Innovation Program Manager

ABOUT NEW YORK CITY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

New York City Emergency Management (NYCEM) helps New Yorkers before, during, and after emergencies through preparedness, education, and response. NYCEM is responsible for coordinating citywide emergency planning and response for all types and scales of emergencies. We are staffed by more than 200 dedicated professionals with diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise, including individuals assigned from other City agencies.

Office of Strategic Operations:

The Office of Strategic Operations (OSO), led by the Chief Strategy Officer, is responsible for managing high-priority agency-wide or citywide initiatives that support the growth of emergency management at both our agency and the City at large. OSO works to provide innovative proposals to continuously improve our internal, interagency, and externally facing operations.

To accomplish its goals, OSO is organized into three units:

(1) Analysis & Evaluation Unit

(2) Strategy & Innovation Unit

(3) Continuity of Operations Unit

The Strategy & Innovation (S&I) Unit is responsible for conducting strategic planning to improve the City's emergency management capability, leading strategic initiatives to further agency priorities, and for managing the agency's Innovation portfolio.

The S&I Unit manages the NYCEM's internal Innovation Program, which enables staff to suggest ideas for improving existing agency programs or propose new projects to advance the agency's mission. The Innovation Program Manager will oversee the Innovation Program by soliciting staff ideas, developing project proposals and plans, and coordinating with staff from across the agency to implement innovative solutions. The ideal candidate will have previous project management and/or emergency management experience, facilitation and interpersonal communication skills, stakeholder engagement experience, and the ability to work in a fast-paced environment.

The Innovation Program Manager reports to the Director of S&I and will conduct the following duties:

• Lead the agency's internal Innovation Program, including coordinating a small team of staff volunteers who support idea solicitation and evaluation;

• Engage collaboratively with stakeholders across NYCEM Units to implement process improvements or launch new initiatives within specific deadlines;

• Coordinate projects that align with the agency's Strategic Plan to drive and inform agency operations;

• Manage Commissioner and City Hall high-priority projects that may involve multiple NYCEM Units or City agencies;

• Create polished materials for a variety of audiences, including City executives, focusing on grammar, formatting, and standardization;

• Research emerging trends in emergency management, technology, and public administration to pilot at NYCEM;

• Support after-action reporting, exercise / workshop facilitation, program analysis and evaluation, and other OSO activities, as assigned;

• Support OSO / NYCEM strategic initiatives and special projects, as assigned.

PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING:

• The selected candidate will be assigned to an on-call Emergency Operations Center (EOC) team and will be expected to work non-business hours during some emergencies. These non-business hours include nights, weekends, holidays, and extended week hours outside of a 9AM-5PM schedule. The selected candidate will also participate in trainings to build skills and competencies in emergency response; will participate in drills and exercises associated with the on-call EOC team; and may volunteer to assist with Ready NY emergency preparedness presentations to external groups. EOC teams are on call for three weeks at a time, with six weeks off in between.
• UASI- This position is grant funded through 8/24/2024 with the possibility of an extension.
• IN ORDER TO BE CONSIDERED FOR THIS JOB, PLEASE SUBMIT A SEPARATE COVER LETTER IN THE ATTACHMENTS SECTION OF THE APPLICATION PORTAL.

Minimum Qualifications

1.A four-year high school diploma or its educational equivalent approved by a state's department of education or a recognized accrediting organization and six years of satisfactory full-time professional experience in one or a combination of the following: emergency management, fire, police, or military service, public safety, public health, public administration, urban planning, engineering, or another specialized area to which the appointment is to be made; or

2.A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college and two years of satisfactory full time professional experience in the areas listed in "1" above; or

3.A master's degree from an accredited college in emergency management, public administration, urban planning, engineering, economics, political science, the physical sciences ,or related field and one year of satisfactory full-time professional experience in the areas listed "1" above, at least two years of which must have been in one of those areas, or another specialized area to which the appointment is to be made.

4.Education and/or experience equivalent to "1", "2", or "3" above. However, all candidates must have a four-year high school diploma or its educational equivalent.

Special Note:

To be eligible for placement in Assignment Level II, individuals must have, after meeting the minimum requirements, one additional year of professional experience as described in ""1"" above.

Preferred Skills

• Experienced project manager with ability to lead high-impact, large-scale projects from start to finish

• Experience in emergency management

• Ability to independently manage multiple competing priorities in a fast-paced, high stress environment strongly preferred

• Stakeholder engagement and interpersonal skills

• Excellent oral and written communications skills, including experience writing and briefing summary reports and streamlining complex information into high-level Executive reports

• Comfortable with public speaking and possessing facilitation skills

• High level of proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint

• Analytical experience (both qualitative and quantitative) and

• Graduate degree from an accredited school in a relevant field. Studies have shown that women, people of color, and other under-represented groups are less likely to apply for jobs unless they believe they are able to perform every task in the job description. We are interested in finding the best candidate for the job and will consider any equivalent combination of knowledge, skills, education and experience to meet qualifications. If you are interested in applying, we encourage you to think broadly about your background and skill set for the role.

Public Service 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 https://studentaid.gov/pslf/.

Residency Requirement

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.

Additional Information

PREFERRED SKILLS

• Experienced project manager with ability to lead high-impact, large-scale projects from start to finish;

• Experience in emergency management;

• Ability to independently manage multiple competing priorities in a fast-paced, high stress environment strongly preferred;

• Stakeholder engagement and interpersonal skills;

• Excellent oral and written communications skills, including experience writing and briefing summary reports and streamlining complex information into high-level Executive reports;

• Comfortable with public speaking and possessing facilitation skills;

• High level of proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint;

• Analytical experience (both qualitative and quantitative); and

• Graduate degree from an accredited school in a relevant field.

Studies have shown that women, people of color, and other under-represented groups are less likely to apply for jobs unless they believe they are able to perform every task in the job description. We are interested in finding the best candidate for the job and will consider any equivalent combination of knowledge, skills, education and experience to meet qualifications. If you are interested in applying, we encourage you to think broadly about your background and skill set for the role.

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.