Director of Geographic Data Research (GDR)

THE AGENCY
The Department of City Planning (DCP) plans for the future of New York City, working to create thriving and dynamic neighborhoods with access to housing and jobs, resilient infrastructure, and a vibrant public realm. The Department engages communities to develop inclusive plans, expand housing access and economic opportunity, and plans for long-term sustainability.

DCP supports the City Planning Commission in its annual review of hundreds of land use applications. The Department also advises on citywide strategic and capital planning, analyzes data, conducts policy analysis, and creates open data and civic engagement tools.

The Department of City Planning offers staff meaningful opportunities to help shape the future of New York City and address some of its most pressing challenges. The Department values public service, collaboration, and creativity, and supports professional development. Learn more about DCP at www.nyc.gov/planning.

THE DIVISION
Information Technology Division’s (ITD) vision is to become a dynamic and vibrant technology delivery organization of the New York City government that leads business transformations and technology innovations to enable citizen-centric smart urban planning, while promoting a culture of collaboration, talent development, and equity. ITD is responsible for developing technology solutions to support agency needs and citywide asks, including City Charter mandates, grant funding requirements, and citywide geospatial services, and maintaining systems infrastructure and endpoint assets, to optimize operational efficiency, promote innovation, and collaborate with other city agencies to enhance service accessibility to citizens. The division provides necessary computing infrastructure and productivity-enhancing technology tools in a hybrid mode (on premise and in the cloud), to support DCP’s interdisciplinary staff across five boroughs, including planners, urban designers, project managers, and executive management. The division is comprised of experienced and talented software engineers, geographic specialists, service engineers, and technology leaders who specialize in managing system infrastructure, cyber security, geospatial data engineering, application services, and portfolio management.

THE ROLE
ITD is seeking a Director of Geographic Data Research (GDR) unit to provide strategic leadership and oversight of the Division’s Geographic Data Research portfolio and team. This technology leadership role is responsible for the management, modernization, and delivery of critical geographic data research and updates that support the collection, processing, analysis, and dissemination geospatial data across the agency and to external stakeholders, and provide objective and high quality data and expertise to keep the data in the Property Address Directory (PAD) and Citywide Street Centerline (CSCL) current and accurate through intensive investigative research. The Director will oversee the platforms, technologies, and services that enable the delivery of authoritative data to internal and external applications, services, decision-support systems, and the City’s Open Data Portal. These capabilities support essential citywide operations including 911, 311, and Geosupport, planning initiatives, policy development, and analytical functions that shape the future of New York City. Reporting directly to the Chief Information Officer (CIO), the Director will serve as a key member of the ITD leadership team. The position will be responsible for establishing and advancing strategies to maintain and improve data processing and delivery, coordinating routine and ad-hoc releases of the data and software updates, ensuring that all participating teams are in sync and the data and software are complete, comprehensive, and of the highest quality, supporting DCP’s mission and strategic objectives.

Under general direction, with wide latitude for the exercise of independent judgment, the responsibilities of the Director of GDR include, but are not limited to, the following:

- Lead and mentor a team of geographic researchers with backgrounds in geography, urban planning, environmental science, and GIS, to ensure high-quality research and data updates to geospatial datasets critical for city operations.
- Research and verify requests received from other agencies and the public through intensive investigative research using historical imagery, maps, site plans, and other sources, and make edits to authoritative data sources.
- Ensure the daily maintenance, accuracy, and integrity of PAD and CSCL datasets.
- Publish quarterly updates of CSCL and PAD to support the major releases of Geosupport, as well as the updates of subsidiary products including LION, and political and administrative boundary shapefiles.
- Publish UPAD on bi-weekly basis to provide updated PAD data to Geosupport and PAD users.
- Coordinate with routine and ad-hoc data and software releases, partnering with DOB and OTI, to ensure agency-wide and citywide systems (911, 311) stay synchronized.
- Set research standards and QA/QC protocols for verifying address, street centerline, and political/administrative boundary changes before they are published.
- Set strategic priorities for special data-improvement initiatives.
- Lead special projects to improve overall data quality.
- Lead special projects to meet requests from external agencies to enhance dataset value.
- Direct decennial Census address/unit verification work in coordination with the agency’s Population Division.
- Serve as the primary liaison to partner agencies (DOB, DOF, Board of Elections, DSNY, OTI, etc.) and Borough President offices on data exchange and dispute resolution.
- Represent the unit in interagency governance discussions on shared geospatial data.
- Maintain and foster working relationships with partner agencies to keep related datasets in sync.
- Participate in and contribute to CSCL Maintenance Management System Modernization project development and system support.
- Participate in and contribute to Address Validation and Assignment project development and operational support.
- Represent DCP at CSCL governance forum and other citywide geographic research initiatives.
- Work collaboratively with ITD’s Geosupport Services (GSS) management and staff to ensure that the data products needed for Geosupport are of high quality and available in a timely manner.
- Collaborate with ITD Project Management Office (PMO), other ITD Directors, and Team Leads to align systems and service delivery with established standards, governance frameworks, and portfolio reporting practices.
- Manage vendor relationships, service-level agreements (SLAs), contracts, and associated budgets to ensure technical quality and cost-effective delivery.
- Support capital and expense plan development for product builds, platform subscriptions, professional services engagements, and infrastructure investments.
- Allocate resources strategically across competing project priorities, balancing maintenance and operations commitments with new development initiatives.
- Establish clear performance expectations, allocate resources effectively, provide constructive feedback, and develop individualized professional growth plans to enhance team capabilities.
- Foster a high-performance culture rooted in accountability, inclusivity, collaboration, continuous learning, innovation, and knowledge sharing aligned with DCP’s organizational values.
- Conduct formal performance evaluations in accordance with Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) policies and Human Capital (HC) processes within designated timeframes.
- Drive recruitment, onboarding, and retention of high-performing GDR staff talent in a competitive market.
- Provide coaching, mentoring, and professional development guidance to GDR staff.
- Identify future agency leaders and provide the support and training needed to support succession planning.
- Comply with all NYC and DCP rules and regulations and standards of conduct.
- Observe regulations and agency guidelines concerning work hours, leave, mandatory training, hiring, vendor engagement, and procurement process.
- Team effectively with other ITD directors, managers, supervisors, and staff.
- Provide timely and updated contributions for weekly/monthly/on-demand status reports.
- Strive for and maintain professional certifications.

