Director of Procurement and Purchasing, OCS

This title is in a civil service competitive class that is subject to examination. Position is only open to applicants with permanent NYC civil service status as Administrative Staff Analyst or permanent in an equivalent title that is eligible for transfer under 6.1.9 to Administrative Staff Analyst.

Position Summary: The New York City school system is the largest in the country, composed of approximately 1.1 million students and 75,000+ teachers in over 1,800 schools. In February 2015, the Department of Education (DOE) created the Office of Community Schools (OCS) to develop and implement one of the pillars of the education agenda of Mayor de Blasio and Chancellor Carranza.

Community Schools are places where children have opportunities to learn, gain skills, create joy, and have the experiences that ignite curiosity and allow children discover their passions and talents. Community Schools support the social, emotional, physical, and academic needs of students by offering a coordinated approach to increasing opportunities for young people and improving the academic performance of students through partnerships among principals, parents, teachers, and community-based organizations (CBOs). Schools enter into a partnership with a local CBO to offer a “whole child, whole community” approach, looking holistically at students, families, and communities to ascertain their most pressing needs and decide which services will best address those needs. OCS also includes the Students in Temporary Housing (STH) team, which leads citywide efforts to provide whole child based supports to students and families affected by homelessness.

The Office of Community Schools (OCS) supports for over 400 schools by developing strategies and policies to increase the capacity of schools and partners to coordinate and/or develop tailored supports for students and families.

OCS has a $300 Million annual budget, over 150 contracts with nonprofit organizations, and manages more than a dozen diverse revenue streams to fund the office. The Director of Procurement and Purchasing is responsible contracting and payment management on behalf of the office. The Director of Procurement and Purchasing will provide broad supervision to the central operations team, communicating between various DOE divisions to ensure compliance with funding requirements, operating procedures, and programmatic goals. The Director of Procurement and Purchasing will supervise a team of five operations managers and analysts responsible for the management and monitoring of OCS contracting and purchasing needs, including the processing of contracts, purchase orders, and invoicing. Performs related work.

Reports to: Deputy Executive Director, Office of Community Schools

Direct Reports: 5 Operations Managers and Analysts

Key Relationships: Works closely with the Community School Leadership team, Division of Finance, Division of Contracts and Purchasing (DCP), Borough/Citywide Offices, and the Mayor’s Office of Contract Services. Works with key internal stakeholders and various other NYCDOE offices and City agencies to help support the OCS mission and vision.

Responsibilities

Procurement

• Collaborates with central OCS staff and DCP staff on OCS contract actions, such as assignments, amendments, negotiated services, and MTACs.
• Manages all procurement actions ensuring no gaps in services and a long-term, forward-looking plan to sustain essential partnerships in our schools.
• Strategizes on process improvements that result in efficiencies.
• Develops and implements training on contract provisions, procurement, internal controls, and best business practices for Community Schools.
• Attends Committee on Contracts, Senior Leadership contract and Panel for Education Policy meetings on behalf of OCS.
• Submits contracts to DCP and tracks status of contracts; manages the subcontractor approval process, in collaboration with DCP.
• Coordinates with DCP on the development and approval of loans from MOCS for community-based organizations.
• Acts as a resource for internal staff and external stakeholders to resolve issues related to contracts and purchasing; communicates relevant information expeditiously.
• Serves as the primary liaison with the Mayor’s Office concerning the implementation of HHS Accelerator and associated CBO contracts.
• Supports individual community-based organizations in addressing any payment or contracting inquiries.

Purchasing

• Oversees a team of managers and analysts who process purchase orders, work orders, and payments to over 200 partners through a variety of DOE and NYC systems, including FAMIS and HHS Accelerator
• Supervises staff in the development and monitoring of expense reports from Galaxy, FAMIS, and HHS Accelerator.
• Oversees the tracking and monitoring of pre-encumbrances, invoices and payments.
• Provides oversight and guidance to the staff on the day-to-day administration of the procurement and purchasing functions for the Office of Community Schools, which has over $300 million in City tax-levy and grant-funded programs and over 150 contracts.
• Ensures submission of pre-encumbrances to DCP and budgets are available to CBOs in HHS Accelerator; approve final budgets and payments in HHS Accelerator.

