Job Description
Position Summary: The Division of Early Childhood Education (DECE) supports the operational and programmatic functions of early childhood education programs for New York City children in elementary schools, Pre K Centers, and New York City Public Schools (NYCPS) contracted settings including Community Based Organizations (CBOs) and Family Childcare (FCC) programs. DECE provides families with access to high quality, inclusive early childhood programs for children birth to five in diverse settings, supporting children’s growth and development. By working in partnership with families and programs, DECE ensures that children are engaged, nurtured, and supported.
The Senior Director of Procurement Strategy and Contract Management serves as DECE’s most senior leader for procurement strategy, contract lifecycle management, and vendor engagement. The role is responsible for setting the vision, policies, and long term strategy for DECE procurements, ensuring that contracting processes are mission aligned, compliant, transparent, and operationally effective. The Senior Director oversees high value, complex procurements that support early childhood education services citywide and ensures that procurement and contract management practices advance equity, fiscal stewardship, and program quality.
The Senior Director works closely with executive leadership across NYCPS and DECE, including the Division of Contracts and Purchasing (DCP), the Office of General Counsel (OGC), Central Finance, and City oversight entities. The role provides enterprise level guidance on procurement risk, regulatory compliance, funding structures, and vendor performance and leads a team responsible for procurement design, solicitation development, contract implementation, and ongoing contract oversight. Performs related work.
Reports to: Chief of Policy and Program Implementation
Direct Reports: Director of Procurement Strategy and Contract Implementation
Key Relationships: Chief of Policy and Program Implementation and other DECE senior leadership; DECE finance, operations, program, and data teams; Division of Contracts and Purchasing (DCP); Office of General Counsel (OGC); Central Finance; community based providers; City oversight agencies and external partners.
Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership & Planning
• Serve as DECE’s senior advisor on procurement strategy, contract management, and interagency coordination.
• In partnership with the Senior Director of Policy and Program Implementation, design and implement a comprehensive, long term procurement and contract strategy that supports DECE’s policy priorities, programmatic goals, and fiscal environment.
• Lead multi year procurement planning informed by enrollment trends, funding models, provider capacity, regulatory requirements, and operational needs.
• Advise DECE and NYCPS leadership on procurement risks, contracting challenges, compliance considerations, and strategic opportunities.
• Contribute to division wide and agency wide strategic planning initiatives related to system expansion, sustainability, and continuous improvement.
• Champion procurement best practices that promote equity, transparency, accountability, and accessibility for community based partners.
Procurement & Contract Management
• Provide executive oversight of the full procurement and contract lifecycle, including needs assessment and scope development, solicitation design, procurement project management, vendor evaluation, negotiations, contract award, launch, monitoring, renewal, and close out.
• Partner closely with DCP to ensure compliance with NYCPS Procurement Policy and Procedures, applicable city and state regulations, and all local, state, and federal requirements.
• Oversee the management of high value, complex, and multi year contracts with community based organizations and other service providers.
• Establish and monitor timelines, milestones, and performance metrics to ensure procurements and contract implementations are completed accurately and on schedule.
• Oversee forecasting and analysis of contracting and funding needs to proactively plan solicitations and mitigate implementation risks.
• Ensure contract management practices support fiscal integrity, audit readiness, and effective service delivery.
Interagency Coordination
• Set the strategy for stakeholder engagement, communication, and support to ensure streamlined coordination across the regulatory and other oversight agencies.
• Serve as a lead interagency coordinator for procurement and strategic initiatives, aligning procurement strategies across federal, state, and local partner agencies.
• Maintain high level relationships with partners across City and State governments, as well as Mayoral offices.
• Represent DECE in discussions with City, State, and Federal oversight agencies and external partners related to early childhood procurement and contracting.
• Facilitate interagency working groups to resolve procurement challenges and drive consensus on strategic sourcing decisions.
• Partner with legal, finance, program, and policy teams across agencies to ensure procurement actions support mission delivery and comply with regulatory requirements.
Team Leadership & Cross Functional Collaboration
• Lead, manage, and develop a team responsible for procurement strategy, contract implementation, and interagency coordination.
