Position Summary: The Division of School Operations exists to keep schools running every day, in every circumstance by safeguarding critical school services grounded in respect and dignity. Within this division, the Office of Pupil Transportation (OPT) plays a vital role in advancing that mission, ensuring students arrive at school ready to learn and return home safely each day. Serving more than 150,000 students daily, OPT manages a large scale transportation system that includes approximately 9,700 drivers, approximately 11,000 vehicles, and a coordinated network of more than 50 contractors, with operating expenses exceeding $2 billion.
The Executive Director of Finance & Contracts serves as the primary liaison to New York City’s Public Schools (NYCPS) Division of Contracts and Purchasing (DCP) and the Division of Financial Operations, leading all procurement, budgeting, payables, and contract related activities for OPT. This role holds overall responsibility for fiscal oversight, including financial analysis, procurement planning, budget management, and the effective implementation of contracts within established constraints.
In addition, the Executive Director provides high level policy, technical, and contractual guidance to the office, shaping decisions that impact both OPT’s operational structure and its contractual approach. The role ensures that all practices and procedures align with contractual requirements, budgetary parameters, and sound procurement policies, while also overseeing all Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) and other interagency agreements. The Executive Director is also responsible for planning, organizing, directing, and coordinating administrative functions across OPT, with a focus on resource management, including human resources and finance. The position will oversee strategic planning and analysis for OPT’s budget allocations, prepare summary and detail level analyses and written abstracts for leadership regarding mandated compliance reporting, budget transparency, expenditure tracking, and ongoing operational activities. Performs related work.
Reports to: Senior Executive Director, OPT
Direct Reports: Director of Contracts, Director of Business Services, Director of Payables, Senior Business Analyst and Financial Program Manager.
Key Relationships: Works closely with the Senior Executive Director, OPT’s leadership team, the Division of Contracts and Purchasing, Division of Budget Operations & Review, Department of Citywide Administrative Services, Division of Financial Operations, Division of Human Resources, Finance, multiple City and State agencies, and various contractors with NYCPS.
Responsibilities
Contract Management
- Oversees the full contract lifecycle, including solicitations, vendor engagement, compliance monitoring, cost containment, and standardization of goods and services;
- Directs the management of over $1 billion in contractual obligations, and contract lifecycle activities, including solicitations, vendor engagement, compliance monitoring, cost containment, and standardization of goods and services; ensures the development, negotiation, execution, and modification of contracts and extensions; drives continuous improvement in contractual operations.
- Oversees local procurement operations for OPT, ensuring appropriate structures, controls, and resources are in place to support effective and compliant purchasing; creates and maintains internal control systems to ensure integrity of OPT’s procurement and contractual affairs, maximizing resources with efficiency and accountability.
- Identifies potential risks and opportunities within the organization and its environment to protect business interests.
- Manages research and development of improved methods of operations related to contractual services, advising on matters that best benefit the organization with business integrity at the forefront; projects and monitors contract related expenditures, tracking savings, spending compliance, and variances; reports findings to the Senior Executive Director for Student Transportation.
- Leads the development, coordination and management of MOUs and interagency agreements; maintains comprehensive documentation and records; represents OPT at business meetings, municipal hearings, and internal and external audits.
Purchasing
- Evaluates purchasing decisions and financial capacity for acquisitions related to contracted services; manages and approves vendor requests for route pricing adjustments, including early childhood transportation services; administers procurement and financial control systems; evaluates procedures for ordering and receiving goods and services; partners with NYCPS stakeholders to ensure accurate and timely vendor payments and enforces financial penalties for non-compliance where appropriate.
- Oversees local procurement operations for OPT, ensuring appropriate structures, controls, and resources are in place to support effective and compliant purchasing; oversees route allocations and modifications, including new routes for afterschool programs and route reductions; monitors vendor performance and contracted service delivery through regular reporting and analysis.
- Reviews, audits, and approves all purchase order requests submitted through FAMIS, ensuring that supporting documentation is complete, accurate, and verified prior to processing.
- Works closely with the Division of Contracts & Purchasing (DCP) to maintain oversight of purchasing workflows to safeguard fiscal integrity, enforce compliance with NYCPS procurement policies, and ensures that all acquisitions are properly authorized and aligned with budgetary constraints.
- Maintains oversight of the reconciliation of vendor invoices against contractual rate schedules to ensure that billed amounts accurately reflect the terms and pricing established in executed agreements. Directs the team responsible for monitoring, tracking and flagging discrepancies between invoiced rates and contracted rates. Ensures that Consumer Price Index (CPI) adjustments are systematically tracked, updated, and implemented on a routine basis in accordance with contract provisions, maintaining accuracy across all payment processing and financial reporting.
Finance & Budget Operations
- Serves as the primary point of contact for all operational financial matters impacting OPT across a variety of internal and external stakeholders, including Finance, DBOR, DCP and contracted vendors; oversees OPT operations, staffing and student transportation budgets totaling approximately $2 billion.
