Chief Operating Officer

Position Summary: 

The Battery Park City Authority is a public benefit corporation whose mission is to care for Battery Park City working closely with partners in City and State government to address broader State/City goals.  

BPCA is led by a President and CEO who sets the direction for the organization with a 7-member Board of Directors.  

BPCA manages and maintains over 30 acres of public parks, produces hundreds of arts and culture, recreational, and educational programs a year, manages capital projects including our climate adaptation projects, and a portfolio of leases and other real estate.    

The Chief Operating Officer’s central role is to work with the President and CEO, the board, and colleagues across the Battery Park City Authority to ensure the long-term goals of the organization – what we want to accomplish - are reflected in our systems and processes - how we work.

BPCA is at an inflection point, taking on increasingly complicated projects.     The operations and systems of the organization need to continue to be updated and improved to help BPCA deliver on that work.  

The initial focus of the COO will be to work closely with President & CEO to support the following functions: parks operations, technology, procurement, auditing, permitting, and public safety.  A background in real estate or construction will be valuable as there is significant work ahead in both areas which will need the COO’s active engagement.  

BPCA is completing a 5-year strategic plan, and the COO will also work closely with the President & CEO to help ensure we follow through on what we commit to doing.  

Additionally, the COO will work with Departments to help establish benchmarks for our collective performance.

The COO is the kind of person who will enjoy working with leaders across the organization to explore and facilitate improvements in budgeting, process, technology, project management, and collaboration -- to help build and reinforce a culture of continuous improvement.  

The COO is also the kind of person who believes the public sector needs to hold itself to a high standard of performance and find ways to embrace technology that can improve our work.    

This position reports to the President & CEO and will work closely with the BPCA board.

Essential Duties:

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 Strategic & Operational Leadership

Departmental Oversight

Stakeholder Engagement & Communications

Organizational Culture & Change Management

Education and Experience:

A Bachelor’s Degree is required. At least 15 years of experience managing teams and driving operational improvement. A background in real estate, capital project delivery, or finance particularly welcome.   

Competencies:

Leadership - Establishes and guides a team effort towards a common goal

Persistence & Focus – Sees projects through to completion, persevering even when faced with barriers or obstacles, with a focus on delivering projects on schedule

Empowers Others - Gives employees confidence and allows freedom to complete tasks

       Innovative – Seeks novel ways to improve

Physical Requirements: N/A