Senior Contract Manager of Neighborhood Contracts

About the Agency:

The NYC Department Housing Preservation & Development (HPD) promotes quality and affordability in the city's housing, and diversity and strength in the city’s neighborhoods because every New Yorker deserves a safe, affordable place to live in a neighborhood they love.
- We maintain building and resident safety and health
- We create opportunities for New Yorkers through housing affordability
- We engage New Yorkers to build and sustain neighborhood strength and diversity.
HPD is entrusted with fulfilling these objectives through the goals and strategies of Housing Our Neighbors: A Blueprint for Housing and Homelessness, Mayor Adams’ comprehensive housing framework. To support this important work, the administration has committed $5 billion in new capital funding, bringing the 10-year planned investment in housing to $22 billion the largest in the city’s history. This investment, coupled with a commitment to reduce administrative and regulatory barriers, is a multi-pronged strategy to tackle New York City’s complex housing crisis, by addressing homelessness and housing instability, promoting economic stability and mobility, increasing homeownership opportunities, improving health and safety, and increasing opportunities for equitable growth.

Your Team:
The Office of Neighborhood Strategies (ONS) is charged with ensuring that HPD’s development and preservation efforts are guided by meaningful community engagement and coordinated with public investments in infrastructure and services, as put forth in the Mayor's Housing Plan. ONS is composed of two divisions and a cross-divisional unit reporting to the Associate Commissioner:
- The Division of Neighborhood Development & Stabilization (ND&S) leads the agency's commitment to neighborhood planning and strategic preservation through engagement with tenants, landlords, community leaders, and neighborhood stakeholders as we work to enable strong and healthy neighborhoods anchored by affordable housing.
- The Division of Planning & Predevelopment (P&P) is central to developing and managing HPD's housing production pipeline from project proposal phases through the land use review and entitlement process, to ensure that HPD's investments contribute to building strong, healthy, resilient neighborhoods in all five boroughs.
- The Strategic Initiatives Unit leads special ONS initiatives and provides essential technical, planning, and policy support to staff and the Deputy Commissioner of Neighborhood Strategies.

Your Impact:
You will join the nine-person Neighborhood Contracts Unit in the Division of Neighborhood Development & Stabilization. You will help administer local and federal funding to procure housing preservation and stabilization services from community-based organizations throughout New York City. Most of the contracts are for annual line-item appropriations the City Council distributes to community-based organizations. On average, the City Council allocates 200 awards with a volume of approximately $13 million per year to community-based organizations, which is converted to 80-90 contracts (many community-based organizations receive multiple awards). Contractors provide a range of services to low-income renters and homeowners, including financial and legal counseling, education, tenant organizing, case management, and legal representation. The Neighborhood Contracts Unit processes the City Council appropriations through the City’s PASSPort system to become human-client services contracts of fixed duration. The Unit creates the scopes of work and budgets with vendors, provides ongoing programmatic and fiscal oversight, and processes reimbursements. Moreover, the Neighborhood Contracts Unit provides guidance and support to other teams within the Office of Neighborhood Strategies that administer procurement and contracting processes.

Your Role:
As a Senior Contract Manager on the Neighborhood Contracts Unit, you will coordinate all aspects of the contracting and invoicing processes. You will coordinate with a portfolio of vendors to provide the necessary documentation to secure awards, register contracts with the City Comptroller's Office, and review and pay invoices, in compliance with the City’s Procurement Policy Board rules. You will respond to inquiries about particular contracts, create reports, and communicate with other HPD Units and external partners, such as the Mayor’s Office of Contract Services and the Mayor’s Office of Nonprofit Services. You will also support the Director and Deputy Director with team management tasks, including providing guidance to other team members and creating efficient operational procedures. The Senior Contract Manager will report to the Director of the Neighborhood Contracts Unit.

