General Counsel

Job Description
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, 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 DYCD’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 it into the broader work of the agency.
The person should also be familiar with public-sector compliance requirements, including FOIL, privacy and data governance, ethics, and administrative law. The General Counsel will lead DYCD’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.
Key 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. Ensures 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 the
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 lifecycle 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,
as well as 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.
EXECUTIVE AGENCY COUNSEL - 95005

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.

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.