Associate General Counsel For Energy

Closing Date: 23rd August, 2024

Description:

DCAS's mission is to make city government work for all New Yorkers. From managing New York City's most iconic courthouses and municipal buildings, to purchasing over $1 billion annually in goods and services for more than 80 City agencies what we do ensures that all agencies can deliver on their mission. Our reach touches every facet of city government and is instrumental to the successful day-to-day operations of the City of New York.
Our commitment to equity, effectiveness, and sustainability guides our work providing City agencies with the critical resources and support needed to succeed, including:

• Recruiting, hiring, and training City employees.
• Managing 55 public buildings.
• Acquiring, selling, and leasing City property.
• Purchasing over $1 billion in goods and services for City agencies.
• Overseeing the greenest municipal vehicle fleet in the country.
• Leading the City's efforts to reduce carbon emissions from government operations.

When you work at DCAS, you're not just working for one agency, but in service of them all. It's an opportunity to provide impactful support, quality customer service, and help protect the future of New York City for generations to come. Visit our website at nyc.gov/dcas to learn more about the work we do.
Job Description:
The Office of the General Counsel (OGC) of New York City's Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) provides legal advisory services to the entire agency. OGC performs all of the legal functions and prepares all legal documents on behalf of the agency, including, but not limited to, drafting contracts used by the agency and Citywide. OGC advises its client Lines of Service on the most effective responses to legal challenges arising from the interpretation and implementation of those contracts.
OGC seeks to hire an attorney to support the contract development and transactional needs of the Energy Management (EM) Line of Service within DCAS. EM is responsible for leading the City's efforts to reduce emissions from City government operations 40% by 2025, 50% by 2030, and at least 80% by 2050 from a Fiscal Year 2006 baseline. EM requires substantial assistance from OGC to maintain existing contracts and develop new project implementation vehicles that are critical to scaling up the volume of energy efficiency and clean energy project vehicles delivered across the City.
The attorney will work under the direct supervision of OGC's incumbent Senior Energy Counsel under the general direction of the General Counsel and Deputy General Counsel for Procurement and Operations at OGC. In addition, they will work closely with EM's Executive Team and Contracts Team. The attorney's responsibilities are expected to include, but not limited to, the following:

• Strategy development | Overcome legal, contractual, transactional, and other barriers to scaling up the delivery of energy efficiency and clean energy projects to meet the City's ambitious emissions reduction mandates. Help develop and implement EM's contracts strategy.
• Legal advisory to DCAS/EM on energy issues | Substantively contribute to meeting the legal advisory needs of various teams within EM, which is responsible for driving progress across the City government portfolio for Energy efficiency improvements and large-scale emissions reductions. Act as counsel to EM on complex legal issues involving procurement and contract drafting and interpretation.
• Coordinating for DCAS/EM on legal matters | Represent DCAS and EM at intra-agency and inter-agency meetings and liaise as needed with the City's Law Department, the Mayor's Office of Contracts, the Comptroller, and other city, state, and federal agencies.
• Energy-related Memoranda of Understanding development and review | Draft, review, and/or revise Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) between DCAS and other agencies and public entities in order to meet EM's business and operational needs.
• Energy-related contract development and review | Draft, review, and/or revise solicitation documents and contracts for DCAS procurements that are energy-related and procured through government-to-government, negotiated acquisition, competitive sealed bid, or Request for Proposal procurement methods. Provide advice regarding bid responsiveness, vendor responsibility, protests, and contract interpretation. Negotiate with vendors and their attorneys.

Minimum Qualifications:

1. Admission to the New York State Bar; and either "2" or "3" below.
2. One year of satisfactory United States legal experience subsequent to admission to any state bar; or
3. Six months of satisfactory service as an Agency Attorney Interne (30086).

In addition to meeting the minimum Qualification Requirements:
To be assigned to Assignment Level (AL) II, candidates must have one year of experience at Assignment Level I or two years of comparable legal experience subsequent to admission to the bar, in the areas of law related to the assignment. To be assigned to AL III candidates must have two years of experience in Assignment Levels I and/or II or three years of comparable legal experience subsequent to admission to the bar, in the areas of law related to the assignment.
Preferred Skills:
Preferred Qualifications: - Energy and utility attorney - Five (5) or more years of relevant work experience, with preferably at least three (3) years of experience in energy procurement and at least one (1) year in governmental practice - Transactional knowledge of energy contracts (especially for Energy procurement, energy efficiency projects, and clean energy projects) - Public-sector procurement and contracting experience - Experience with capital construction (ideally regarding energy efficiency, clean energy, and/or utility projects), with knowledge of alternative project delivery mechanisms - Experience with energy regulatory and policy affairs - Experience dealing with local and state agencies, FERC, and others - Capacity to advise on commercial and legal matters - Transactional experience with contract drafting

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