Chief Administrative & Strategy Officer

Agency Description

The Department of Small Business Services (SBS) is a dynamic, client-centered Agency whose mission is to serve New York’s small businesses and commercial districts. SBS makes it easier for companies in New York City to form, do business, and grow by providing direct assistance to business owners, promoting commercial districts, promoting financial and economic opportunity among minority and women-owned businesses, preparing New Yorkers for jobs, and linking employers with a skilled and qualified workforce.

Division Description

The Division of Citywide Workforce Opportunity (CWO) at the NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS) serves over 100,000 jobseekers and 1000 employers each year through its employment and training programs. Specifically, CWO oversees a network of 18 Workforce1 (WF1) Career Centers, operated in all five boroughs, and a broad and diverse training portfolio including individual training grants for over a dozen occupations and more than two dozen cohort-based occupational training programs, in such areas as technology, health care, transportation, construction, media and entertainment, and food and beverage sectors.

Reporting to the Deputy Commissioner for Citywide Workforce Opportunity, the Chief Administrative Officer (CASO) leads CWO’s data, fiscal, validation, and administrative support teams, including compliance with all federal, state and local laws, rules and agency policies; preparation for audits; CRM and technology project management; human resources management; program evaluation; data collection, analysis and validation; and policy analysis and development.

Lead the administrative support, data, finance, validation, technology, compliance, and policy functions within CWO to support and optimize the effectiveness and efficiency of our core services to New York job-seekers and businesses. Serve as CWO’s liaison to the agency’s IT, Finance, Procurement, Legal, Facilities, Inter-Governmental Affairs, Human Resources, and EEO teams as it relates to managing the division’s finances, data, technology, human resources, facilities, compliance, and advocacy related to federal, state, and city regulations and policies that impact the division.

Fiscal management

• Serve as the CWO lead on all budget and fiscal matters, and as the main point of contact to SBS’s Financial Management and Administration (FMA) office.
• Work closely with the Workforce1, Training, and Industry and Community Engagement teams within CWO, as well as contracted vendors, to manage their budgets, including budget development and planning, as well as modifications over time.
• Hold regular meetings and/or trainings, with CWO teams and vendors to support sound financial management, address under or overspending, and ensure that allowable costs, required cost reimbursement documentation and performance payment methodologies are clearly documented and understood by all parties.
• Oversee the review of invoices from contracted vendors as well as vendors administering training vouchers. Ensure that such expenses are within budget parameters and in accordance with local, state, and federal regulations, and that deliverables are documented where required.
• Work collaboratively with CWO teams, SBS central teams, and vendors to continually improve divisional fiscal, contracting, and operational processes and policies to ensure timely payments to vendors and to support efficiency, compliance, and effectiveness in serving our mission.
• Mentor and supervise the fiscal and validations teams.

Data, reporting, and performance management

• Serve as the CWO lead on data and performance management matters, including required reporting to funders and oversight bodies, as well as internal analysis of data to manage and improve performance.
• Work collaboratively with CWO teams and leadership to identify, define, measure, and communicate key performance indicators to support continuous quality improvement of our services and ability to meet our mission.
• Develop dashboards and other means to visualize data that are accessible to CWO and vendor staff, and provide training and capacity-building to CWO teams and contracted providers to help them leverage the data available to them for service delivery.
• Ensure all required performance reporting is accurate, complete, and delivered in a timely fashion. Manage any reporting required for grants.
• Ensure that performance validation processes are adequate to verify completion of deliverables, including verification of training completion and new hires.
• Respond to data requests from funders, oversight entities, leadership, and other stakeholders.
• Mentor and supervise the data and reporting team.

Technology

• Manage all CWO technology projects, including SBS’ workforce development CRM and data management system, as well as the division’s software needs and licenses.
• Work with CWO teams to identify opportunities for technology to improve operational efficiency and effectiveness, and resources to acquire and implement technology solutions.
• Liaise and work closely with SBS’ Information Technology Team to track the progress of software updates and technology projects.
• Work collaboratively with IT to monitor and support the implementation of the AI pilot project within CWO to ensure that AI is being leveraged for improved effectiveness and efficiency while ensuring the integrity of our work.

