Review Vacancy
AgencyPeople With Developmental Disabilities, Office for
TitleEqual Opportunity Specialist 4
Occupational CategoryOther Professional Careers
Bargaining UnitM/C - Managerial/Confidential (Unrepresented)
Salary RangeFrom $103870 to $131298 Annually
Appointment Type Contingent Permanent
Duties Description The New York State Office of People With Developmental Disabilities (NYS OPWDD) has approximately 20,000 employees and provides services to approximately 126,000 people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities. OPWDD created the Executive Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion with the charge to infuse DEI objectives and methodologies through different key business functions and executive ranks in OPWDD. With this, we are looking for a strong leader who is empathetic, organized, cares about staff growth, and is a lifelong learner committed to systems-change and outcomes-driven work in state government.
The mission of the Executive Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is two-fold:
(1) Create a strong safety net of equitable service access and utilization for all people with disabilities, regardless of income, race, religion, communication style, language, sexuality, gender, location, and other characteristics, and
(2) Support a diverse and inclusive positive working environment for employees in which everyone can reach their potential and maximize their contributions to OPWDD's strategic goals and objectives.
EOS4 will report directly to the Chief Diversity Officer to implement agency-wide strategies and initiatives for diversity, equity, inclusion, cultural competence, linguistic competence, and accessibility.
The EOS 4 will supervise and work with DEI staff to carry out existing operations, build new processes, and ensure the success of projects in OPWDD's DEI portfolio.
Primary duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to:
Supporting Chief Diversity Officer and DEI Office Portfolio:
-Partner with Chief Diversity Officer to implement agency-wide strategies and initiatives for diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility (DEIA), and cultural and linguistic competence (CLC).
-Oversee and execute portfolio of divisional and agency-wide strategic projects as assigned by Chief Diversity Officer.
-Arrange and support the professional development of DEI staff to build on strengths and scaffold areas of growth.
-Partner with Chief Diversity Officer to create and sustain a positive and collaborative working environment in the DEI Office, while being committed to their own growth and professional development as a DEI practitioner and leader.
-Identify gaps in current DEI portfolio, propose, and apply new approaches, initiatives, and/or solutions.
Day-to-Day Management:
-Oversee all day-to-day internal operations of the language access and community engagement units in the DEI Office, such as language access requests, event briefings, internal and external referrals to services, staff trainings, tabling, outreach, partnership with community-based and advocacy organizations, and all other functions in the units they oversee
-Supervise and support staff in sustaining, building, and improving portfolio outcomes by providing project oversight, management, support, and prioritization.
-Strengthen existing processes and protocols related to language access and community engagement.
-Co-lead and support internal agency communication, emphasizing language access and principles of community engagement. DEI Office communication includes messaging about language access resources, monthly observances, engagement opportunities, lunch and learns, DEI newsletters, DEI calendar, community events, and more. DEI communications are released from the diversity and inclusion inbox, language access mailbox, and the Commissioner's Suite.
-Implement principles of cultural and linguistic competence in designing ongoing and meaningful communication channels with persons with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities and family members.
-Maintain a system of communication and engagement with persons with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities, and family members who graduated from the Cultural and Linguistic Competence Leadership
Academies with the Georgetown University National Center for Cultural Competence.
-Design and lead system-wide initiatives advancing cultural and linguistic competence agency-wide in alignment with agency strategic plan, DEIA strategic plan, and vision-to-action plan for cultural competence, linguistic competence, and equity.
Working with Internal Partners:
-Partner with key internal divisions/office to support, resource, and/or lead DEI committees and divisional goals for DEIA or CLC.
-Work with agency policy and program leads to ensure needed resources are being made available to persons with IDD and their families (e.g., interpreters, translated documents, faith-based resources, immigration support).
Working with External Partners:
-Help build and maintain partnerships with community-based and advocacy organizations
-Participate and/or support staff to participate in statewide workforce diversity and inclusion advisory councils and subcommittees, provider DEIA and language access committees, cultural and linguistic competence work groups, and communities of practice across NYS.
-Support state agency partners in advancing equitable access to OPWDD services (e.g., Office for New Americans, Council of Developmental Disabilities, Office of Language Access, Office of Diversity and Inclusion Management).
-All other duties as assigned.
