Executive Director, Board of Correction

City of New York • New York City, NY

17h • Hybrid

About The Position

The New York City Board of Correction (BOC) is an independent, nine-member oversight body responsible for regulating, monitoring, and inspecting the City’s correctional facilities. Established in 1957, the Board is among the nation’s earliest independent correctional oversight entities. Its authority and independence were significantly expanded in 1977. The Board is charged with establishing and enforcing minimum standards governing the care, custody, supervision, treatment, and discipline of individuals in the custody of the Department of Correction; investigating serious incidents within the City’s correctional system; reviewing grievances from both people in custody and correctional staff; evaluating the performance of the Department of Correction; and making recommendations concerning correctional planning and policy. The Board has promulgated comprehensive Minimum Standards governing conditions of confinement, mental health care, and health services, and continues to play a leading role in advancing correctional reform through oversight, monitoring, investigations, and rulemaking. In recent years, the Board has undertaken significant regulatory initiatives addressing issues including the prevention of sexual violence, reporting of serious injuries, and the elimination of punitive segregation. The agency currently operates with a staff of approximately 29 employees, with authorized headcount expansion underway. Staff are based in Lower Manhattan and on Rikers Island. At a critical moment for New York City’s correctional system, the Board continues to advance transparency, accountability, and systemic reform.

Requirements

• A license to practice law in the State of New York plus a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college and four years of full-time paid experience in some aspect of the criminal justice system, one year of which must have been in a responsible executive, managerial or consultative capacity
• Two years of full-time paid experience in some aspect of the criminal justice system, one year of which must have been in a responsible executive, managerial or consultative capacity

Nice To Haves

• Advanced degree required; Juris Doctor, master's degree in public administration, Criminal Justice, Public Policy, Law, or a related field preferred
• Significant executive-level leadership and management experience, including oversight of staff, operations, budgets, strategic initiatives, and organizational planning
• Experience working with a Board is preferred
• Demonstrated experience managing and developing multidisciplinary teams within complex governmental, legal, regulatory, investigatory, oversight, or operational environments
• Expertise related to correctional systems, criminal justice reform, public oversight, law enforcement accountability, government operations, labor relations, investigations, compliance, or public administration
• Ability to effectively engage with senior leadership at the Department of Correction, Correctional Health Services, City Hall, oversight entities, elected officials, advocates, labor representatives, and community stakeholders while maintaining the Board’s independence and oversight responsibilities
• Exceptional strategic thinking and problem-solving capabilities, including the ability to manage high-profile, politically sensitive, and operationally complex matters with sound judgment and discretion
• Demonstrated experience navigating public-sector governance structures and working effectively with boards, commissions, elected officials, and senior governmental stakeholders
• Outstanding written, verbal, interpersonal, and public communication skills, including experience with public testimony, media engagement, public presentations, and stakeholder communications
• Proven ability to foster a culture of accountability, professionalism, collaboration, transparency, and continuous organizational improvement
• Strong operational and managerial capabilities, including experience overseeing compliance functions, policy implementation, organizational administration, and cross-functional coordination
• Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and culturally responsive leadership practices
• The willingness and ability to respond to emergent and high-priority operational matters, including maintaining a visible presence at correctional facilities and participating in urgent agency response efforts when necessary
• The successful candidate must possess the executive presence, credibility, resilience, and leadership maturity necessary to lead within a highly visible oversight environment where public trust, stakeholder engagement, operational accountability, and institutional integrity are critical to the agency’s mission and effectiveness

Responsibilities

• Providing visionary and strategic leadership to advance the Board’s oversight, monitoring, investigative, and regulatory priorities in a dynamic and high-profile policy environment
• Managing and overseeing agency staff in partnership with the Deputy Executive Director and General Counsel and Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer, including establishing organizational priorities, setting performance expectations, supporting staff development, promoting accountability, and ensuring effective coordination across operational, monitoring, investigative, legal, policy, and administrative functions
• Building and sustaining productive partnerships with government agencies, elected officials, policy leaders, advocacy organizations, community stakeholders, and institutional partners while maintaining the Board’s independence and accountability mission
• Serving as the Board’s primary spokesperson and representing the agency at public hearings, Board meetings, intergovernmental meetings, media engagements, and external stakeholder forums
• Advising Board members on emerging operational, legal, political, and policy matters impacting the City’s correctional system and ensuring members are equipped with timely, accurate, and comprehensive information to support effective governance and decision-making
• Leading agency communications and public affairs strategies to strengthen transparency, public trust, and awareness of the Board’s mission, findings, and policy recommendations
• Managing sensitive and high-profile matters with sound judgment, discretion, political awareness, and crisis-management capabilities, particularly those involving investigations, incidents, litigation, operational emergencies, or significant media scrutiny
• Fostering a high-performing, mission-driven organizational culture grounded in professionalism, accountability, collaboration, equity, and continuous improvement
• Developing and mentoring senior staff while ensuring strong internal operations, effective cross-functional collaboration, and organizational resilience
• Conducting regular and ongoing visits to Rikers Island and other Department of Correction facilities to maintain operational awareness, engage with facility leadership and staff, observe conditions firsthand, and support the Board’s oversight and monitoring responsibilities

Benefits

• Appointments are subject to Office of Management and Budget approval.
• The New York City Administrative Code requires an employee in this title to establish city residence within 90 days of entering City service and to remain in compliance with the city residence requirement as a condition of employment.
• The City of New York and the Board of Correction is an equal opportunity employer and committed to diversity.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive