THIS TITLE IS IN A CIVIL SERVICE COMPETITIVE CLASS THAT IS SUBJECT TO EXAMINATION. POSITION IS ONLY OPEN TO APPLICANTS WITH PERMANENT NYC CIVIL SERVICE STATUS AS EDUCATION OFFICER OR CANDIDATES WHO HAVE TAKEN THE MOST RECENT EDUCATION OFFICER CIVIL SERVICE EXAMINATION.

(THOSE WHO PREVIOUSLY APPLIED NEED NOT RE-APPLY)

POSITION SUMMARY:  The New York City school system is the largest in the country, composed of approximately 1.1 million students and 75,000+ teachers in over 1,800 schools, and 67,000 students in Universal Pre-K programs. The Division of Early Childhood Education and Student Enrollment, an organization with over 1200 employees and a budget over $1 Billion, includes two large teams: the Division of Early Childhood Education (DECE) and the Office of Student Enrollment (OSE).

DECE provides families access to high-quality early childhood options that prepare children for success in Kindergarten and beyond. DECE oversees the Pre-K for All initiative, which provides free, full-day, high-quality Pre-K to nearly 70,000 four-year-olds in New York City, and 3-K for All, which launched in fall 2017 and provides free, full-day, high-quality education for three-year-olds in an expanding number of districts. These initiatives are part of a broader effort to strengthen a continuum of early care and education programs for New York City children from birth to five-years-old. Beginning in July 2019, the City’s system of contracted care for children from birth-to-five, known as EarlyLearn, will be integrated into the DOE, creating a unified system that will benefit children, families, and educators. DECE also includes the Mayor’s Universal Literacy initiative, which provides support to all elementary schools to ensure that students are reading on grade level by the end of second grade. Together, these programs all comprise a continuum of learning from birth through age 8.

OSE oversees the centralized admissions processes for 3-K, Pre-K, Kindergarten, Gifted and Talented programs, middle school, and high school. Over 300,000 families participate in an admissions process each year. OSE has 12 satellite offices around the City, known as the Family Welcome Centers (FWCs), which serve as an entry point into the Department of Education for many families who seek enrollment and other supports during the school year. In addition to the ongoing enrollment processes, OSE is engaged in the development and implementation of policies to create increased school diversity.

The Senior Strategic Projects Associate will manage cross-divisional projects that span across both DECE and OSE teams. This role will require an understanding of early childhood education in New York City, as well as problem-solving, planning, and implementation skills, and the ability to coordinate across teams and areas of work to meet critical goals.  The Senior Strategic Projects Associate will define and oversee project management structures and communication channels relevant to project goals, and will serve as a key advisor to DECE and OSE leaders, Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Chancellor, content experts, and other senior leadership.  Performs related work.

REPORTS TO: Chief Operating Officer, Division of Early Childhood Education and Student Enrollment

DIRECT REPORTS: Project Teams and Consultants, as needed on a project basis.

KEY RELATIONSHIPS: Works closely with senior staff and managers from across the Division of Early Childhood Education and Student Enrollment, other offices within the DOE, and external stakeholders and institutions as required.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead strategic projects that require cross-divisional participation and that are tied to the critical missions of the Division. Examples of the types of projects that this could include are:
  • support for internal organizational development, culture building, and change management work related to the transition of the EarlyLearn program to the DOE;
  • management of cross-divisional policy development work for the integrated early childhood education system, particularly as it relates to eligibility and enrollment processes and the management of an integrated birth-to-five education program with complex funding sources;
  • coordination of development of new eligibility and enrollment systems for the integrated early childhood education system; and
  • development of new systems and structures to create greater connections across the full birth-to-eight educational continuum.
• As the leader of projects such as those listed above, take on project specific responsibilities, including:
  • providing content expertise on early childhood program administration;
  • developing and maintaining complex work plans;
  • Tracking work progress, deliverables, and milestones across multiple people and workstreams;
  • leading large cross-divisional working groups and coordinating partnership and collaboration across teams;
  • developing communications plans to support meeting project goals;
  • continuously assessing and revising project management approaches;
  • developing metrics and evaluation plans to assess progress within and at the completion of critical projects;
  • developing project-relevant expertise;
  • engaging with subject matter experts and synthesizing key findings for the benefit of the work;
  • briefing critical project stakeholders to keep them informed of key decisions;
  • managing key external relationships;
  • partnering with all relevant team members and team leaders across to ensure that staff receive communications and transition-related project management support that is relevant, impact-oriented, and timely;
  • establishing structures to give a broader group of staff regular and ongoing visibility regarding the status of mission critical work; and
  • directing high-level research plans, developing goals and research questions for the year; assigning research roles to other project team members, and managing the internal sharing and distribution of data for planning and benchmarking purposes.
• Provide more limited project management support on short-term projects within the Division.
• Support the Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Chancellor team with day-to-day operations management.
• Engage as an active participant and contributor in other cross-functional initiatives as relevant.
• Motivate project team members to action. Identify common themes, make inferences, and draw conclusions.
• Advise logistical and content teams representing stakeholder needs regarding cross-functional considerations, workflow integration and coordination, and optimization of best practices.

