Care Economy Advisor

City of New York•New York City, NY

About The Position

The Care Economy Advisor will support the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice in developing a citywide policy framework for growth and job quality in the care sector, including elder care, childcare, and care for people with disabilities. The role is housed within the Inclusion and Full Participation portfolio and reports to the Senior Advisor for Inclusion and Full Participation. The advisor will work collaboratively across the administration and with relevant city agencies and offices to assess existing policies and programs, identify promising opportunities, and develop recommendations that advance growth while centering worker voice and improving compensation, benefits, and working conditions. The advisor will profile and analyze the care economy, engage workers and other stakeholders, map relevant City, state, and federal policies, and identify opportunities for municipal action. The position will develop a framework for sector growth and job quality, assess policy options for their effects on workers and care provision as well as their feasibility and equity, and distinguish actions available to the City from longer-term strategies requiring state, federal, or legislative action. Deliverables include prioritized, policy-ready briefs and memos, research summaries, senior-official briefings, and presentations.

Requirements

At least 10–15 years of relevant experience in public policy, economic policy, labor policy, care-economy policy, workforce development, workplace-standards enforcement, or a related field.
Extensive knowledge of the care economy, including childcare, early childhood education, and long-term care, and related workforces, working conditions, administrative and regulatory structures, enforcement structures, and funding streams.
Track record of developing policy proposals, translating research into actionable recommendations, and working with city, state, or federal government to advance policies.
Track record of centering worker voice in growth and job-quality strategies.
Experience using city- and state-level tools to ensure compliance with municipal and state worker-protection standards.
Experience conducting stakeholder engagement with workers, labor organizations, community organizations, philanthropy, and public-sector partners.
Strong quantitative and qualitative research capabilities.
Excellent written and oral communication skills.
Ability to collaborate with senior government officials across diverse teams.
Ability to assess policy options from fiscal, administrative, legal, equity, enforcement, and implementation perspectives.

Nice To Haves

Attorney preferred, with an understanding of complex legal issues including legislation, contracts, and governmental program funding.
Comparative knowledge of care-economy policies across states and municipalities.

Responsibilities

Profile the City's care economy, including occupations, sectors, labor organizations, employers, workforce, demand and capacity, administrative and regulatory structures, enforcement structures, and public funding streams.
Analyze sector-growth and job-quality data, including supply, access, affordability, provider sustainability, wages, benefits, turnover, vacancies, scheduling, staffing, working conditions, and advancement, with attention to disparities.
Engage care workers and other stakeholders, prioritizing workers most affected by poor job quality, and consult unions, worker cooperatives, small-business incubators, providers, mission-aligned lenders and funders, and others.
Map City, state, and federal policies affecting sector growth and job quality, and review City contracting, procurement, licensing, workforce, and economic development policies and worker-standard enforcement tools.
Identify gaps and opportunities for municipal action, including by reviewing comparable policies in other cities and states.
Develop a growth and job-quality framework that defines how the City can expand the care sector while improving worker voice and job quality.
Define and measure job quality across compensation, benefits and stability, worker voice, equity, professionalization, and care-sector sustainability.
Identify the role of unions, cooperatives, and worker ownership in expanding the care sector.
Develop a menu of municipal policy options, including procurement standards, wage standards, union training partnerships, support for worker cooperatives and worker ownership, training and career pathways, targeted investment, and funding leverage.
Assess policy options for effects on job quality and worker voice; care availability, affordability, and quality; fiscal, administrative, and legal feasibility; small and community-based providers; equity; stakeholder views; and funding sources.
Distinguish near-term actions within City authority from longer-term strategies requiring legislative, state, or federal action.
Deliver prioritized recommendations in policy-ready materials, including briefs, memos, research summaries, briefings, and presentations.