Director of Communications

The New York City Office of Labor Relations (OLR) is the Mayor’s chief representative in the conduct of all labor relations between the City of New York and labor unions representing City employees. OLR negotiates and administers collective bargaining agreements for approximately 150 bargaining units that represent over 300,000 employees across the broad and diverse spectrum of municipal services the City offers.

In addition, OLR administers the City’s Health Benefits Program, which provides health insurance coverage to roughly 1.2 million employees, retirees, and dependents; the Deferred Compensation Plan, which manages more than $30 billion in employee retirement assets; the Employee Assistance Program, which offers mental health support to City employees and their families; and Work Well NYC, the City’s workplace wellness program.

Reporting to the First Deputy Commissioner, the Director of Communications is a senior executive responsible for overseeing the communications efforts of the entire agency. The Director ensures OLR communicates clearly with the City and external entities to provide information that furthers the agency’s goals and priorities and serves as the principal advisor to the Commissioner and First Deputy Commissioner on all matters related to agency communications.

This new role offers the opportunity to create a new division from the ground up and shape the communications efforts of an agency whose work touches every City agency and over 1 million City employees, retirees, and their dependents.

• Oversee all communications matters regarding the City’s health benefit program and work with OLR vendors on communication material about the City’s new NYCE PPO health plan and internal City communications to employees and agencies about the plan and other health plans offered.
• Work with the Employee Benefits Division on communications for all employee benefits programs administered by OLR—including the Deferred Compensation Plan, Management Benefits Fund, and Flexible Spending Account.
• Oversee communications for the Employee Assistance Program, which provides mental health support for City employees and their families, and work closely with the Work Well NYC team, which administers the City’s worksite wellness program.
• Act as primary contact for press inquiries related to any of OLR’s functions, including collective bargaining and health benefits.
• Manage the appearance and content of OLR’s website to ensure it delivers important information about employee benefits in an efficient and user‑friendly way.
• Act as a key contact for other city agencies and governmental entities regarding any OLR communications issues.
• Supervise two staff members who will form the rest of the communications team.

• A bachelor’s degree from an accredited college and four years of satisfactory experience of nature to qualify for the duties and responsibilities of the position, at least 18 months of which must be in an administrative, managerial, or executive capacity or supervising personnel performing activities related to the duties of the position; or
• A combination of education and/or experience equivalent to the first item. All candidates must have the 18 months of administrative, managerial, executive, consultative, or supervisory experience described in the first item.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness:
As a prospective employee of the City of New York, you may be eligible for federal loan forgiveness programs and state repayment assistance programs. For more information, please visit the U.S. Department of Education’s website at (Use the "Apply for this Job" box below)..

Residency Requirement:
New York City residency is generally required within 90 days of appointment. However, City Employees in certain titles who have worked for the City for two continuous years may also be eligible to reside in Nassau, Suffolk, Putnam, Westchester, Rockland, or Orange County. To determine if the residency requirement applies to you, please discuss with the agency representative at the time of interview.

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.

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