Job Information
City of New York DEPUTY DIRECTOR, PLANNING in New York, New York
Job Description
New York City Emergency Management (NYCEM) helps New Yorkers before, during, and after emergencies through preparedness, education, and response. NYCEM is responsible for coordinating citywide emergency planning and response for all types and scales of emergencies. We are staffed by more than 200 dedicated professionals with diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise, including individuals assigned from other City agencies.
The Planning and Resiliency (P&R) Bureau’s mission is to prepare the City to respond and adapt to emergencies through collaborative, scalable planning; comprehensive interagency coordination; and innovative recovery and resilience. To executive this mission, the P&R Bureau includes Interagency Coordination with an assistant commissioner leading three units made up of subject matter experts in Health and Medical, Human Services, and Critical Infrastructure; Resiliency and Recovery with an assistant commissioner leading the Resiliency Implementation and Resiliency and Recovery Planning units; and the Planning unit.
The Planning Unit drives the creation, enhancement, and sustainment of comprehensive citywide emergency planning in NYC. The unit works with NYCEM staff and external partners to increase the City’s capacity for developing and maintaining flexible, effective, and actionable planning documents. Additionally, the Planning Unit also works with stakeholders to enhance the City’s preparedness for natural, human-caused, and technological hazards through planning initiatives, help identify emerging issues and current planning gaps, and assist with developing trainings and exercises based on planning documents.
NYCEM is seeking a seasoned candidate with experience in project management, emergency planning, and strategic planning for the Deputy Director of Planning position.
Reporting to the Director of Planning, the Deputy Director of Planning will work with staff and colleagues across the agency to oversee activities related to citywide emergency planning, including the planning process and management of planning portfolios. The Deputy Director is expected to lead, support, and track major emergency planning initiatives; facilitate intra- and interagency coordination and communication; define and promote standards and implements quality assurance to produce high-quality, actionable, and user-friendly documents; and support strategic planning and initiatives. Additionally, the Deputy Director will directly manage all Program Managers within the team.
Responsibilities may include, but are not limited to:
Work with staff and units to support development, maintenance, and socialization of major planning documents, including planning process from conceptual development to finalization (e.g., chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosives (CBRNE), extreme heat, coastal storm, flooding, cyber, winter weather, etc.).
Build relationships with internal and external partners to increase collaboration, streamline planning efforts, and enhance citywide planning documents and processes.
Advance and maintain tools and resources to support staff through planning processes and document development in collaboration with staff and units.
Maintain a big-picture view of all Unit activities, while also supporting day-to-day tasks, ensuring proper support and resources are provided to meet all deadlines.
Provide project management leadership and support to staff and assure production of deliverables.
Manage staff and build interdisciplinary teams to support emergency planning needs.
Collaborate with units to annually review all major planning documents, identify gaps, and catalog annual planning priorities.
Develop, implement, and socialize quality assurance and maintenance mechanisms for citywide planning documents, including updating templates, tools, and resources for SMEs moving through the planning process.
Support the Director of Planning with Unit-wide initiatives, coordination, and strategic planning, including the creation of a strategic vision for prioritizing updates, processes, and new initiatives with the Unit.
Identify gaps with the Unit and work to improve them (ex: team-wide professional development, cross-training opportunities, bringing units together who have intersecting work, etc.).
Support Deputy Commissioner of Planning & Resiliency and Director of Planning to advance bureau-wide strategic goals and in alignment with the agency’s strategic plan.
Actively encourage and support the development of direct reports, and foster a culture of collaboration that is effective, equitable, and responsive to evolving situations.
Review new and updated planning documents with an eye toward grammar, formatting, standardization, and accessibility.
Become proficient in relevant NYCEM technological systems (including the intranet, ShareFile, SharePoint, database management, etc.), and leverage them to ensure major planning documents and resources are easily available to NYCEM staff and agency partners.
Support staff and leadership on cross-functional efforts, including analysis and studies to advance approaches to planning and operational capabilities.
Work on special projects and other duties as assigned.
**PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING:
The selected candidate will be assigned to an on-call Emergency Operations Center (EOC) team and will be expected to work non-business hours during some emergencies. These non-business hours include nights, weekends, holidays, and extended week hours outside of a 9AM-5PM schedule. The selected candidate will also participate in trainings to build skills and competencies in emergency response; will participate in drills and exercises associated with the on-call EOC team; and may volunteer to assist with Ready NY emergency preparedness presentations to external groups. EOC teams are on call for three weeks at a time, with six weeks off in between.
This position is supported with grant funding through 8/31/2025 with the possibility of an extension.
IN ORDER TO BE CONSIDERED FOR THIS JOB, PLEASE SUBMIT A SEPARATE COVER LETTER IN THE ATTACHMENTS SECTION OF THE APPLICATION PORTAL.
PREFERRED SKILLS
Superior project management skills and a demonstrated ability to work independently or collaboratively to prioritize and deliver complex projects within compressed timelines.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including experience distilling complex information into high-level documents and briefing executives or other stakeholders.
Strong interpersonal and supervisory skills with an ability to work well within a team structure while maintaining independent latitude for good judgement and delegation of tasks across a portfolio of projects
Excellent people management skills with a proven ability to effectively coach and mentor staff, invest in their professional development, and create and enhance positive team culture and working environments.
Confidence and experience managing multiple competing priorities in dynamic, high-pressure environments.
Strategic planning skills and experience strongly preferred.
Experience with database management, especially using Airtable, Excel or other platforms.
Experience in data analysis and visualization preferred.
Ability to synthesize processes into quantifiable metrics and reports preferred.
Excellent editing skills with consideration of audience, layout, and usability.
Experience writing emergency, technical, and/or operational plans preferred.
Experience facilitating meetings and discussions with various stakeholders including executive staff, conducting presentations, communicating key objectives, and building consensus.
Experience managing staff with broad responsibility to operate independently.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, Access, and PowerPoint).
Studies have shown that women, people of color, and other under-represented groups are less likely to apply for jobs unless they believe they are able to perform every task in the job description. We are interested in finding the best candidate for the job and will consider any equivalent combination of knowledge, skills, education and experience to meet qualifications. If you are interested in applying, we encourage you to think broadly about your background and skill set for the role.
Qualifications
1 . A four-year high school diploma or its educational equivalent and eight years satisfactory full-time professional experience in one or a combination of the following: emergency management, fire or police services, public safety, public health, public administration, urban planning, engineering, or another specialized area to which the appointment is to be made. 18 months of this experience must have been in an executive, managerial, administrative, or supervisory capacity. Supervision must have included supervising staff performing professional work in the areas described above; or
A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college and four years of satisfactory full-time professional experience in one or a combination of the areas listed in "1" above, including the 18 months of executive, managerial, administrative, or supervisory experience, as described in "1" above; or
A master' s degree from an accredited college in emergency management, public administration, urban planning, engineering, economics, political science, the physical sciences, or related field, and three years of satisfactory full-time professional experience in one or a combination of the areas described in "1" above, including the 18 months of executive, managerial, administrative, or supervisory experience, as described in "1" above; or
Education and/or experience equivalent to "1", "2", or "3" above. However, all candidates must have a four-year high school diploma or its educational equivalent and the 18 months of executive, managerial, administrative, or supervisory experience, as described in "1" above.
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.
