The Team You’ll Work With

MOCEJ is committed to improving environmental quality for all, prioritizing front-line communities, seeking to redress current and past injustices and inequities while creating economic opportunities for all. Through science-based analysis, policy and program development, and capacity building, MOCEJ leads the City’s efforts to ensure that New York City is minimizing its contributions to climate change, preparing to adapt and protect New Yorkers from extreme weather and multiple climate hazards, and giving every New Yorker a meaningful voice in our city’s future.

The Problems You’ll Solve

The Chief of Staff is a key member of the Mayor’s Office of Climate & Environmental Justice (MOCEJ) team and reports to the Director of the office. This position is responsible for advancing the Director’s priorities within the team and externally, overseeing the day-to-day management of the team, and advising the Director on policy, operations, and strategic planning. The Chief of Staff will develop appropriate procedures and tools to help coordinate the actions of the entire team.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

- Develop and operate daily, weekly, and monthly policies and procedures with the Director for managing time, advancing City priorities, managing staff and team meetings, making decisions, and elevating issues to the Executive Director, agency leadership, and City Hall leadership.
- Support all aspects of responsibility under the Executive Director, including the management of agency relationships; coordination of interagency actions; ensuring a consistent public message; oversight of project execution; providing guidance on all documents that come into and leave the team to ensure a high quality of responsiveness and performance; and ensuring the execution of key milestones and initiatives across the team.
- Take on special projects and policy development tasks, as may be assigned by the Executive Director.
- Manage public appearances and speaking engagements of the Director and oversee actions by the team to ensure proper scheduling and preparation for all events.
- Monitor and coordinate various office management tasks, such as budget, personnel matters, and other sensitive, discreet, or confidential tasks, as may be assigned by the Executive Director.
- Work with the External Affairs team and in coordination with the City Hall communications and legislative affairs teams to advance the City’s climate, environmental justice, sustainability, and resilience message.
- Assist with the delivery of PlaNYC strategies and annual Progress Reports.
- Manage MOCEJ implementation program staff and provide thought leadership to inform policies that help achieve the City’s sustainability, energy efficiency, resilience, and financing goals.
- Provide strategic directions to help shape the development and implementation of policy, programs, partnerships, and communications, including working with the Director and senior leadership team to develop and execute the MOCEJ office strategy.
- Manage miscellaneous special projects for high-impact and high-profile initiatives, including administration legacy on climate action, resilience, and future planning, and PlaNYC.
- Establish and lead internal processes to align MOCEJ’s priorities with available funding and coordinate MOCEJ’s agenda with the City’s budget and grant funding cycles.
- Advance and coordinate MOCEJ’s budget priorities with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), City agencies, and funding partners.
- Execute MOCEJ’s efforts to secure funding through the City’s budget process and external public and private financing sources, ensuring timely and strategic application and reporting.
- Develop funding, financing, and governance policy proposals and initiatives.
- Lead organizational planning efforts related to fiscal strategy, funding source diversification, and long-term sustainability.
- Serve as liaison with City offices, OMB, and external funding bodies on high-level funding strategy, governance, and performance evaluation.
- Oversee the development and integration of major climate finance strategies in MOCEJ and partner efforts, including budget tracking and contributions to PlaNYC and related reports.
- Other duties, as assigned.

Special Assistant (MA)-MGRL - 0668A

About You

- You have a Master’s degree in a relevant field (or related work experience) and a minimum of five (5) years of full-time relevant professional experience.
- You have an in-depth knowledge of PlaNYC: Getting Sustainability done.
- You have an understanding of issues relating to sustainability and resilience in a large urban setting, and/or the interplay of sustainability, environmental policy, the built environment, energy, urban planning, and economic development.
- You have a background in public policy, public administration, urban planning, sustainability & resilience management, community planning, or program development for community-based organizations.
- You have a willingness to work as part of a team environment; you adapt well to change.
- You pay attention to detail and have excellent organization skills, which include and are not limited to the ability to manage complex projects; coordinate interagency programs; maintain control of analytical details while balancing large-scale program objectives; and gain the support of independent stakeholders.
- You have excellent communication and interpersonal skills, particularly in terms of creating, directing, and translating rigorous, defensible public policy models into transparent conclusions that can be easily explained and understood by the public.
- You have the ability to think proactively and integrate resilience into sustainability efforts.
- You can demonstrate task and information management, including adhering to targeted deadlines, problem-solving, and paying close attention to detail.
- You have New York City government work experience, or relevant technical or community-based professional experience, a plus.

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 https://studentaid.gov/pslf/.

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 interview.

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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Chief of Staff