Careers Job Description
General Description
The Brookdale Center on Aging at Hunter College strives to make New York City a great place to age through research; policy; demonstration project design, implementation, and dissemination; and professional development. As one of the nation’s first academic aging centers, we run ahead of the curve on a range of aging issues. Current areas of focus include cumulative disadvantage in the relationship between the built and social environment and aging; urban aging policy issues (particularly housing); age discrimination in employment; the rights of older persons; arts and aging; issues for people aging with HIV/AIDS, and who are LGBTQ and other gender non-conforming; and financial exploitation.
We are seeking a serious, research-driven, results-oriented, strategic aging policy expert with extensive knowledge of the New York policy environment to serve as the Director of Strategic Policy Initiatives for the Center.
Other Duties
The Director of Strategic Policy Initiatives will have primary responsibility for translating the results of research and findings from demonstration projects into policy and practice. Most policy and implementation strategies will focus on New York City and New York State, though experience suggests that initiatives successful in New York become models for elsewhere in the world. Job responsibilities include:
- Conduct environmental scanning to identify emerging needs, issues, and opportunities affecting older adults consistent with the Center’s major areas of focus.
- Identify academic and other institutional partnerships at Hunter and elsewhere in the CUNY system to further strategic policy initiatives through research partnerships, funding partnerships, education and training collaborations, and service programs.
- Conduct reviews of the available evidence regarding strategic focus areas, and, when necessary, design and research initiatives to develop needed evidence.
- Develop, participate in, or lead coalitions and other working groups of older adults, community service providers, advocates, and academics to create strategies to change policy and practice in the Center’s areas of focus.
- Create multi-year, multi-pronged strategic policy initiatives to make change in policy and practice in selected areas of focus.
- Implement policy initiatives with strategies including development of information, materials, and dissemination strategies; mobilization of new allies in support of initiatives; education of community leaders and policy-makers about the issues and opportunities inherent in the policy initiatives; participation and organizing in support of selected strategies of coalition partners.
- Build and maintain relationships with, and represent the Center to governmental and non-governmental agencies and businesses in partnership with Executive Director and other Center leaders.
- In partnership with the Executive Director and other managers, identify and pursue funding opportunities (including foundation, City and State and Federal grants and contracts) for strategic policy initiatives in Center areas of focus.
- Participate actively in Center management and leadership, including mentorship and supervision of staff, interns, and students; development of Center plans and priorities; contribution to Center’s communications, including web site, newsletters, lectures, and exhibitions; and representation of the Center within Hunter, CUNY, and community groups.
Qualifications
The successful candidate will have a relevant doctorate (or a Master’s degree and significant work experience) and have worked for five plus years conducting policy research, analysis, communications in aging, urban policy, and/or urban public health. Skills requirements include issue identification, coalition building and management, outstanding written and verbal communication skills.
Required:
- Must have expert-level knowledge in the following areas: aging and life course, urban policy, employment discrimination, economic development strategies, and aging services.
- Must write exceptionally well for multiple audiences, including the public, community leaders and policy-makers, academics, and funders
- Must be able to conduct research, including from primary and secondary sources, as well as participate as a research collaborator with partners in community organizations and in the university.
- Must have very strong collaboration skills, in multiple settings and from multiple roles.
- Comfort and experience in a range of community settings required; Bilingual candidates fluent in Spanish strongly desired.
Flexible schedule: some travel is necessary.
RFCUNY Benefits
RFCUNY Employee Benefits and AccrualsAbout the Research Foundation
The Research Foundation of The City University of New York (RFCUNY) was established as a not-for-profit educational corporation chartered by the State of New York in 1963. RFCUNY supports CUNY faculty and staff in identifying and obtaining external support (pre-award) from government and private sponsors and is responsible for the administration of all such funded programs (post-award).
RFCUNY stands between CUNY’s principal investigators (PIs) and the sponsors who support them and strives to fulfill its essential responsibilities to both groups. Working closely with individual PIs and Grants Officers on the campuses, RFCUNY oversees employment, accounting, audit, reporting, purchasing, and special responsibilities that include management of a planned giving program; liaison with governmental agencies and foundations; negotiation of agreements; facility construction and renovation; protection and commercialization of intellectual property; and compliance with applicable standards in research involving human subjects, animal care, environmental and radiological safety, and conflicts of interest.
Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
Key Features
Brookdale Center for Healthy Aging
Full Time
Depends on Qualifications
Sep 09, 2019 (Or Until Filled)