Senior Attorney - Contract Negotiations - NYC JOBS : Job Details

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) protects public health and the environment by supplying clean drinking water, collecting, and treating wastewater, and reducing air, noise, and hazardous materials pollution. DEP is the largest combined municipal water and wastewater utility in the country, with nearly 6,000 employees. We deliver 1.1 billion gallons of high-quality drinking water per day to 8.5 million New York City residents and more than 1 million people in Upstate New York, and we collect and treat an average of 1.3 billion gallons of wastewater per day. The Agency Chief Contracting Office (ACCO) is responsible for managing all agency procurement and payment activity in accordance with all applicable city and state laws and regulations including General Municipal Law, City Charter, local laws such as LL1 for MWBE, Procurement Policy Board Rules and NYC Comptroller Directives. ACCO works cooperatively with DEP's bureaus in support of their operational and programmatic needs including procurement of capital construction and related professional services (design, engineering, and construction management services), maintenance and repair contracts, and a wide array of supply and standard service contracts. In addition, ACCO staff manages agency compliance with vendor performance evaluations, MWBE participation goals, opportunities and requirements, prevailing wage, labor law compliance and vendor management. ACCO processes hundreds of both large and small contracts and thousands of payment transactions procuring about $2 billion in contracts annually. The ACCO consists of ten (10) organizational groups: Competitive Sealed Bids, Procurement Administration, Technology Development & Innovation, Contract Administration, Contract Compliance and Opportunities, Purchasing Management, Payments & Accounting, Negotiations and Contract Review, Large Contract Payments, and the Process Optimization & Change Management group. The Negotiations and Contract Review Unit is responsible for the negotiation of professional services contracts including design services, construction management, and other professional services for various operational bureaus including Engineering & Design, Environmental Planning & Analysis, Water Supply, and Wastewater Treatment. The contract negotiator leads the DEP team including the bureau project manager through negotiations with the selected consultant, finalizing the cost and anticipated staff hours, refining the scope of work and contract deliverables to obtain a fair and reasonable cost to the City. The Senior Attorney will lead and conducts Negotiations with Professional Services Consultants. Serves as lead negotiator for professional services contracts across all DEP bureaus; manages negotiation process, reviewing proposals in response to Request for Proposals (RFPs), timelines, cost proposals, assumption documents, meeting minutes and agendas, in consultation with the operating bureau. Conducts pre-negotiation sessions with relevant bureau staff.

Minimum Qualifications

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.

Preferred Skills

Knowledge of NYC's Procurement Policy Board (PPB) Rules, Microsoft Word, Excel, and legal research. Independent decision-making skills and the ability to organize and prioritize work. Ability to draft and review scopes of work and contracts. Ability to lead negotiations with consultants. Ability to analyze statutes and legislation to clearly articulate of the statutes on DEP's Procurements. Computer Skills and Knowledge: MS Office including Word, Excel and PowerPoint NYC Procurement Policy Board rules and City Charter NYC Comptroller Directives PASSPort (NYC Procurement workflow system)

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

Residency Requirement

New York City Residency is not required for this position.

Additional Information

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.