- Oversees the preparation and coordination of the annual budget, spending plans, and new needs; develops related presentations and budget documents; provides quarterly or periodic financial updates to senior leadership; supervises staff in the development and monitoring of expense reports from Galaxy, FAMIS, OPT Financial System, Cognos and FMS; supports internal and external audits, including financial and operational reviews, and represents OPT in business engagements.
- Monitors program budgets and expenditures to ensure appropriate use of funds and compliance with funding source mandates.
- Oversees the tracking of pre-encumbrances, invoices and payments; manages Other Than Personal Services (OTPS) budget; ensures the ongoing maintenance and updating of the division’s financial information systems and infrastructure.
- Supervises the preparation of reports related to the operating costs, comparative studies on yearly expenditures, and financial analyses required by funding sources, including State and Federal governments, other public institutions and private organizations.
- Partners with team members to develop projections for the future state of the budget, in close coordination with NYCPS Central Finance and OMB.
Administration & Policy
- Establishes and implements standardized policies, protocols, and training across budget, contracts, purchasing, and other operational areas, including contract provisions, procurement, internal controls, and best practices for OPT staff.
- Develops long term operational strategies in partnership with senior management, ensuring that OPT's policies and programs align with NYCPS priorities, rules, and regulations; develops and manages best practices and tools for performance improvement execution.
- Establishes and implements standardized policies, protocols, and training across budget, contracts, purchasing, and other operational areas, including contract provisions, procurement, internal controls, and best practices for OPT staff.
- Oversees division wide human capital efforts in coordination with OPT's Director of Human Resources, including talent planning, recruitment, and workforce management; interfaces with Finance, Human Resources, and Labor Relations teams to identify and address resource needs.
- Collaborates with the relevant stakeholders to coordinate internship programs and secures budget allocations for special projects related to human resources, workforce development, and organizational capacity building initiatives.
- Serves as senior advisor to OPT leadership on budget decisions, financial results, procurement, and contract governance, ensuring leadership understands the operational implications to support informed decision making.
- Establishes and maintains a centralized governance and policy knowledge base for OPT, including standard operating procedures (SOPs), procurement guidelines, contract management protocols, and internal control documentation; ensures all materials are current, accessible, and aligned with NYCPS and citywide requirements.
Qualification Requirements:
Minimum
- A master's degree from an accredited college in economics, finance, accounting, business or public administration, public health, human resources management, management science, operations research, organizational behavior, industrial psychology, statistics, personnel administration, labor relations, psychology, sociology, human resources development, political science, urban studies or a Juris Doctor degree from an accredited law school, and two years of satisfactory full-time professional experience in one or a combination of the following: working with the budget of a large public or private concern in budget administration, accounting, economic or financial administration, or fiscal or economic research; or in management or methods analysis, operations research, organizational research or program evaluation; or in personnel or public administration, recruitment, position classification, personnel relations, labor relations, employee benefits, staff development, employment program planning/administration, labor market research, economic planning, social services program planning/evaluation, or fiscal management. Eighteen (18) months of this experience must have been in an executive, managerial, administrative, or supervisory capacity. Supervision must have included supervising staff performing professional work in the areas described above; or
- A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college and four years of professional experience in the areas described in “1” above, including the 18 months of executive, managerial, administrative, or supervisory experience, as described in “1” above; or
- An associate degree or completion of 60 semester credits from an accredited college and six years of full-time satisfactory full-time professional experience as described in “1” above, including the 18 months of executive, managerial, administrative, or supervisory experience, as described in “1” above; or
- A four-year high school diploma or its educational equivalent approved by a State’s department of education or a recognized accrediting organization and eight years of full-time satisfactory full-time professional experience as described in “1” above, including the 18 months of executive, managerial, administrative, or supervisory experience, as described in “1” above; or
- A combination of education and/or experience equivalent to “1”, “2”, “3”, or “4” above. College education may be substituted for professional experience at the rate of 30 semester credits from an accredited college for one year of experience. However, all candidates must have a high school diploma and at least two years of experience as described in “1” above, including the 18 months of executive, managerial, administrative, or supervisory experience, as described in “1” above.
Preferred
- Experience in all aspects of contract management.
- Ability to prepare written reports and make presentations clearly and concisely.
- Ability to develop critical studies such as cost benefits analyses, in order to determine courses of action.
- Ability to conceptualize and make quantitative and qualitative decisions affecting overall organizational strategy.
Salary: $152,070 - $175,626
(Internal candidates who are selected for this position and who currently hold comparable or less senior positions within the DOE will not earn less than their current salary.)
Please include a resume and cover letter with your application.
NOTE: The filling of all positions is subject to budget availability and/or grant funding.
* New York City Residency is NOT Required *
We encourage all applicants from the New York City tri-state area to apply. |
