Division Chief, Collections Support

***IMPORTANT NOTE: Only those currently serving as a permanent or probable permanent Administrative Engineer will be considered.***

The NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) enriches the environment and protects public health for all New Yorkers by providing 1.1 billion gallons of high-quality drinking water, managing wastewater and stormwater, 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. DEP's water supply system is comprised of 19 reservoirs and 3 controlled lakes throughout the system’s 2,000 square mile watershed that extends 125 miles north and west of the City.

The Bureau of Wastewater Treatment (BWT) is responsible for the operation and maintenance of all facilities related to the treatment of sewage within the five boroughs of the City. This includes 14 wastewater treatment plants, sludge dewatering facilities, collections facilities (pumping stations, combined sewer overflow retention facilities, regulators, tide gates, etc.), wastewater laboratories, and harbor vessels.

Under the direction of the Director of Collections and Residual Operations (CRO) and the Assistant Commissioner of Operations, the selected candidate will be responsible for the administration and management of the Collections Support Division. The Division is an engineering group which is an integral part of the Collections Operations group. The Division Chief will be responsible for all engineering planning and analysis as well as overseeing and coordinating the design and construction of projects that impact the collections system under the jurisdiction of BWT Collections Operations, which consists of over 150 miles of large interceptor sewers with sizes up to 16-feet in diameter and 500-feet deep, over 500 regulator structures and tide gates, 96 pumping stations, and 4 CSO retention facilities, located throughout the city. The Division Chief is also responsible for the oversight of the mandated Interceptor Cleaning and Inspection Program and the Citywide Collections Facilities Integrated SCADA System, both of which are of utmost importance to the Agency as they provide critical information to properly and efficiently operate and manage several of BWT’s critical infrastructure and comply with regulatory requirements to minimize the potential for financial penalties.

JOB SUMMARY:

The Division Chief will be responsible for the administration and management of the Collections Support Division. The BWT’s Collections Support Division includes staff of various titles who are assigned to two (2) sections: the Collections Engineering Section and Collections Planning & Analysis Section. The Division Chief is responsible to manage staff and balance workload for all tasks (most of which are critical and urgent) with very limited resources. The Division Chief is also responsible to assist Collections Operations during emergencies as needed and could be called upon around the clock. Under the recent reorganization of BWT’s management, the Division of Collections Support is now in the Collections and Residual Operations directorate and will have additional responsibilities including coordination with resilience planning, design, construction, and operations.

The Division Chief is considered a critical essential manager, who is expected to be available around the clock and assist with responding to emergencies, as necessary. The Division Chief may be called upon to travel between assigned locations throughout the entire City to carry out their tasks and duties.

PRIMARY JOB DUTIES:

Following is a summary of the primary duties and responsibilities of the position:

1. Provide administration and management of the Collections Support Division which is the engineering division of Collections and Residual Operations. The Division Chief will manage the Collections Engineering Section and Collections Planning and Analysis Section which include staff of various engineering, project management, and technical titles.
2. The Division Chief may also serve as acting Director of Collections and Residual Operations when the Director is on leave. The Division Chief may also serve as acting Division Chief of Collections Operations to cover operations management when that Division Chief is on leave.
3. The Division Chief may serve in various emergency operations roles under the framework of the Incident Command System during major emergency events such as coastal storms, flooding events, fires, infrastructure failures, accidents, spills, force main breaks, raw bypass events, etc.
4. Develop Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to define tasks and establish and document the Division’s core responsibilities and to guide staff with the successful performance of their main assignments.
5. Develop staffing plans to track and forecast workload and identify potential need for additional resources to support the successful operations of the Division.
6. Identify gaps and areas of improvement and assist senior leadership with outlining and implementing change management and succession planning within the Bureau and lead its implementation within the Division.
7. Develop spreadsheets, trends, key performance indicators, GIS maps, and reports to track and present the Division’s work tasks and performance.
8. Recruit, train, motivate, and develop staff of the Division, and assist with training of non-Division staff as necessary.
9. Work closely with internal and external stakeholders to identify and plan programmatic studies, evaluations, and capital upgrades for collections facilities based on capital needs, resiliency requirements, and current/future levels of service.
10. Coordinate on behalf of the agency the delivery and review of design and construction projects on collections facilities structures and equipment undertaken by various entities such as BEDC, MTA, PANYNJ, NYCEDC, DOT, and NYCDDC; project delivery methods include JOC, design-bid-build, design-build, and CM at risk.
11. Coordinate with other DEP Bureaus and outside entities on drainage area rezoning plans and collections facilities construction, upgrades, and/or expansions.
12. Leverage the GIS mapping tool available to the agency and successfully manage the mandated interceptors’ inspection, cleaning, and reconstruction program, and issue regulatory reports as necessary.
13. Manage and maintain the citywide collection facilities integrated SCADA system including the monitoring, analysis, reporting, and dissemination of various data.
14. Lead the implementation of the records management system for the collections facilities to include reports, O&M manuals, as-builts, drainage boundaries for pumping stations, regulators, and retention facilities. The Division is responsible for maintaining and coordinating use of BWT’s engineering records related to Collection Operations.
15. Assist Collections Operations in the organization and collection of asset data, inventory audits, implementation of CMMS, reliability-centered maintenance, and asset management coordination.
16. Assist with commissioning and acceptance of new assets at Collections Operations. Document new assets, locations, vendor information, and coordinate incorporation into CMMS.

Minimum Qualifications

1. A valid New York State License as a Professional Engineer and six (6) years of full-time satisfactory experience in chemical engineering, civil engineering, electrical engineering, environmental engineering, mechanical engineering, or plan examining work, at least two (2) years of which must have been in an executive, managerial, or administrative capacity.

Preferred Skills

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Experience in the planning, design, construction, and startup testing of wastewater collections systems including pump stations, interceptor, regulators, outfalls, CSO tank, tunnels, and CSO treatment facilities.
• Experience with wastewater treatment plant operations or wastewater collections systems operations.
• Proficiency with SCADA software systems, Power BI, ArcGIS, CMMS / EAM systems, Excel, MS Access, Oracle databases, SQL, AutoCAD, Infoworks sewer modeling, and other engineering applications software.

HIGHLY DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

The most competitive candidates will have or be able to obtain within 6 months of hire a NY State Professional Engineering license (PE) and have experience in wastewater engineering.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

Preferred Licensing/Certification: New York State Professional Engineering license

55a Program

This position is also open to qualified persons with a disability who are eligible for the 55-a Program. Please indicate at the top of your resume and cover letter that you would like to be considered for the position through the 55-a Program.

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.

• Category: Engineering, Architecture, & Planning