Special Assistant

City of New York • New York, NY

5d

About The Position

APPLICANTS MUST BE PERMANENT IN THE PRINCIPAL ADMINISTRATIVE ASSOCIATE CIVIL SERVICE TITLE. 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. The Office of Information Technology Services (ITS) at the New York City Department of Social Services (DSS) delivers enterprise technology services to support programmatic operations across DSS, HRA and DHS. ITS manages critical platforms, application development, cybersecurity, infrastructure, and data operations that enable the agency to serve millions of New Yorkers efficiently and securely. Under the direction of the Deputy Commissioner for Information Technology, with latitude for independent judgment and decision making, the Special Assistant is responsible for: providing high-level administrative and operational support within ITS’s fast-paced, technology-driven environment; ensuring strong administrative organization, effective communication within the Deputy Commissioner’s group, across ITS, and throughout the Agency, often on technical matters; ensuring the Deputy Commissioner’s office operates with precision and alignment to agency priorities. Information Technology Services (ITS) is recruiting for one (1) Principal Administrative Associate III, to function as a Special Assistant, who will:

Requirements

• APPLICANTS MUST BE PERMANENT IN THE PRINCIPAL ADMINISTRATIVE ASSOCIATE CIVIL SERVICE TITLE.
• 1. A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college and three 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 2. An associate degree or 60 semester credits from an accredited college and four years of satisfactory full-time progressively responsible clerical/administrative experience including one year of the administrative supervisory experience described in "1" above; or 3. A four-year high school diploma or its educational equivalent approved by a State's department of education or a recognized accrediting organization and five years of satisfactory full-time progressively responsible clerical/administrative experience including one year of the administrative supervisory experience as described in "1" above; 4. 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 3½ years.

Responsibilities

• Provide executive-level administrative support to the Deputy Commissioner of IT, managing a high volume of communication, appointments, and coordination across technical workstreams, including infrastructure, enterprise systems, digital transformation, and cybersecurity initiatives.
• Interface with technical staff across software engineering, infrastructure, data analytics, and project management teams to facilitate cross-functional collaboration and ensure timely execution of initiatives.
• Prepare and edit technical documentation and internal communications, including project status memos, executive summaries, organizational charts, and operational reports using Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Visio, and Outlook.
• Support the operational cadence of the ITS leadership team by maintaining task trackers, project calendars, vacation schedules, and ensuring ongoing alignment with program delivery timelines.
• Coordinate logistics for technical working groups, IT governance meetings, sprint reviews, and vendor demos, including video conferencing (Teams), room scheduling, and presentation setup.
• Manage incoming and outgoing technical correspondence, ensuring that requests for information, updates, or approvals are handled promptly and routed to the appropriate SMEs (Subject Matter Experts) as needed.
• Manage the Deputy Commissioner’s complex and dynamic calendar, ensuring seamless coordination of meetings with internal staff, Agency stakeholders, vendor partners, and executive leadership. Prepare briefing materials, meeting decks, and background documentation in advance.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Number of Employees: 101-250 employees