Senior Counsel

The NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) enriches the environment and protects public health for all New Yorkers by providing 1.1 billion gallons of high-quality drinking water, managing wastewater and stormwater, and reducing air, noise, and hazardous materials pollution. DEP is the largest combined municipal water and wastewater utility in the country, with nearly 6,000 employees. DEP's water supply system is comprised of 19 reservoirs and 3 controlled lakes throughout the system’s 2,000 square mile watershed that extends 125 miles north and west of the City.

DEP’s Bureau of Legal Affairs, headed by General Counsel Elissa Stein Cushman, serves as in-house counsel to DEP and is hiring for a Senior Counsel within the Infrastructure, Operations and Litigation Support Unit.

With latitude for independent judgment and decision-making, the Senior Counsel will assist in implementing procurement policy and best practices; supervise attorneys handling a broad array of legal work related to DEP’s infrastructure and operations, including matters relating to the review and approval of non-capital procurement contracts; draft and negotiate inter/intra municipal agreements, property-related documents, and grant agreements; review legal documents required in regulatory permitting matters; and handle other matters as needed.

The attorney will interface extensively with DEP bureau and executive staff, consultants, and other government agencies, and liaise with the City’s Law Department, which represents the agency in litigation.

The work will require the application of strong communication, analytical, and problem-solving skills, including navigating and aligning conflicting priorities among diverse groups to achieve both near term and long-term goals while ensuring successful future collaboration.

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.

Seven years of satisfactory legal experience, including three years of significant supervisory experience of other attorneys and in the performance of highly complex and significant legal work.

Excellent written and oral communication as well as research and analytical skills.

Significant experience managing stakeholder relationships with differing priorities and developing and maintaining ongoing relationships with clients, counterparties, and government agencies.

Experience with public procurement and drafting and negotiation of complex and technical agreements.

Ability to function well in a fast-paced environment including shifting attention among multiple matters.

DEP is an equal opportunity employer with a strong commitment to the diversity of our organization and workforce. Your voluntary response to the NYCAPS on-line application section for referral information will assist us tremendously in our ability to track the success of our outreach recruitment efforts. Please be sure to indicate your source of referral to this job.

For more information about NYCDEP, visit us at: www.nyc.gov/dep

Driver License Requirement: At the time of appointment to certain positions, candidates may be required to possess a Motor Vehicle Driver License valid in the State of New York. If required, employees must maintain this license for the duration of employment.

We appreciate your interest and thank all applicants who apply, but only candidates under consideration will be contacted.

All appointments are subject to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval.

New York City Residency is not required for this position