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS:

MINIMUM

1. A master’s degree from an accredited college in education, guidance, educational administration and supervision, or a related field and at least two (2) years of full-time satisfactory professional experience in educational program administration, career or occupational program administration, or as a state certified or licensed teacher, one (1) year of which must have been in a supervisory/consultative capacity; or
2. A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college and three (3) years of full-time satisfactory professional experience as described in “1” above; or
3. A four-year high school diploma or its educational equivalent approved by a State's department of education or a recognized accrediting organization plus seven (7) years of full-time, satisfactory professional experience as described in “1” above; or
4. A combination of education and/or experience which is equivalent to the requirements in "1," "2," and “3” above. However, all candidates must have at least an approved four-year high school diploma or its educational equivalent as well as the two (2) years of full-time satisfactory professional experience as described in “1” above.

PREFERRED

• Familiarity with early childhood education and student enrollment in New York City.
• Experience managing the administration, development, and implementation of large-scale events.
• Experience making sound judgments in a complex, dynamic environment.
• Excellent writing, research, and analytical skills.
• Experience managing vendor relationships to implement high-quality programs, products, or services.
• Successful experience in managing and resolving conflict.
• Strong planning and project management skills.
• Solid problem-solving and strategic thinking skills.
• Ability to translate complex information and processes to diverse audiences.
• Excellent relationship-building skills, especially the ability to understand the perspectives of others and successful experience in managing and resolving conflict.
• Ability to analyze data from various sources to make policy and programmatic decisions.
• Strong customer service and problem-solving approach.
• Ability to build strong working relationships with constituents and represent the division internally and externally.
• Ability to learn quickly and continuously.
• Ability to approach the work with a flexible, innovative perspective.
• Track record of success managing, coaching, and developing others.
• Internal candidates preferred.

SALARY: $92,359+

(Internal candidates who are selected for this position and who currently hold comparable or less senior positions within the DOE will not make less than their current salary.)

PLEASE INCLUDE A RESUME AND COVER LETTER WITH YOUR APPLICATION. 

APPLICATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED THROUGH JANUARY 29, 2020 UNTIL 3:00 P.M.

 NOTE: THE FILLING OF ALL POSITIONS IS SUBJECT TO BUDGET AVAILABILITY AND/OR GRANT FUNDING. 

THIS POSITION IS OPEN TO QUALIFIED PERSONS WITH A DISABILITY WHO ARE ELIGIBLE FOR THE 55-A PROGRAM. PLEASE INDICATE IN YOUR COVER LETTER THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE CONSIDERED FOR THE POSITION UNDER THE 55-A PROGRAM.

AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

It is the policy of the Department of Education of the City of New York to provide equal employment opportunities without regard to actual or perceived race, color, religion, creed, ethnicity, national origin, alienage, citizenship status, age, marital status, partnership status, disability, sexual orientation, gender (sex), military status, unemployment status, caregiver status, consumer credit history, prior record of arrest or conviction (except as permitted by law), predisposing genetic characteristics, or status as a victim of domestic violence, sexual offenses and stalking, and to maintain an environment free of harassment on any of the above-noted grounds, including sexual harassment or retaliation.  For more information, please refer to the DOE Non-Discrimination Policy.

Required Skills Required Experience