The Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) protects and promotes the safety and well-being of New York City’s children and families by providing child welfare, juvenile justice, and early care services. In child welfare, ACS contracts with private nonprofit organizations to support and stabilize families at risk of a crisis through preventive services and provides foster care services for children not able to safely remain at home.
ACS is seeking an innovative leader and experienced attorney to join the Administration for Children’s Services to serve as Special Counsel in the Office of the Commissioner. The Special Counsel will play an integral role in implementing and driving alignment on ACS’s Strategic Priorities and supporting organizational change management efforts in collaboration with ACS’s contracted nonprofit providers and programmatic divisions.
Reporting to the Senior Advisor to the Commissioner, the Special Counsel will support a portfolio of projects including but not limited to:
• Liaise with contracted nonprofit agencies that deliver foster care, juvenile justice and family support services to: o Provide on-site technical assistance and organizational change management to support consistent and sustained agency implementation of strategic priorities and initiatives.
• Examine and support on specific practice areas such as parent and community engagement, supporting youth and retraining mandated reporters.
• Survey provider agency leadership and staff to understand and address challenges.
• Assess the statutory and policy frameworks that guide current practice and analyze options to reform practice while maintaining adherence to governing law and regulations.
• Coordinate among ACS divisions to draft, revise and implement policies and guidance, and devising and executing strategies to support contracted agencies as they implement new and updated processes and practices.
• Collaborate with ACS programmatic divisions to ensure consistent coordination across with contracted providers; diagnose challenges in contract provider-managed systems, identify and implement solutions to those challenges and support continuous quality improvement efforts.
• Collaborate with senior leadership team to execute ACS-driven initiatives.
• Draft memos, reports and presentation materials for a diverse audience offering recommendations that distill complex issues into actionable policies and practice expectations.
• Represent the Commissioner’s Office at meetings and public functions.
• Provide operational support to ACS Divisions to develop, revise and apply administrative policies relating to programs and services.
• Communicate and coordinate priorities with a variety of stakeholders, including agency leadership, representatives of other City agencies and City Hall.
• Ensure the implementation objectives of key initiatives are effectively communicated and managed so that the intended practice changes are sustained and institutionalized.
• Advocate for regulatory and policy changes when current requirements conflict with priority initiatives.
Minimum Qual Requirements
Admission to the New York State Bar; and four years of recent full-time responsible, relevant, satisfactory legal experience subsequent to admission to any bar, eighteen months of which must have been in the supervision of other attorneys, in an administrative, managerial or executive capacity, or performing highly complex and significant legal work.
Incumbents must remain Members of the New York State Bar in good standing for the duration of this employment.
Preferred Skills
The preferred candidate should possess the following:
• Extensive experience working directly in New York City’s Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare systems, ideally having worked in the Family court system and directly with the contracted providers who serve young people and families.
Additional Information
THE SELECTED CANDIDATE WILL BE OFFERED A SALARY BETWEEN $150,000 – $160,000.
Section 424-A of the New York Social Services Law requires an authorized agency to inquire whether a candidate for employment with child-caring responsibilities has been the subject of a child abuse and maltreatment report.
To Apply
APPLICATIONS MUST BE SUBMITTED ELECTRONICALLY USING ONE OF THE OPTIONS BELOW:
For current city employees, go to Employee Self Service (ESS), Recruiting Activities, Careers and search for Job ID#590953.
For all other applicants go to www.nyc.gov/careers and search for Job ID#590953. Click on the “Apply” button.
If you do not have access to a computer, most public libraries have computers available for use.
Only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.
Public Svc 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 at StudentAid.gov/PSLF .
Residency Requirement
New York City Residency is not required for this position
POSTING DATE
06/23/2023
POST UNTIL
07/23/2023
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.