Position Summary: With latitude for independent judgment, the incumbent is responsible for providing and overseeing paralegal and administrative support for OGC attorneys supporting General Practice, Privacy and Governance, Ethics, Risk Management and Litigation, Contracts and Commercial, Teacher Performance, Records Access, and Compliance. This position oversees a team whose responsibilities include responding to inquiries and requests for information, maintaining databases and records systems, locating records from such systems as needed, communicating and corresponding with varied audiences, and ensuring the smooth functioning of office operations. This position performs related work, including supporting OGC senior leadership. Performs related work.
Reports to: Chief of Staff, OGC
Direct Reports: 3-4 support staff within the Office of the General Counsel, supporting attorneys at NYC DOE Headquarters.
Key Relationships: General Counsel, Chief of Staff, Senior Executive Deputy Counsel; Executive Deputy Counsels, Deputy Counsels, Senior Field Counsel Director, Office of Federal and State Regulatory Compliance Director; Chief Privacy Officer, Office of General Counsel personnel, Office of the New York City Comptroller, Office of the Corporation Counsel, Office of the Special Commissioner of Investigation, staff, students and families across the NYC school system, members of the press, members of the public.
Responsibilities

• Communicates with schools and offices within DOE to gather information to process claims. Prepares responses and interacts with Comptroller’s office.
• Communicates with and retrieves records from DOE schools and offices in response to requests for information from members of the public.
• Plans work to be accomplished by attorney support staff; provides continuing and individual assignments by indicating the quality and quantity expected and assigns priorities.
• Assigns work to employees based on workload priorities and the ability of incumbents.
• Ensures that subordinates are properly trained, including on-the-job training, cross-training, and formal training.
• Assesses, oversees, and maintains an up-to-date, comprehensive understanding of the outreach and support needs of the legal team.
• Establishes written guidelines and procedures.
• Acts as the key point of contact for any questions, requests, and concerns from attorneys to ensure proper work prioritization and distribution.
• Oversees the onboarding process for incoming OGC attorneys and support staff.
• Manages training for new staff on systems, databases, and office policies and procedures.
• Coordinates and serves as the key point of contact for office operations and event planning with other OGC units and DOE offices.
• Directly handles some volume of overall outreach and support work.
• Oversees the key responsibilities of the support team and can perform all functions of the support staff, including receiving, tracking, researching, and coordinating with attorneys to respond to inquiries from internal staff, other City offices, and the general public or route such inquiries appropriately.
• Ensures that requests for representation, preservation requests, and notices of claim are appropriately and timely processed and responded to.
• Performs work, including letters and other assignments using various Microsoft Office applications (e.g., Word and Excel) and other computer applications (e.g., Adobe Acrobat).
• Maintains and enters data related to OGC legal matters in various databases and spreadsheets to update and track case status, close cases, run reports, and archive files.
• Assists in gathering information and preparing legal documents requested by the General Counsel, Executive Deputy Counsels, Deputy Counsels, and other attorneys related to specific cases or requests for information.
• Coordinates meetings for high-level officials.
• Prepares correspondence involving complex and/or confidential material.
• Coordinates and handles additional administrative responsibilities and attends meetings as needed.
• Ensures the smooth functioning of office systems and provides general office support, including ordering supplies, reporting defective office equipment, maintaining rotation calendar, and receiving and sorting mail and faxes.
• Oversees file maintenance, retrieval, and off-site storage.

Qualification RequirementsMinimum

• A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college and two (2) years of experience in community work or community-centered activities in an area related to the duties described above; or
• High school graduation or equivalent and six (6) years of experience in community work or community-centered activities in an area related to the duties as described above; or
• Education and/or experience, which is equivalent to “1” or “2” above. However, all candidates must have at least one (1) year of experience as described in “1” above.

Preferred

• At least two years managing a team of at least three people
• At least three years of supervisory experience
• Ability to manage competing demands in a dynamic, high-pressure, and high-volume environment
• Knowledge of various software applications to accomplish word processing, data processing, presentation, and legal research systems.
• Advanced skills and proficiency with Microsoft Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, Adobe Acrobat, Westlaw, and other software, including document review software, as well as experience in data entry.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and organizational skills.
• High level of interpersonal skills required to obtain information telephonically and to communicate with clients, many of whom are highly educated with complex and intricate legal issues, and to communicate with attorneys on various legal issues.
• Ability to write clearly and concisely and proofread for typos, grammatical errors, and formatting inconsistencies.
• Certification as a notary public; DOE will facilitate and pay for certification/recertification.
• Ability to take the initiative and be self-motivated and flexible.

Salary: $82,000 - $86,500
(Internal candidates who are selected for this position and who currently hold comparable or less senior positions within the DOE will not earn less than their current salary.)
Please include a resume and cover letter with your application.NOTE: The filling of all positions is subject to budget availability and/or grant funding.

• New York City Residency is NOT Required *

We encourage all applicants from the New York City tri-state area to apply.AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYERDOE Non- Discrimination PolicyThe Department of Education of 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 upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's actual or perceived sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, or pregnancy. For more information, please refer to the DOE Non-Discrimination Policy.
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/.