Review Vacancy
AgencyPeople With Developmental Disabilities, Office for
TitleEqual Opportunity Specialist 3
Occupational CategoryOther Professional Careers
Bargaining UnitM/C - Managerial/Confidential (Unrepresented)
Salary RangeFrom $93659 to $118388 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 Equal Opportunity Specialist 3 will work closely with the Assistant Director to provide DEI Office oversight and management. They will lead, coach, and supervise DEI staff to design and implement innovative approaches to advance cultural and linguistic competence at OPWDD. The person will be expected to create and sustain an environment in the DEI office where new ideas can be shared and explored, meaningful conversations about ableism, racism, and other -isms can take place, and staff are supported to implement creative and long-lasting solutions to increase equity and accessibility for employees, people with disabilities and their families, and all New Yorkers in need of government services.
The primary duties and responsibilities as the Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Lead include, but are not limited to:
-Providing oversight of language access and community engagement operations; working closely with the respective leads in procuring and delivering services, designing and delivering trainings for staff, and coordinating internal and external communications, outreach, and engagement.
-Supporting DEIA strategic planning in the areas of developing strategic leaders and fostering an inclusive workplace culture by designing and delivering diversity programs for OPWDD staff; including trainings, DEI messaging, diversity calendars, and other approaches to enhance workplace culture and employee sense of belonging.
-Working with research scientists, equal opportunity specialists, program specialists, assistant director, and interdisciplinary teams within the agency. The position requires meaningful collaboration, ongoing communication, and developing shared goals with internal and external partners.
The Equal Opportunity Specialist 3 will:
-Draft and deliver internal and external presentations on the DEI Office.
-Support ongoing collaboration between divisions; help facilitate meetings, prepare agendas, and track and follow through on action items.
-Produce quarterly reports for DEI Office portfolio projects and present findings to DEI Team at staff and portfolio meetings, or as requested by management.
-Design and deliver accessibility programs, specifically related to language access and inclusive plain language. This includes developing and implementing agency-wide protocols and best practices for inclusive plain language, which must involve input from people with lived experience. This also includes increasing access to information for people who do not use speech to communicate.
-Support implementation of recommendations for advancing cultural and linguistic competence at OPWDD, based on data from focus groups, listening sessions, community-based surveys, and other research involving people with lived experience of developmental disabilities.
-Oversee community engagement with family members and people with lived experience of developmental disabilities, as well as DEI team's participation in DEI workgroups and committees.
-Lead and support special projects as assigned by DEI management and agency commissioner.
The 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: eight years of experience* in equal opportunity, diversity and inclusion, or human rights. At least one year 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 nonsupervisory 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.