Senior Policy Advisor on Coastal Resiliency, City of New York

Organization: City of New York

Position Title: Senior Policy Advisor – Coastal Resiliency

Location: New York City, New York

Application Deadline: Position open until filled

Description: The Mayor’s Office of Recovery and Resiliency is now seeking a Senior Policy Advisor for Coastal Resiliency to support the Office in all efforts to implement the recommendations of A Stronger, More Resilient New York and to accomplish the City’s resiliency goals. The Senior Policy Advisor will provide analytical and research support to ORR leadership, while assisting in the development of policy and projects.

Responsibilities:

• Supporting the implementation of the City’s $3.7 billion coastal protection plan that makes neighborhoods more resilient to major disruptive events, including ecological restoration, flood barriers, hardening infrastructure, etc.;
• Advising on research and projects on coastal resiliency; evaluating efficacy of existing City, State and Federal planning and providing feedback to relevant parties; analyzing the interactions across the City’s land use, flood risks and coastal protection efforts; and developing and implementing policies to advance coastal protection objectives;
• Coordinating an inter-agency and multi-disciplinary coastal protection working group;
• Managing relationships with City agencies and coordinating interagency actions; ensuring a consistent public message; overseeing project execution; providing guidance on all documents that come into and leave the office to ensure a high quality of responsiveness and performance; and ensuring the execution of key milestones and initiatives that further resiliency policy goals;
• Working with government entities, academia, real estate industry, and maritime industry to refine and define City policy objectives into actionable coastal resiliency goals, including work with the Science Resiliency Institute at Jamaica Bay;
• Conducting research on developments in climate science to inform the development of develop legislation and programs that support the ORR’s coastal resiliency agenda;
• Assisting with the efforts of ORR to monitor progress, track metrics and evaluate effectiveness of all resiliency actions;
• Assisting with the efforts of ORR to secure sources of funding for initiatives and near-term milestones;
• Assisting with procurement and oversight of third-party services such as project management, project controls, planning, engineering, and other services as required;
• Assisting with the establishment and maintenance of relevant electronic and paper files by the team’s administrative assistant, including project, program and communication files; assist in preparing for and responding to audits;
• Assisting in miscellaneous stakeholder outreach, special projects and events;
• Other duties, as assigned.

Qualifications:

• A graduate degree and/or at least five (5) years of full-time relevant professional experience in a field related to this position;
• A background in policy, planning, engineering, landscape architecture, ecology, natural sciences, or other aspect of coastal resiliency is essential, in addition to at least one of the following: an understanding of issues relating to resiliency in an urban setting; knowledge of New York City’s governmental structure and policy context; knowledge of coastal ecology, wetlands, nature-based infrastructure, and stormwater management strategies;
• An understanding of issues relating to climate change resiliency in a large urban setting and/or the interplay of coastal resiliency, the built environment, energy, urban planning and economic development;
• Attention to detail and 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;
• Ability to gain the support of independent stakeholders;
• Willingness to work as part of a team environment, and adapts well to change;
• Willingness to travel, as required;
• 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;
• New York City government work experience; or relevant technical, consulting or business background, a plus.

How to Apply: Please submit your cover letter and resume to: [email protected].