Deputy Director for Strategic Initiatives

The New York City Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) invests in a network of community-based organizations and programs to alleviate the effects of poverty and to provide opportunities for New Yorkers and communities to flourish. The DYCD Office of Neighborhood Safety (ONS) puts communities at the center of public safety through crisis management, placemaking, and transformative programs in neighborhoods where gun violence is most prevalent.
The Office of Neighborhood Safety (ONS) puts communities at the center of creating and sustaining public safety. ONS manages a holistic array of initiatives aimed at improving quality of life and promoting peace in communities most affected by divestment and violence. We achieve this through equity in place-making and place-keeping of vital neighborhood spaces, a number of crisis-response initiatives that focus on gun violence prevention and community-based emergency response, and programming for youth, families, and adults that promote healthy and connected communities. ONS programs are essential to supporting safety in communities.
ONS executes its mandate through a diverse array of projects that span government agencies at the city, state and federal levels and may include non-profits, foundations, community groups and others. ONS programming is delivered through credible community-based providers that serve their neighborhoods with integrity, care, and high-quality programming. The Deputy Director for Strategic Initiatives serves as lead project manager for new initiatives aimed at better integrating and coordinating enhancements to the City’s gun violence crisis response system. This staff person will liaise with the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force to support the implementation of programs and coordinated responses where the Office of Neighborhood Safety is identified as lead agency. The Deputy Director for Strategic Initiatives will report to the ONS Senior Associate Director and will support the development and implementation of long-term neighborhood-based crime-reduction strategies. The ideal candidate will have multiple years of experience with community engagement, violence prevention, and effective coordination across agencies and various stakeholders across sectors. The ideal candidate will have strong managerial, operational and analytic capacity.
The responsibilities of the Deputy Director for Strategic Initiatives include but are not limited to: - Serving as primary point of contact for interagency violence prevention projects, including the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force. - Managing a portfolio of violence prevention initiatives, including neighborhood space activation projects based on a Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) model. - Representing ONS at meetings with community-based, governmental, and business entities, among others. - Supporting the development and implementation of Neighborhood Safety Councils in high priority neighborhoods. - Cultivating and maintaining excellent relationships with stakeholder groups, other government agencies, community non-profits, advocates, family members, survivors, and justice-impacted individuals; - Building relationships connecting key partners to the ONS work; including by building strong working relationships with relevant non-profits and community organizations that can serve as partners in transforming the lives of individuals and communities supported by ONS services. - Generating various project-related documents including status reports, presentations, meeting agendas and summary notes. - Facilitating regular team and stakeholder meetings effectively. - Preparing and deliver informative, well-organized presentations. - Resolving and/or escalate issues in a timely fashion. - Understanding how and when to communicate difficult/sensitive information appropriately

1. A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college and two years of experience in community work or community centered activities in an area related to the duties described above; or
2. High school graduation or equivalent and six years of experience in community work or community centered activities in an area related to the duties as described above; or
3. Education and/or experience which is equivalent to "1" or "2" above. However, all candidates must have at least one year of experience as described in "1" above.

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.