The Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA) was established pursuant to the New York City Charter to promote the well-being of New York City’s immigrant communities. To achieve this, MOIA serves as a bridge between city government and immigrant communities; advises and assists in developing and implementing policies and programs designed to assist immigrants and speakers of other languages; and supports and enhances the ability of city agencies and offices to serve immigrant communities city-wide. To learn more, visit: https://www.nyc.gov/site/immigrants


The Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA) is seeking one (1) Executive Agency Counsel M-3 to function as a Special Counsel.

The Special Counsel will:

- Advise on immigration legal needs and gaps and makes recommendations on city policy, and
legislative, advocacy, and programmatic responses, and leads in executing such actions as
appropriate; guide the development and strategic growth of immigration legal services programs at
MOIA, and elsewhere in city government, to build infrastructure and services that can best serve
New York City’s diverse immigrant communities.

- Advise on immigration legal needs and gaps in immigrant access to justice, upon assessment of
relevant federal, state, and local law and policy developments, publicly reported data, reports,
engagement, and feedback from stakeholders and partners, including community-based and legal
service providers.

- Make recommendations on city policy, legislative, advocacy, and programmatic responses, and
lead in executing such actions as appropriate.

- Support with hearing preparation, press and media strategies, and outreach and community
education strategies.

- Collaborate with stakeholders, including other city offices and agencies, philanthropy, the pro bono
community, legal services providers, and other cities, to advance shared goals related to immigrant
access to justice.

- Help with constituent services work with a focus on cases involving legal services needs and
particularly urgent and/or sensitive matters.

- Represent MOIA at inter-governmental, inter-agency, and public events, as needed.

- Execute other work assigned by the Commissioner.

Admission to the New York State Bar; and four years of recent full-time responsible, relevant, satisfactory legal experience subsequent to admission to any bar, eighteen months of which must have been in the supervision of other attorneys, in an administrative, managerial or executive capacity, or performing highly complex and significant legal work.

Incumbents must remain Members of the New York State Bar in good standing for the duration of this employment.

- Experience providing immigration legal services preferred, but not required. - Understanding of immigration legal service delivery models and relevant actors and stakeholders. in the nonprofit sector. - A proven record of providing analytical and technical expertise for complex, interdisciplinary projects involving multiple constituents. - Strategic thinker with an ability to identify innovative solutions to challenges. - Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills. - Comfortable in a fast-paced, dynamic working environment. - Ability to juggle multiple priorities. - Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively with diverse partners and stakeholders. - Availability to work flexible hours and occasional weekends. - Advanced knowledge of MS Office (i.e., Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint). - Understanding of New York City government and/or local government affairs is a plus. - Management and supervision experience is strongly preferred. - Experience in grantmaking or philanthropy is a plus.

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/

New York City Residency is not required for this position

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.