Research Analyst, and Legal Investigators, to create strategic plans addressing citywide operations;
• Coordinates with Communications Team to develop messaging, resources and tools for the public, especially in communicating the state of government agencies and its impact on communities;
•Represents the office at high-level issue-related briefings, meetings and events where appropriate;
• Collaborates with other Deputy Public Advocates in strategy and campaign creation, especially with issues that touch across different policy areas;
• Attends and creates space for community and grassroots meetings and builds relationship with a vast pool of stakeholders and specialists in respective field of expertise;
• Manages and supervises support team.

Qualifications:

•A minimum of five (5) years and significant leadership, research, organizing and/advocacy experience in the area which candidate is applying to;
•At least 18 months project management experience;
•Self-starter with the ability to hit the ground running from day one;
•Campaign, grassroots organizing and/or advocacy wins a plus;
•Expertise working with diverse constituencies and including their contributions in an intentional and meaningful way;deep engagement with communities and activists highly preferred;
•Demonstrated understanding of systemic and institutional bias, root cause analysis, and the generational impact within our City;
•Human rights/civil rights advocacy a plus;
•Excellent writer, able to turn around quality written deliverables in a short amount of time;
•Familiarity with city and state infrastructure, legislative and policy;
•Experience integrating policy, grassroots and research within cutting-edge campaigns;
• Demonstrated experience working and building with teams that center racial, gender-equity, disability justice, and LGBTQ rights in programmatic and policy initiatives;
• Bilingual/multilingual proficiency desired;
• Appreciation of New York City’s diverse communities;
• Ability to maintain composure under extreme pressure situations.

Interested candidates should include a short writing sample (no more than 2 pages), and/or the link if online, demonstrating their expertise in the relevant area which they’re applying to.

Interested candidates should email jumaanetransitionteam@gmail.com with the name of desired position in the subject line. Due to the volume of applications we receive, we aren’t able to give status updates. We will, however, keep resumes on file for future opportunities.

The Office of the New York City Public Advocate and The City of New York are Equal Employment Opportunity Employers.

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