This position will be filled at one of the following locations:
-Albany-44 Holland Ave, Albany
-New York- 25 Beaver St, New York (This location has a downstate pay adjustment)
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nys-office-for-people-with-developmental-disabilities/posts/?feedView=all
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Minimum Qualifications Non-competitive:
Nine years of the experience* in equal opportunity, diversity and inclusion, or human rights. At least two years of the experience must have been at a supervisory level; OR one year of State service in an equal opportunity, diversity and inclusion, minority business, employment compliance, human resources, or training position allocated at or above Grade 23.
*Qualifying experience includes working with organizations concerned with equal opportunity, diversity and inclusion, civil rights, minority business development, or similar programs; or in recruiting, training, and upgrading the educational and job qualifications of protected class members.
Substitutions:
Associate’s degree may substitute for two years of the non-supervisory experience; bachelor’s degree for four years; and Juris Doctor or master’s degree for five years.
Additional Comments • Preference will be given to OPWDD employees impacted by closures. If you are being impacted by closure, please indicate this on your resume.
• All OPWDD employees must be eligible and maintain eligibility for full and unconditional participation in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Continued employment will depend on maintaining eligibility.
• If you are employed by state government you may be able to receive loan forgiveness under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF). The PSLF Program forgives the remaining balance on Direct Loans after 120 qualifying monthly payments have been made under a qualifying repayment plan while working full-time for a qualifying employer. For more information on PSLF, please visit www.studentAid.gov/publicservice.
• Employees on long term leave can bid on positions but must be able to report to work within fourteen (14) days and be able to perform the essential functions of their positions with or without reasonable accommodation (RA).
• If an employee or job applicant believes that they need a reasonable accommodation, they should contact the Reasonable Accommodation Unit at (518) 486-7222 or email accommodationrequests@opwdd.ny.gov to obtain information and RA forms.
• Savings programs such as the U.S. Savings Bond and the College Savings Plan.
• Voluntary pre-tax savings programs such as Health Care Spending Account and the Dependent Care Advantage Account offer employees options to pay for uncovered health care expenses or dependent care expenses.
• Access to the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) an assessment and referral service that connects employees with local service providers and support services to address their personal needs.
• Life insurance and Disability insurance.
• The New York State Deferred Compensation Plan is a voluntary retirement plan that offers employees the option to invest a part of their salaries for retirement on a tax-deferred basis.
• Paid Holidays and Leave:
° Thirteen (13) paid holidays each year.
° Thirteen (13) days of paid vacation leave initially.
° Five (5) days paid personal leave each year.
° Paid sick leave each year, which may carry over from year to year.
• Health Care Coverage:
Employees and their eligible dependents can choose from a variety of affordable health insurance programs. Employees are provided family dental and vision plans at no extra cost.
• Paid Parental Leave:
Paid Parental Leave allows eligible employees to take up to 12 weeks of paid leave at full pay for each qualifying event. A qualifying event is defined as the birth of a child or placement of a child for adoption or foster care.
• Retirement Program:
Participate in The NYS Employees’ Retirement System (ERS), which is recognized as one of the best-managed and best-funded public retirement systems in the nation.
• Professional Development and Education and Training:
NYS offers training programs and tuition assistance to eligible employees to maintain and increase their professional skills and prepare them for promotional opportunities. For more information, please visit https://oer.ny.gov/training-and-professional-development.
• Additionally, the Public Service Workshops Program (PSWP) offers certain professional training opportunities for PEF represented and M/C designated employees that may grant continuing education credits towards maintaining professional licensure. For more information, please visit https://oer.ny.gov/public-service-workshops-program-pswp.
• OPWDD is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer dedicated to creating and sustaining a culture of inclusion. We believe that we are most effective in managing and improving our service system with a diverse team of employees. With such a large workforce, we rely on the collective individual differences, life experiences, knowledge, self-expression, ideas and talent that our employees bring to their work. This speaks to our culture and is a key part of our successes. As we continuously recruit people for our team, we welcome the unique contributions that applicants bring in terms of their education, culture, ethnicity, race, sex, gender identity and expression, nation of origin, age, languages spoken, veteran’s status, color, religion, disability, sexual orientation and beliefs.
***All people with disabilities are encouraged to apply.***
Some positions may require additional credentials or a background check to verify your identity.