The Office of Research and Policy Innovation (ORPI) brings together four units that provide critical policy-related information through scientific research and evaluation methods to agency leadership. ORPI also supports a broad network of homeless services providers, as the official NYC government partner for federal Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grants.

Housed within ORPI, Federal Homeless Policy and Reporting (FHPR) directs the NYC Continuum of Care (CoC). The CoC is the NYC planning body that develops long-term strategic plans and manages year-round planning efforts to address housing and service needs of persons experiencing homelessness in NYC. FHPR also serves as the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) lead. The HMIS team conducts data-analytic work and produces all federally mandated HMIS reports for NYC. The HMIS team manages the $2 million HMIS grant and oversees multiple vendor contracts necessary to meet grant outcomes. HMIS staff are the agency lead content experts on HMIS and HUD technical requirements. The HMIS team is also responsible for the annual Point-In-Time Count as required by HUD, which includes the Homeless Outreach Population Estimate (HOPE) survey of unsheltered individuals. ORPI’s Office of Evaluation and Research (OER) serves as the lead on HOPE methodology and collaborates closely with FHPR on executing HOPE each year.

ORPI is recruiting for a City Research Scientist (CRS II) to function as a Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) Analyst/HOPE Project Manager, who will serve under supervision of the HMIS Director. The CRS II will work with CoC-funded and other homeless housing projects to improve data quality and program performance in HMIS and support reporting to HUD. The CRS II will also coordinate with not-for-profit service providers, CoC community stakeholders, homelessness researchers, other city agency staff, and persons with lived experience of homelessness with the goal of successfully implementing CoC goals and projects, including HOPE. The CRS II will be the project manager for HOPE and will organize efforts to recruit, train, and direct staff and volunteers as well as managing reporting and logistics associated with HOPE operations. The position entails considerable latitude for independent judgment and initiative and requires strong analytic skills, excellent written and verbal communication skills, attention to detail, and the ability to work both independently and as part of a team, managing multiple projects and deadlines.

HOPE-related Duties and Responsibilities:

- Develop and maintain workplans, meeting agendas, and project materials. Track project deliverables and deadlines and work to resolve bottlenecks or other workflow challenges.

- Manage communications and coordinate with key stakeholders in DSS, DSS contracted providers, and partner City agencies.

- Coordinate and monitor recruitment of volunteers, HOPE district captains, and supporting staff.

- Lead efforts to assign survey areas to teams and quality check sample area requirements and survey data, including resolving data issues collected during HOPE.

- Organize and lead trainings for city employees, vendors, and members of the public. Partner with agency training department to create training materials including written documents, videos, FAQs, and job aids.

- Lead partnerships with CUNY, DoE, NYPD, DHS contracted outreach providers, Parks, MTA, and others as needed.

- Lead development and management of HOPE app and dashboard, recruitment website, and email and meetings software systems.

- Organize logistics and material support for HOPE training sites across NYC and coordinate citywide operations on the night of HOPE.

HMIS-related Duties and Responsibilities:

- Gather feedback from community partners on homeless housing projects to inform performance evaluation development and implementation.

- Produce and maintain quarterly performance review reports to highlight CoC-funded projects that may require technical assistance or other supports.

- Support the CoC’s Performance and Quality Improvement Committee with data analysis and reporting.

- Conduct analysis on historical project performance across CoC projects.

- Develop and regularly update Data Performance Plan with policies and procedures for the annual evaluation and quarterly reports.

- Create and disseminate communications to community stakeholders, including content for CoC website and newsletters related HUD guidance around HMIS data standards, project performance, and workgroup meetings and summaries.

- Attend NYC CoC committee and workgroup meetings; communicate HMIS updates/changes to members.

- Clean, format, analyze data for federal reporting (HIC-PIT, NOFO).

1. For Assignment Level I (only physical, biological and environmental sciences and public health) A master's degree from an accredited college or university with a specialization in an appropriate field of physical, biological or environmental science or in public health.
To be appointed to Assignment Level II and above, candidates must have:
1. A doctorate degree from an accredited college or university with specialization in an appropriate field of physical, biological, environmental or social science and one year of full-time experience in a responsible supervisory, administrative or research capacity in the appropriate field of specialization; or
2. A master's degree from an accredited college or university with specialization in an appropriate field of physical, biological, environmental or social science and three years of responsible full-time research experience in the appropriate field of specialization; or
3. Education and/or experience which is equivalent to "1" or "2" above. However, all candidates must have at least a master's degree in an appropriate field of specialization and at least two years of experience described in "2" above. Two years as a City Research Scientist Level I can be substituted for the experience required in "1" and "2" above.

NOTE:
Probationary Period
Appointments to this position are subject to a minimum probationary period of one year.

- Strong organizational skills excellent oral and written communication skills attention to detail. - Proficiency with Microsoft Office, especially Excel and PowerPoint. - Experience working with large data sets and statistical software (i.e. Stata, R). - Some understanding or experience with survey design software and email communication software (i.e. Survey Monkey, Constant Contact, or related online systems). - Some understanding or experience with mapping software (i.e. GIS). - Interest in social services and project management.

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 2 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.