Director of Strategic Initiatives, Office of General Counsel

Director of Strategic Initiatives, Office of General Counsel

The Office of General Counsel (OGC) provides legal advice and assistance to the entire Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH). Specifically, OGC works to ensure that the innovative programs and initiatives of every division of DOHMH are supported by a dedicated legal team. The OGC team is comprised of attorneys who work in a variety of areas including legal affairs (legal and policy analysis; health code enforcement; records access), contracts, privacy, and employment law. OGC also houses the Institutional Review Board and attorneys that work directly with the Assisted Outpatient Treatment Program.

OGC seeks a Director of Strategic Initiatives to provide strategic leadership and operational oversight for high-priority initiatives across OGC. The Director will work closely with the General Counsel, senior leadership across the agency and division, and all OGC units to identify organizational and division priorities, translate strategic objectives into actionable plans, and ensure that complex initiatives move forward effectively and deliver measurable results. The Director of Strategic Initiatives will serve as a central point of coordination for strategic projects, helping leadership prioritize resources, establish timelines and accountability, identify risks, and monitor progress. The Director will also play a key role in streamlining legal operations across the office, with broad latitude to identify inefficiencies across all units and to implement tools and systems to drive a culture of continuous improvement. The position combines strategic planning, project management, organizational enhancement, and executive-level coordination, with a focus on strengthening OGC's effectiveness, adaptability, and ability to support the agency's mission and most critical projects. Specific projects the Director can expect to lead will include developing out a recruitment and retention pipeline, devising a system to capture and record legal needs across the agency, and working with unit leads to establish training modules for new attorneys across a broad spectrum of legal work. The Director will report to the General Counsel and will be empowered to interface directly with division management to ensure every unit in the division can operate to its full capacity. The Director will also be expected to take a leading role in budget planning and in advocating for the needs of the Division.

Duties will include but not be limited to:
- Strategic Planning and Execution: Partner with the General Counsel and senior leadership to develop, implement, and monitor strategic priorities, initiatives, and organizational goals.
- Executive Support and Decision-Making: Provide the General Counsel with concise analysis, recommendations, project updates, and decision-support materials to facilitate timely and informed decision-making.
- Initiative Development: Identify opportunities to improve OGC operations, services, processes, and organizational capacity and develop implementation strategies to advance those opportunities.
- Cross-Divisional Coordination: Coordinate projects involving multiple OGC units, agency programs, and external stakeholders; establish clear roles, responsibilities, deliverables, and accountability.
- Stakeholder Engagement: Build productive relationships with agency leadership, program areas, legal teams, and other stakeholders to facilitate collaboration and successful implementation of strategic initiatives.
- Special Projects: Lead high-priority projects and task forces assigned by the General Counsel or senior leadership.

Preferred Skills:
- At least 10 years of experience in the legal field, with at least 4 of those years in strategy, project management, organizational development, operations, government, legal administration, or a related field.
- Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
- Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities and projects in a complex organizational environment.
- Excellent written, verbal, presentation, and interpersonal communication skills.
- Ability to work effectively with senior leadership and stakeholders across organizational functions.
- Strong judgment, discretion, and ability to navigate complex organizational issues.
- Experience with project management, data visualization, workflow management, or other productivity tools preferred.
- Certified PMP preferred.

Why you should work for us:

- Loan Forgiveness: As a prospective employee of the City of New York, you may be eligible for federal/state loan forgiveness and repayment assistance programs that lessen your payments or even fully forgive your full balance. For more information, please visit the U.S. Department of Education’s website (https://studentaid.gov/pslf/)
- Benefits: City employees are entitled to unmatched benefits such as:
o a premium-free health insurance plan that saves employees over $10K annually, per a 2024 assessment.
o additional health, fitness, and financial benefits may be available based on the position’s associated union/benefit fund.
o a public sector defined benefit pension plan with steady monthly payments in retirement.
o a tax-deferred savings program and
o a robust Worksite Wellness Program that offers resources and opportunities to keep you healthy while serving New Yorkers.
- Work From Home Policy: Depending on your position, you may be able to work up to two days during the week from home.
- Job Security - you could enjoy more job security compared to private sector employment and be able to contribute to making NYC a healthy place to live and work.

Established in 1805, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC Health Department) is the oldest and largest health department in the U.S., dedicated to protecting and improving the health of NYC. Our mission is to safeguard the health of every resident and cultivate a city where everyone, regardless of age, background, or location, can achieve their optimal health. We provide a wide array of programs and services focused on food and nutrition, anti-tobacco support, chronic disease prevention, HIV/AIDS treatment, family and child health, environmental health, mental health, and social justice initiatives. As the primary population health strategist and policy authority for NYC, with a rich history of public health initiatives and scientific advancements, from addressing the 1822 yellow fever outbreak to the COVID-19 pandemic, we serve as a global leader in public health innovation and expertise.

Come join us and help to continue our efforts in making a difference in the lives of all New Yorkers!

Commitment to Equity:

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.

The NYC Health Department is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to providing access and reasonable accommodation to all individuals. To request reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, contact Sye-Eun Ahn, Director of the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity, at sahn1@health.nyc.gov or 347-396-6549.

EXECUTIVE AGENCY COUNSEL - 95005

Qualifications

Admission to the New York State Bar; and four years of recent full-time responsible, relevant, satisfactory legal experience subsequent to admission to any bar, eighteen months of which must have been in the supervision of other attorneys, in an administrative, managerial or executive capacity, or performing highly complex and significant legal work.

Incumbents must remain Members of the New York State Bar in good standing for the duration of this employment.

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.