Care Economy Advisor

City of New York•New York, NY

3d•$185,000 - $195,000

About The Position

The Care Economy Advisor will support the Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice in developing a citywide policy framework to grow New York City's care sector and improve job quality across elder care, childcare, care for people with disabilities, and related services. The role sits within the Inclusion and Full Participation portfolio and reports to the Senior Advisor for Inclusion and Full Participation. The advisor will collaborate across the administration and with relevant city agencies and offices to assess existing policies and programs, identify promising opportunities, and develop recommendations that center worker voice and improve compensation, benefits, and working conditions. The advisor will profile the care economy; analyze sector growth and job-quality data; engage workers and other stakeholders; map relevant municipal, state, and federal policies; and identify gaps and opportunities for city action. The role will develop a framework for sector growth and job quality, define measures of job quality, and consider the roles of unions, cooperatives, and worker ownership. The advisor will assess policy options for their effects on workers and care services, as well as fiscal, administrative, legal, equity, enforcement, and implementation considerations. The advisor will distinguish actions available under current City authority from longer-term strategies requiring legislative or higher-government action, and produce prioritized, policy-ready briefs, 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 workforce, working conditions, administrative, regulatory, enforcement, and funding structures.
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, including creative approaches involving unions, cooperatives, and worker ownership.
Experience using city- and state-level tools to ensure compliance with municipal and state standards protecting workers.
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 work collaboratively with senior government officials across diverse teams.
Ability to assess policy options from fiscal, administrative, legal, equity, enforcement, and implementation perspectives.
Attorney preferred, with understanding of complex legal issues including legislation, contracts, and governmental program funding.

Nice To Haves

Attorney qualification and understanding of complex legal issues, including legislation, contracts, and governmental program funding.
Knowledge of care-economy policies at city, state, and federal levels, with comparative knowledge of policies across states and municipalities.

Responsibilities

Profile New York City's care economy, including occupations, sectors, unions and labor organizations, employers, workforce, demand and capacity, administrative and regulatory structures, enforcement, and public funding streams.
Analyze sector growth, supply, access, affordability, provider sustainability, and job-quality measures, including wages, benefits, turnover, vacancies, scheduling, staffing, working conditions, and advancement.
Assess disparities in care-sector growth and job quality by race, gender, geography, immigration status, and employment arrangement.
Engage stakeholders, prioritizing care workers affected by poor job quality, and including unions, worker cooperatives, small-business incubators, providers, mission-aligned lenders and funders, and public-sector partners.
Map City, state, and federal policies affecting care-sector growth and job quality; review City contracting, procurement, licensing, workforce, and economic-development policies and tools for enforcing worker standards.
Identify gaps and opportunities for municipal action, including through review of comparable policies in other cities and states.
Develop a framework for expanding the care sector while improving job quality and worker voice, and define and measure job quality across compensation, benefits and stability, worker voice, equity, professionalization, and care-sector sustainability.
Identify the potential roles of unions, cooperatives, and worker ownership in expanding the care sector.
Develop municipal policy options, such as procurement standards, wage standards, union training partnerships, support for worker cooperatives and transitions to worker ownership, training and career pathways, targeted investments, and funding leverage.
Assess policy options for effects on job quality, worker voice, care availability, affordability and quality; fiscal, administrative and legal feasibility; effects on 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, policy-ready recommendations through briefs, memos, research summaries, briefings for senior officials, and presentations.
Collaborate across the administration, including with agencies and offices inside and outside the Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice portfolio.