Policy and Procedures

• Works with the Senior Executive Director, Deputy Executive Director of Finance and Operations and other OCS staff to develop operational policy and procedures for Community Schools to ensure best practices and compliance with City, State, and Federal regulations, specifically around the management and implementation of the Community School initiative.
• Supports Senior Leadership Team in the development and implementation of innovative programs, ensuring adherence to established DOE purchasing policies and procedures.
• Develops and implements training on contract procedures, technical assistance, and best practices for OCS Program Managers and Lead CBO staff.
• Oversees the indirect rate implementation process.
• Collaborates and supports in edits to the OCS Fiscal and Operations Manual.

Compliance

• Liaises with the Office of Equal Opportunity and NYS agencies on the MWBE reporting and compliance requirements associated NYS funded programs.
• Manages and coordinates audits and reviews conducted by external oversight agencies, e.g., NYC Comptroller’s Office, NYS Education Department, OAG, etc.
• Management of Personnel Eligibility Tracking System (PETS) inquiries; ensuring that vendors are notified regarding inquiries.

Qualification Requirements:

Minimum

• A master’s degree from an accredited college in economics, finance, accounting, business or public administration, human resources management, management science, operations research, organizational behavior, industrial psychology, statistics, personnel administration, labor relations, psychology, sociology, human resources development, political science, urban studies or a closely related field, and two years of satisfactory full-time professional experience in one or a combination of the following: working with the budget of a large public or private concern in budget administration, accounting, economic or financial administration, or fiscal or economic research; in management or methods analysis, operations research, organizational research or program evaluation; in personnel or public administration, recruitment, position classification, personnel relations, employee benefits, staff development, employment program planning/administration, labor market research, economic planning, social services program planning/evaluation, or fiscal management; or in a related area. 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 professional experience in the areas described in “1” above, including the 18 months of executive, managerial, administrative or supervisory experience, as described in “1” above.

Preferred

• Experience with DOE and City financial systems, including Galaxy, HHS Accelerator, FAMIS, CTS, GTS, and Cognos.
• Knowledge of Microsoft Office applications, e.g., Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint.
• Eight (8) years of experience supervising staff.
• Superior project management skills, including planning, designing, documenting, follow-up, and problem-solving skills.
• A strong focus on results.
• Analytic skills including the ability to organize complicated data sets, analyze trends, and use data to implement strategies.
• The ability to ignite and support change, and encourage leaders to be open to new approaches to collaboration, time and resources, with the goal of achieving improved outcomes.
• Ability to work effectively as part of a team in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to build solid work relationships.
• Strong customer service orientation.
• Strong ability to organize facts and present information and figures in a clear, concise, and logical manner, both orally and in writing.
• Ability to learn quickly and continuously, be responsive to feedback, and succeed in a rapidly changing environment.
• Excellent communication skills, including the ability to speak and write clearly and respectfully.
• Ability to think strategically to mobilize disparate groups of people toward a common and ambitious goal and translate insights into action.
• Ability to multitask, take initiative, comfortably switch gears, and prioritize workload.
• Experience working with the HSS Accelerator system.
• Internal candidates preferred.

Salary: $103,561+

(Internal candidates who are selected for this position and who currently hold comparable or less senior positions within the DOE will not make less than their current salary.)

Please include a resume and cover letter with your application.

NOTE: The filling of all positions is subject to budget availability and/or grant funding.

This position is open to qualified persons with a disability who are eligible for the 55-a program. Please indicate in your cover letter that you would like to be considered for the position under the 55-a program.

AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

It is the policy of the Department of Education of the City of New York to provide equal employment opportunities without regard to actual or perceived race, color, religion, creed, ethnicity, national origin, alienage, citizenship status, age, marital status, partnership status, disability, sexual orientation, gender (sex), military status, unemployment status, caregiver status, consumer credit history, prior record of arrest or conviction (except as permitted by law), predisposing genetic characteristics, or status as a victim of domestic violence, sexual offenses and stalking, and to maintain an environment free of harassment on any of the above-noted grounds, including sexual harassment or retaliation. For more information, please refer to the DOE Non-Discrimination Policy.

Required Skills

Required Experience