PREFERRED SKILLS
- 6+ years of successful managerial experience supervising highly technical teams. 
- 15+ years of experience in geographic research and CSCL/PAD maintenance.
- Strong leadership and management skills, with the ability to motivate and inspire a team.
- Knowledge of the Geosupport System and its downstream impact to users.
- Strong problem-solving and analytical skills, with the ability to think strategically.
- Knowledge of GIS software and tools, including ArcGIS, QGIS, and Python.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to present complex information to a wide 
range of audiences.
- Hands-on experience using or working with GIS platforms such as ESRI or Carto.
- Experience with ESRI GIS technology and desktop software (ArcGIS Desktop and ArcGIS Pro), ArcGIS 
Enterprise, ArcGIS Online.
- Experience developing production-grade solutions.
- Experience with enterprise geodatabase management, design, and data modeling.
- A degree in GIS, Geography, Engineering, City Planning, or a related field is a plus

DCP MANAGERIAL RESPONSIBILITIES
A well-organized workplace leads to a productive and happy workforce. DCP leaders are responsible for setting the tone and ensuring everyone works together towards a common goal, which includes, but is not limited to, developing staff and teams and advancing division and agency work plans.

Developing staff and teams:
- Building strong and cohesive teams, including integrating new staff into division and team structure
- Supervising and tracking the progress of staff projects and assignments and ensuring that employees are meeting their work goals and objectives
- Providing guidance and constructive criticism to employees and helping them develop as professionals, including but not limited to completing mid-year and year-end performance appraisals within designated timeframes
- Ensuring that staff are following citywide and agency policies
Advancing division and agency work plans:
- Managing and outlining the work program for teams and staff
- Overseeing internal and external stakeholder engagement and outreach
- Supporting internal and external communications
- Providing strategic and policy direction
- Planning through the use of robust analytics, research and analysis


TO APPLY:
Please visit: https://www1.nyc.gov/jobs/ and follow the steps below:
1. Search for job ID number: 794488
2. Click on the job business title: Director of Geographic Data Research (GDR)
3. Click on “Apply Now” at the bottom of the posting

Note: Only candidates with permanent Civil Service status in the Computer Operations Manager civil service title, those reachable on the Computer Operations Manager civil service list, or those serving in a comparable civil service title can be considered for this position.

All interested candidates must submit their applications via https://cityjobs.nyc.gov/. Applications via regular mail, fax or e-mail will not be accepted.

Authorization to work in the United States is required for this position. The NYC Department of City Planning does not offer sponsorship, of any kind, for any type of employment opportunity. Applicants are responsible for ensuring that they meet all minimum qualifying requirements for this position at the time of application.

Only applicants under consideration will be contacted. Appointments are subject to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval.

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.

This position may be eligible for remote work up to 2 days per week, pursuant to the Remote Work Pilot Program agreed to between the City and labor unions.

NOTE: If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation during your visit or have questions regarding the accessibility of our facilities, please reach out to [email protected] or call 212-720-3508 at least three business days prior to your arrival.

COMPUTER OPERATIONS MANAGER (S - 10074

1. Six (6) years of progressively responsible full-time paid experience supervising or administering computer operations involving a large-scale mainframe, network, or multi-tier computer environment at least 18 months of which shall have been in an administrative, managerial or executive capacity.

2. A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university may be substituted for a maximum of two (2) years of general experience described above. In the absence of a baccalaureate degree, undergraduate credits may be substituted for a maximum of two (2) years of general experience described above on the basis of 30 semester credits for six (6) months of experience.

3. A master’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Business Administration, Public Administration or Management of Administration may be substituted for a maximum of one (1) year of general experience described above. In the absence of a master's degree, graduate credits in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Business Administration, Public Administration or Management of Administration may be substituted for a maximum of one (1) year of the general experience on the basis of 30 graduate semester credits for one (1) year of experience. However, undergraduate and/or graduate credits may not be substituted for the eighteen (18) months of experience in an administrative, managerial, or executive capacity.

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.