General Counsel

City of New York•New York City, NY

About The Position

The New York City Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) invests in a broad network of community-based organizations to deliver critical services that strengthen young people, families, and communities across New York City. Through the administration of City, State and Federal funds, DYCD supports innovative, high-quality programs that advance opportunity, stability and long-term outcomes. At its core, DYCD’s work reflects the understanding that youth development and community development are symbiotic. Delivering on this mission at scale requires a strong legal and operational backbone, particularly in contracting, procurement, and the systems that support timely service delivery across the City. DYCD manages one of the largest human services contracting portfolios in New York City, with a high volume of procurements, complex funding streams, and deep interdependencies across agencies. This environment requires legal leadership that is both highly skilled and highly operational. DYCD is seeking a highly accomplished, strategic, and execution-oriented attorney to serve as General Counsel, reporting directly to the Commissioner and serving as a key member of the agency’s senior leadership team. This role requires an exceptional leader with deep expertise in contracting and procurement, who can lead a high-performing legal function while integrating that function into the broader work of the agency. The person should also have knowledge of public sector compliance requirements, including FOIL, privacy and data governance, ethics and administrative law. The General Counsel will lead the agency’s legal strategy with a primary focus on contracts and procurement, ensuring that legal processes enable effective, timely, and accountable service delivery across a large and complex system. This leader will partner across divisions to align legal guidance with programmatic, operational, and fiscal priorities, strengthening DYCD’s ability to deliver at scale.

Requirements

Admission to the New York State Bar; and four years of recent full-time responsible, relevant, satisfactory legal experience subsequent to admission to any bar, eighteen months of which must have been in the supervision of other attorneys, in an administrative, managerial or executive capacity, or performing highly complex and significant legal work.
Incumbents must remain Members of the New York State Bar in good standing for the duration of this employment.

Responsibilities

Executive Leadership and Cross-Functional Integration - Serve as a core member of the Commissioner’s senior leadership team, contributing to agency-wide strategy, decision-making, and execution
Ensure the Legal function is fully integrated into program, procurement, finance, and operations, supporting alignment and shared accountability across a large and complex organization
Partner with senior leaders to translate legal requirements into clear, actionable approaches that advance agency goals
Bring a solutions-oriented mindset that balances legal integrity with operational effectiveness
Procurement and Contracting Leadership - Lead all legal aspects of DYCD’s contracting portfolio, one of the largest and most complex within New York City government
Oversee the drafting, negotiation, and execution of contracts, memoranda of understanding, and solicitations across a high-volume procurement environment
Provide expert guidance on procurement and contract lifestyle management, including amendments, assignments and terminations
Partner closely with the Agency Chief Contracting Officer to ensure strong alignment across legal and procurement functions
Identify and drive improvements to contracting processes to reduce delays, strengthen provider experience, and support timely payments at scale
Legal Operations and Team Leadership - Recruit, develop, and manage a high-performing legal team capable of operating effectively in a fast-paced, high-volume environment
Ensure high-quality legal work product that is rigorous, timely, and aligned with agency priorities
Build internal systems and processes that support efficiency, transparency, and consistency across a large portfolio
Interagency and External Relations - Serve as a primary liaison to the New York City Law Department, Department of Investigation, the NYC Conflicts of Interest Board, and other oversight entities
Collaborate with key partners including the Mayor’s Office of Contract Services, Office of Management and Budget, and the Comptroller’s Office
Represent DYCD in high-level legal discussions, negotiations, and interagency coordination
Represents DYCD on all external discrimination complaints received from Federal, State and local EEO/Human Rights agencies
Risk Management and Compliance - Advise on a broad range of legal areas including procurement law, administrative law, ethics, civil service, civil rights, human rights law, employment and labor law, and fiscal compliance
Ensure agency practices meet all applicable legal and regulatory standards while enabling effective program delivery
Proactively identify risks and develop mitigation strategies that support both compliance and execution
Continuous Improvement and Strategic Initiatives - Lead efforts to modernize legal and contracting processes, including opportunities to improve systems, workflows and coordination across divisions
Support agency-wide initiatives that require legal strategy, including new program models and cross-agency efforts
Oversee special projects assigned by the Commissioner