• Provide coaching, supervision, and performance management to foster staff growth, accountability, and excellence.
• Promote collaboration and alignment across DECE finance, operations, program, and data teams to ensure procurement decisions support program quality, compliance, and operational effectiveness.
• Oversee special initiatives and cross functional projects that respond to evolving NYCPS and DECE priorities.
Qualification Requirements
Minimum
• A master’s degree from an accredited college or university in education, educational psychology, educational leadership, public administration, public policy, social work, or a closely related field, and two years of satisfactory, full time progressively responsible professional experience in education administration, in such areas as: portfolio planning, educational grants/funding, student enrollment, assessment and accountability, youth development, special education, early childhood, program evaluation, policy research, college and career readiness, health and wellness, immunization, diagnostic and treatment services for parents and children, out of school programs, career and occupational education, curriculum development, evaluation and testing, educational planning, and educational statistics, or a related field, at least 18 months of this experience must have been in an executive, managerial, consultative, administrative or supervisory capacity in education administration; or
• A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university and four years of satisfactory, fulltime progressively responsible professional experience, in one or more of the areas as described in “1” above, at least 18 months of which must have been in an executive, managerial, consultative, administrative or supervisory capacity; or
• A four year high school diploma or its educational equivalent and six years of satisfactory, full time professional experience, in one or more of the areas as described in “1” above, at least 18 months of which must have been in an executive, managerial, consultative, administrative or supervisory capacity; or
• Education and/or experience equivalent to “1”, “2”, or “3” above. Undergraduate education above the high school level may be substituted for professional experience, in the areas described in “1” above, at the rate of 30 semester credits from an accredited college or university for each year of experience, up to a maximum of 4 years. Graduate education in areas other than those mentioned above, may be substituted for the professional experience, at the rate of 15 graduate semester credits from an accredited college or university, for 6 months of experience, up to a maximum of 1 year of professional experience. However, all candidates must have a high school diploma or its educational equivalent and 18 months of experience in an executive, managerial, consultative, administrative or supervisory capacity in education administration as described above.
Preferred
• Extensive experience with public sector procurement processes, including NYC or NYCPS procurement rules, PASSPort, and oversight requirements, etc.
• Demonstrated expertise managing complex, high value, and multi year contracts.
• Experience contracting with community based organizations, particularly in early childhood or social service settings.
• Strong executive leadership and people management skills, with a proven ability to build and sustain high performing teams.
• Excellent written and spoken communication skills, with the ability to convey complex procurement, regulatory, and policy concepts clearly to diverse audiences.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and relationship building skills across government, provider, and community partners.
• Exceptional organizational skills and ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast paced, highly regulated environment.
• Knowledge of NYCPS policies and procedures, particularly as they relate to DECE.
• Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Office 365 applications and comfort working with procurement, contract, and financial systems.
Salary: $159,660 - $175,626
(Internal candidates who are selected for this position and who currently hold comparable or less senior positions within the DOE will not earn less than their current salary.)
Please include a resume and cover letter with your application.
NOTE: The filling of all positions is subject to budget availability and/or grant funding.
• New York City Residency is NOT Required *
We encourage all applicants from the New York City tri-state area to apply.
AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
DOE Non- Discrimination Policy
The Department of Education of 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 upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's actual or perceived sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, or pregnancy. For more information, please refer to the DOE Non-Discrimination Policy.
REQUESTING AN ACCOMMODATION - APPLICANTS
Any prospective employee (applicant) who is a qualified individual with a disability may request a reasonable accommodation to assist in the application process. If an applicant for employment believes that they have a qualifying disability and are in need of a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in the application process on an equal basis as applicants who do not have a disability, they should request an accommodation with their interview team or contact ODA by emailing ODA@schools.nyc.gov. The determination of the accommodation request will be communicated to the applicant in writing.
https://infohub.nyced.org/docs/default-source/doe-employees-only/personnel-memorandum-6-2024-2025---accommodations.pdf
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 https://studentaid.gov/pslf/.