PRINCIPAL ASSISTANT TO THE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER

City of New York•New York, NY

3d•$68,209 - $78,440•Onsite

About The Position

The Department of Social Services (DSS) is comprised of the administrative units of the New York City Human Resources Administration (HRA) and the Department of Homeless Services (DHS). HRA is dedicated to fighting poverty and income inequality by providing New Yorkers in need with essential benefits such as Food Assistance and Emergency Rental Assistance. DHS is committed to preventing and addressing homelessness in New York City by employing a variety of innovative strategies to help families and individuals successfully exit shelter and return to self-sufficiency as quickly as possible. Under the direction of the Deputy Commissioner of the Office of Constituent Services, with wide latitude for the exercise of independent initiative, judgment, and decision making, the Principal Assistant to the Deputy Commissioner performs complex, specialized administrative work to support the Deputy Commissioner with office-wide initiatives and deliverables. The Principal Assistant serves as a client advocate for all high-profile Public Assistance and social service inquiries sent directly to the Deputy Commissioner from the Mayor's Office, the Commissioner's Office, elected officials, and community-based organizations. The Office of Constituent Services is recruiting for one (1) Principal Administrative Associate Ill to function as a Principal Assistant to the Deputy Commissioner.

Requirements

Permanent in the Principal Administrative Associate Civil Service title
A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college and two years of satisfactory full-time progressively responsible clerical/administrative experience, one year of which must have been in an administrative capacity or supervising staff performing clerical/administrative work of more than moderate difficulty; or
An associate degree or 60 semester credits from an accredited college and three years of satisfactory full-time progressively responsible clerical/administrative experience including one year of the administrative supervisory experience described in "1" above; or
A four-year high school diploma or its educational equivalent approved by a state’s department of education or a recognized accrediting organization and four years of satisfactory full-time progressively responsible clerical/administrative experience including one year of the administrative supervisory experience as described in "1" above; or
Education and/or experience equivalent to "1", "2", or "3" above. However, all candidates must possess the one year of administrative or supervisory experience as described in "1" above.
Education above the high school level may be substituted for the general clerical/administrative experience (but not for the one year of administrative or supervisory experience described in "1" above) at a rate of 30 semester credits from an accredited college for 6 months of experience up to a maximum of 3 year.

Responsibilities

Provide a swift resolution to all high-profile inquiries received from the Mayor's Office, Commissioner's Office, elected officials and community-based organizations.
Work closely with HRA/DSS/DHS staff and follow-up on all Public Assistance and Social Service inquiries that require immediate attention due to tight deadlines before case closing, eviction, or expiration of a rental assistance voucher.
Track approximately 200 individual client inquiries per week.
Update the Deputy Commissioner, relevant City Agencies and elected officials by e-mail, letter or telephone once the issue has been resolved.
Inform the Deputy Commissioner of problematic, discriminatory or systematic issues that may need additional attention and intervention.
Analyze and track trends associated with housing, health care, discrimination, basic needs and other inquiries from constituents handled by the Office of Constituent Services.
Develop a monthly report for the Deputy Commissioner based on results.
Liaise with Human Resources Solutions (HRS) and HRA's Finance Office for all personnel matters.
Assist with onboarding new hires by selecting potential candidates for interviews, arranging interviews, and drafting job descriptions for vacancies.
Ensure compliance with HRS and Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) guidelines.
Draft correspondence for the Commissioner's Office and the Office of Constituent Services -to ensure consistency and messaging across multiple channels.