Senior Planner

The New York City Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) invests in a network of community-based organizations (CBOs) to alleviate the effects of poverty and to provide opportunities for New Yorkers and communities to flourish. DYCD’s initiatives include COMPASS, the City’s comprehensive afterschool system, Beacon Community Centers, adult and youth literacy programs, youth employment programs, services for runaway and homeless youth, antiviolence initiatives, and community development programs. DYCD also collaborates with other City agencies on a range of mayoral initiatives to improve City services and ensure greater opportunities for minority and immigrant youth and families.

Situated within the Bureau of Planning, Program Integration, and Evaluation (PPIE), the Planning, Program Design and Grant Development team performs program and policy research and develops program models, agency-wide policies, and best practices for DYCD based on stakeholder feedback, internal data, research, and evaluation. The research and stakeholder engagement phase can include conducting literature reviews and obtaining input from program administrators, participants and a broad range of stakeholders on program design. The Office also facilitates meetings and design processes with multiple units to develop and revise program design. Once models are developed, the Office formalizes program design and requirements in solicitation and contractual documents. Upon award, the Office implements a post-award process that ensures that both DYCD staff and providers understand program model expectations, adheres to and tracks contractual requirements, and are connected to resources. Additionally, the Office promotes program integration efforts through standardized policies and practices and universal language. The Office also leads fundraising strategy for DYCD, including development of grant proposals for foundations, and public and private sector entities.

Reporting to the Senior Director of PPIE, the Senior Planner will:

Responsibilities

Program Design and Facilitation

• Lead program design development processes for multiple program areas across DYCD;
• Design and facilitate intra-agency meetings to develop and revise program design; establish policies and encourage consistent implementation practice across DYCD;
• Apply human-centered design approaches such as journey mapping, root cause analysis to program design processes;
• Integrate data-driven decision-making into program design processes;
• Facilitate trainings, feedback sessions, conferences, and other convenings to communicate new program models and answer questions from various stakeholders;
• Coordinate with program and fiscal teams to develop budgets for programs and initiatives;
  
  

Community Engagement

• Conduct focus groups and interviews with stakeholders, including participants, service providers, experts and advocates to inform program design;
• Liase and collaborate with diverse stakeholders within DYCD, other City agencies, DYCD-funded programs, people with lived experience, and the broader community to support development of systems, agency-wide policies, frameworks, and best practices;
• Coordinate community planning processes in coordination with relevant programmatic units;
  
  

Research/Writing

• Draft RFPs, concepts papers, and other procurement documents for multiple units across the agency;
• Conduct research and literature reviews to determine best practices, design and plan programs;
• Obtain and analyze data from internal and external sources to identify areas of improvement, service gaps, and participant needs;
• Summarize findings of analysis, research, and stakeholder engagement for stakeholders;
• Continuously monitor program model performance through administrative data analysis and review of evaluation studies conducted by the agency;
  
  

Other

• Additional tasks including reviewing and rating proposals, grant-writing, participating in workgroups with other units and divisions within DYCD, and interacting with other City agencies to coordinate joint initiatives.
  
  

CITY RESEARCH SCIENTIST - 21744

Minimum Qualifications

• For Assignment Level I (only physical, biological and environmental sciences and public health) A master's degree from an accredited college or university with a specialization in an appropriate field of physical, biological or environmental science or in public health.
  
  

To be appointed to Assignment Level II and above, candidates must have:

• A doctorate degree from an accredited college or university with specialization in an appropriate field of physical, biological, environmental or social science and one year of full-time experience in a responsible supervisory, administrative or research capacity in the appropriate field of specialization; or
• A master's degree from an accredited college or university with specialization in an appropriate field of physical, biological, environmental or social science and three years of responsible full-time research experience in the appropriate field of specialization; or
• Education and/or experience which is equivalent to "1" or "2" above. However, all candidates must have at least a master's degree in an appropriate field of specialization and at least two years of experience described in "2" above. Two years as a City Research Scientist Level I can be substituted for the experience required in "1" and "2" above.
  
  

Note

Probationary Period

Appointments to this position are subject to a minimum probationary period of one year.

Preferred Skills

• Experience managing complicated change processes that result in implementation of new program models, policies, and/or procedures. - Experience leading decision-making meetings and using strategies to reach consensus. - Excellent communication skills (verbal, interpersonal, public speaking) - Excellent writing and editing skills. - Excellent project management skills, including ability to develop and manage processes involving multiple stakeholders and deadlines. - Ability to engage diverse stakeholders and communities. - Excellent facilitation and consensus-building skills.
  
  

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

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.