Senior Counsel at City Of New York

Job description

The Office of Labor Relations (OLR) represents the Mayor in the conduct of all labor relations between the City of New York and labor unions representing employees of the City. The Commissioner serves on behalf of the Mayor as the City’s liaison with both labor and management in the private sector. The office is authorized by Executive Order 38 (February 7, 1967), amended by Executive Order 13 (July 24, 1990). Additionally, OLR administers the Health Benefits Program, Management Benefits Fund, Employee Assistance Program, Work Well NYC, Medicare Part B Reimbursement Program and Pre-Tax Benefits & Citywide Programs, including the Deferred Compensation Plan and NYCE IRA. In addition to negotiating collective bargaining agreements, OLR serves as a resource to agencies with regard to workforce labor issues and works with the Municipal Labor Committee (MLC) to pursue innovations in a variety of areas, particularly regarding City health insurance programs. The staff at OLR assist their fellow agencies in handling personnel and payroll issues, conducting labor-management meetings, representing the City at representation hearings, and handling all employee grievances and arbitration matters, while also negotiating collective bargaining agreements with the City's 149 bargaining units. About the Office of the General Counsel (OGC): Under the supervision of the General Counsel, OGC serves as the agency’s legal counsel, providing legal support and advice on the wide array of issues that arise at the agency given the breadth of its portfolio. In addition to advising on collective bargaining and labor relations, the legal team attorneys represent the city before the Office of Collective Bargaining (OCB) in administrative proceedings, including arbitrations, and serve as neutrals during Step III grievance proceedings. The legal team is also responsible for the contracts administration across the various procurements held by OLR’s administered programs. Further, OGC is responsible for ensuring compliance with the various regulatory requirements that set the legal framework for the employee benefits programs that serve the city’s approximately 300,000 employees and city retirees and their dependents. Lastly, the legal team liaises with the Law Department on litigation and discovery, and is responsible for FOIL, privacy, and the other day-to-day legal matters that arise for an agency’s in-house counsel team. Job Summary: OGC seeks an Executive Agency Counsel (EAC) to join the litigation team. Reporting into the Managing Counsel and working closely with OGC leadership with opportunity for independent judgment, the EAC will be on a team of approximately 15 legal and procurement professionals. The EAC will represent the city in arbitration and other administrative proceedings, mediations, and provide legal and strategic support during collective bargaining. Further, the EAC will work with the Law Department and other client agencies as needed on any agency litigation matters that arise. Further, as a part of OLR’s in-house counsel legal team, the EAC will also help support the day-to-day legal needs of the agency’s broad portfolio, including but not limited to: advising the agency’s various divisions on policy, risk, and strategy; responding to Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests; drafting agreements, both labor and procurement; negotiating on behalf of the agency with a range of vendors, unions, and client agencies; legislative review; and researching legal issues as they arise. The successful candidate must be interested in the agency’s portfolio, including arbitrations and litigation, labor relations, compliance, and supporting employee benefits and healthcare. They must be self-starter, highly organized, detail-oriented, flexible, and possess the ability to work well with a variety of personalities and entities. Further, they must be solutions-oriented, eager to learn, and a problem solver who can work both collaboratively and independe