Deputy Director, Office of Investigations and Labor Relations (OILR), Division of the First Deputy Commissioner

Job description

About the Agency: The Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) oversees housing standards across all 3.7 million homes in New York City. As the nation’s largest municipal housing agency, HPD is responsible for building and preserving affordable housing, protecting tenants from harassment and displacement, and holding landlords accountable across the five boroughs. Under Commissioner Dina Levy and the Mamdani Administration, HPD is pursuing an ambitious housing agenda focused on the needs of New York’s tenants. With a broad set of tools including standards enforcement, tenant resources, and the creation of new affordable housing, HPD is committed to making New York City a more affordable place for renters and homeowners alike. Your Team: The Office of Investigations and Labor Relations (OILR), part of the Office of the First Deputy Commissioner at the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, supports the agency’s mission by serving all divisions and offices to address a wide range of operational and personnel matters across the organization. Your Impact: HPD is an agency of over 2,000 employees dispersed among multiple divisions responsible for everything from enforcing housing code, developing new building projects, and administering the Section 8 program. The candidate will be expected to perform highly confidential and sensitive investigations into misconduct and incompetence of all agency employees, looking into issues ranging from performance to falsifying records to criminal behavior, as well as assist in navigating relations between management and labor unions regarding employee concerns. Your Role: The role of the Deputy Director of OILR will be conducting investigations, supervising subordinate staff investigating allegations of employee misconduct, assigning work to investigators, and training new employees. As a Deputy Director, the candidate will fill in for the Director managing investigations and dealing with labor issues when they are absent from the office. They will provide recommendations on punitive and restorative actions and advise on resolutions to organizational challenges. Additionally, the candidate will be running the Critical Driver program for the entire Agency, coordinating with General Services and driver liaisons across every Division. They will assume responsibility for OILR's internal special projects, such as digitizing old disciplinary cases and creating a training manual for future investigators. Your Responsibilities: The primary duties and responsibilities of the Deputy Director of OILR will be to - Conduct and supervise investigations into employee misconduct. - Train and supervise interns and college aides who work in the unit on various projects. - Serve as a key problem-solver and subject matter expert on disciplinary issues and dispute resolution and provide recommendations to senior staff on organizational or policy changes. - Serves as a liaison with municipal labor unions on various labor-management issues, resolve employee grievances, and facilitate labor-management meetings. - Plan and coordinate investigation schedules and assignments. - Prepare, review, evaluate, and act on all reports and recommendations submitted for administrative action. - Supervise training programs. - Administer the Critical Driver program and other projects. - Occasionally serve notices on employees and assist in surveillance. Preferred skills: 1. Background working on investigations in a government agency or in the private sector, criminal or civil 2. Proven ability to communicate verbally and in writing, with all levels of a diverse workforce 3. Strong analytical skills and ability to break down complex fact patterns 4. Experience working independently with minimal oversight 5. Can exercise and maintain confidentiality 6. A keen sense of how to engage effectively in tough conversations 7. Acute emotional intelligence and situational awareness 8. Substantive knowledge of Federal, State and Local employment laws 9. Working knowledge of disability rights and labor union issues 10. An eagerness to work on a close-knit team At the time of appointment, all candidates must possess a Motor Vehicle Driver License valid in the State of New York. This license must be maintained for the duration of employment. INVESTIGATOR (EMPLOYEE DISCIPL - 31167 1.A baccalaureate degree from accredited college; or 2. A four-year high school diploma or its educational equivalent and four years of satisfactory full-time experience in one or more of the fields of accounting, auditing, correction administration, criminal justice administration and planning, forensic science, inspection, law enforcement, personnel administration, police science, and security, or in a major operational area of the agency in which the appointment is to be made; or Qualification Requirements (continued) 3. Education and/or experience equivalent to “1” or “2” above. 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.