Your Responsibilities:
- Perform all contracting functions in PASSPort, HHS Accelerator, and the Financial Management System (FMS3)
- Communicating with vendors to request required documents and review submitted documents for completion
- Prepare responses to contract inquiries made by vendors, other HPD Units, Mayor’s Office of Contract Services, Mayor’s Office of Nonprofit Services, Office of Management and Budget, Comptroller’s Office, and other entities.
- Provide technical assistance to vendors to facilitate appropriate oversight approvals and clearances
- Ensure timely registration of contracts
- Review and process payment requisitions; coordinate with vendors and HPD Fiscal to ensure accurate and timely processing of invoices
- Submit and track pre-encumbrance and encumbrance documents in FMS3 for the discretionary and other procurement contracts for HPD Fiscal and/or Comptroller approval
- Prepare, review, and process Financials workflow on unregistered contract actions in PASSPort
- Monitor vendors’ compliance with the contracts and support vendors with overall program implementation
- Monitor and evaluate the quality and effectiveness of vendors’ work in communities and prepare reports
- Create and review materials to be shared with the public or senior staff, such as presentations, reports, and memoranda
- Assist the Director and Deputy Director with team management, including providing guidance to other team members, creating efficient operational procedures, and hiring and training new staff

Your Skills & Experience:
- Education and Experience: Bachelor’s degree and a minimum of two years of relevant work experience
- Subject-Matter Expertise: Familiarity with New York City’s Procurement Policy Board rules, contracting, and payment processes. Experience with PASSPort and Financial Management Systems (FMS).
- Project Management: Proven ability to manage projects with multiple stakeholders; to receive direction and anticipate next steps; to work independently and take initiative; and to meet deadlines. Attentive to details, organized and able to follow through.
- Communication: Excellent written and verbal skills
- Good Judgment: Ability to analyze a situation, understand when additional input is necessary, resolve issues independently, and escalate when appropriate. Ability to be a team player in a diverse environment
- Collaborative and Creative Spirit: Excited to be part of a team, to work with others to solve problems creatively and get quality work done. Ability to hear, take, and give feedback effectively and productively.
- Understanding of Team’s Mission: Knowledge of New York City government and housing issues and experience working with community-based organizations providing housing services are a plus.
- Technical Skills: Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, including Excel, Outlook, Teams, and SharePoint.
- Civil Service: The candidate selected for the Senior Contract Manager role must be permanent in the Procurement Analyst Civil Service title, be on the active Procurement Analyst Civil Service list, OR be permanent in another qualifying Civil Service title to be eligible for this role. Selected candidates will be asked to provide written confirmation that they currently hold a relevant permanent title or are on the Procurement Analyst Civil Service list.

Please submit a resume, cover letter, and proof of Civil Service eligibility with your application. Applications without cover letters will not be considered.

PROCUREMENT ANALYST - 12158

1. A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college and six months of satisfactory full-time professional experience in procurement of goods, services, construction or construction-related services, or professional, technical or administrative experience in contract negotiation/management; or
2. An associate degree or completion of 60 semester credits from an accredited college, and 18 months of satisfactory, full-time professional experience as described in “1” above; or
3. A four-year high school diploma or its educational equivalent and two and one-half years of satisfactory full time professional experience as described in “1” above; or
4. A combination of education and/or experience equivalent to “1”, “2”, or “3” above. College education may be substituted for professional experience under “2” or “3” above at the rate of 30 semester credits from an accredited college for 6 months of experience. However, all candidates must have at least a four year high school diploma or its educational equivalent and 6 months of the experience described in “1” above.
SPECIAL NOTES:
To be eligible for placement in Assignment Level II, individuals must have, after meeting the minimum requirements, either one year served at Assignment Level I or one additional year of the experience described in "1" above.
To be eligible for placement in Assignment Level III, individuals must have, after meeting the minimum requirements, either one year served at Assignment Level II or two additional years of the experience described in "1" above, at least one year of which must have been supervisory, or spent performing professional procurement duties equivalent to those performed at Assignment Level III.

The City of New York is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.