Syracuse Surge Manager

***Equal Opportunity Employer***

***Women and Minority Applicants are encouraged to apply.***

**City of Syracuse residency will be required.**

**If you are not a resident, you have six (6) months from your date of hire to establish residency.**

The City of Syracuse Office of the Mayor is seeking qualified applicants for the position of Syracuse Surge Manager.

The City of Syracuse is on a transformational journey to become a smarter, more digitally connected city. Investments such as the deployment of a municipal fixed wireless broadband network and related programs are a key part of the Syracuse Surge, our strategy for inclusive growth in the New Economy. The strategy is an ambitious set of initiatives and partnerships across a diverse local ecosystem of government, academic, and private sector players. The City of Syracuse is looking for a professional who will bridge public policy, business strategy, and operational planning/technical aspects for existing initiatives that advance the Syracuse Surge strategy, including but not limited to the city’s Surge Link municipal broadband project. The ideal candidate will be passionate about public service and inspired by helping more Syracuse residents thrive in the digital age.

About the role

The Syracuse Surge Manager reports to the Director of Strategic Initiatives in the Office of the Mayor. This is a strategy and operations-oriented position that will work closely and collaboratively with disciplines in other city departments, as well as with external stakeholders and partners who can amplify the city’s strategy for inclusive growth in the New Economy. The ideal candidate will have prior technical experience with data/communication networks, or the ability to understand and communicate technical/functional and business plans related to such networks, working closely with internal and external technical resources.

The core responsibilities include:

• Manage the deployment of the city’s municipal broadband assets, working in close collaboration with other city departments to ensure alignment with other municipal technology investments, needs, and plans.

• Serve as the day-to-day point of contact with the city’s broadband contractor, and external partners such as the New York State ConnectAll Office, Syracuse Housing Authority, National Grid, and others regarding the status of the city’s broadband deployment/expansion projects.

• Manage vendor contract performance, including evaluating service level performance and compliance with federal, state, and local program and procurement rules and requirements.

• Develop a business plan and operating model for sustainment of the municipal broadband program within the city’s service operations portfolio. Evaluate subscriber adoption, pricing, and customer satisfaction data to ensure the business plan accurately reflects service utilization and market needs.

• Working closely with the Director of Strategic Initiatives and the Director of Communications and Marketing, develop and execute marketing and resident engagement strategies to raise awareness about Surge Link and encourage community adoption.

• Evaluate partnership opportunities with community-based organizations and/or anchor institutions to promote and expand digital access and opportunity for Syracuse residents; for example, digital literacy & workforce skilling programs, programs to increase the number of Syracuse households with home computing devices, and telehealth programs.

• Identify and evaluate Federal and State level laws, policies, and programs that enable or impact the city’s digital infrastructure and access plans.

• Engage with internal and external partners as needed regarding opportunities to collaborate with academic/research and private sector partners to advance smart city goals and plans.

• Support ongoing planning and delivery of Syracuse Surge initiatives through research and stakeholder engagement; collect data from Surge partners related to the outcomes or benefits of Syracuse Surge to enable effective communications.

Desired qualifications and experience

• Bachelor's degree required in public policy, public administration, management, information science, or other relevant field, plus a minimum of three (3) years of related work experience, OR

• Master’s degree in public policy, public administration, management, information science, or other relevant field, plus a minimum of one (1) year of related work experience.

• Experience with procurement and vendor management practices, including familiarity with contracts and performance management/compliance.

• Proven ability to bridge technical and operational aspects of broadband/related deployment initiatives (e.g., evaluating network infrastructure requirements, developing implementation strategies, leveraging network capabilities, etc.).

• Demonstrates a strong understanding of industry standards, funding mechanisms, and best practices for digital access and inclusion programs.

• Familiarity with and interest in concepts and trends related to smart cities innovation and digital inclusion/access challenges in urban environments.

• Qualitative and quantitative analysis skills, as demonstrated by the ability to research and develop reports, recommendations, and presentations. Experience with cost-benefit, ROI, and other analytical approaches is a plus.

• Ability to communicate complex ideas and information verbally and in writing to a wide variety of internal and external audiences.

• Demonstrated capacity to work collaboratively with stakeholders and partners, both internal and external.

• Note: City residency within 6 months of date of employment is a requirement for this role.

The Affirmative Action Policy of the City of Syracuse is to provide equal employment opportunity for all individuals regardless of race, color, sex, religion, creed, age (18 and over), marital status, national origin, disability, veteran status, gender identity or gender expression, sexual or affectional preference or orientation, or any other classified group within the protected class. If you have a disability for which you wish special accommodation to be made, contact the Department of Personnel at One Park Place, 300 S. State St., 7th FL at 315-448-8780 or Personnel@syr.gov

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $65,750.00 - $70,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Parental leave
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift
• Monday to Friday

Application Question(s):

• Are you a City of Syracuse Resident? If no, would you be willing to relocate within six (6) months of your date of hire?

Work Location: In person

Salary : $65,750 - $70,000