• Manage the division’s preparation for and response to all local, state, and federal audits of CWO programs and services, working closely with CWO leadership, FMA, Legal, and NYC Talent.
• Ensure that current processes and infrastructure are adequate to meet the compliance requirements set out by oversight bodies and funders as well as best practices for proper internal controls. Work collaboratively with CWO teams to develop solutions to any gaps or risks identified.
• Stay abreast of local, state and federal regulations, including all technical advisories and guidance letters on WIOA regulations, and work with CWO teams and vendors to make any updates to operational processes and policies required to maintain compliance.
• Monitor and track policy developments – including legislation and regulations – related to workforce development at the state, local, and federal levels, especially as they relate to the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), and the potential for new federal, state or city funding streams for workforce development. Liaise with SBS’ Intergovernmental Affairs Team regarding legislative and policy matters.

Other administrative support

• Support the division’s participation in professional development opportunities and support and monitor compliance with human resources requirements, such as completion of mandatory training and tasks & standards evaluations. Liaise with Human Resources as needed.
• Liaise with Facilities, FMA, Workforce1 Operations, and JobsNYC teams as needed to ensure that the facilities of our client service sites, including SBS-run sites such as the JobsNYC Center, as well as vendor-run sites such as the Workforce1 Career Centers, are well maintained and equipped to meet our goals and provide an excellent customer experience.
• Work with divisional and agency leadership, FMA, and potentially private funders, to identify capital funding opportunities as needed to optimize the physical and technological infrastructure of our client service sites.
• Serve as a member of the CWO senior leadership team, working collaboratively with other senior leaders of the division to drive strategy, collaboration, and performance of our system.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

To apply, go to www.nyc.gov/jobs and search for Job ID: # 805943

Note: We appreciate the interest and thank all applicants who apply, but only those candidates under consideration will be contacted.

If you are unable to apply via Jobs NYC, you can email your cover letter and resume to careers@sbs.nyc.gov with the following in the subject line: Chief Administrative & Strategy Officer.

If you do not have access to email, mail your cover letter & resume to:

NYC Department of Small Business Services

Human Resources Unit

1 Liberty Plaza, 11th Floor

New York, New York 10006

This position may be eligible for remote work up to 2 days per week, pursuant to the Remote Work Pilot Program agreed to between the City and DC37. However, the nature of the role requires a strong in-person presence, and responsibilities.

EXECUTIVE PROGRAM SPECIALIST - 06875

1. A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college and four years of satisfactory, full-time progressively responsible clerical/administrative experience requiring independent decision-making concerning program management or planning, allocation for resources and the scheduling and assignment of work, 18 months of which must have been in an administrative, managerial, executive or supervisory capacity. The supervisory work must have been in the supervision of staff performing clerical/administrative work of more than moderate difficulty; or

2. An associate degree or 60 semester credits from an accredited college and five years of satisfactory, full-time progressively responsible experience as described in "1" above, 18 months of which must have been in an administrative, managerial, executive or supervisory capacity. The supervisory work must have been in the supervision of staff performing clerical/administrative work of more than moderate difficulty; or

3. A four-year high school diploma or its educational equivalent and six years of satisfactory, full-time progressively responsible experience as described in "1" above, 18 months of which must have been in an administrative, managerial, executive or supervisory capacity. The supervisory work must have been in the supervision of staff performing clerical/administrative work of more than moderate difficulty; or

4. Education and/or experience equivalent to "1", "2" or "3" above. However, all candidates must possess the 18 months of administrative, managerial, executive or supervisory experience as described in "1", "2" or "3" above. Education above the high school level may be substituted for the general clerical/administrative experience (but not for the administrative, managerial, executive or supervisory experience described in "1", "2" or "3" above) at a rate of 30 semester credits from an accredited college for 6 months of experience up to a maximum of 3½ years.

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.