Battery Park Authority

Battery Park City Authority has retained the services of Harris Rand Lusk to conduct this search. Inquiries, nominations, and applications may be directed in confidence to:

Kathryn Frances
Research and Operations Manager
Harris Rand Lusk
260 Madison Avenue, 15th Floor
New York, NY 10016

Email cover letter and resume to:

Please include “BPCA, SVP” in the subject line of the email.

Background:

The Battery Park City Authority (BPCA) is a New York State public benefit corporation whose mission is to plan, create, coordinate, and sustain a balanced community of commercial, residential, retail, and park space within its designated 92-acre site on the lower west side of Manhattan. BPCA recognizes that, as development of new parcels is completed, the importance of maintenance within the mission becomes more significant.

Established in 1968, the BPCA was charged with developing and maintaining a well-balanced community on the Lower West Side of Manhattan, in place of where deteriorating piers once stood in the Hudson River. BPCA has achieved worldwide acclaim as a model for community renewal.

In October 2018, BPCA released its first-ever, scientific study of the use of Battery Park City’s 36 acres of parks and public spaces, an effort aimed at helping BPCA meet the challenges of maintaining the high level of satisfaction that its park users enjoy.

The Position:

Under direction of the President and CEO and in close collaboration with VP of Design and VP of Construction the purpose of this position is to coordinate major design and construction projects for the Battery Park City Authority with a central focus on the North West resiliency project. The N/W resiliency project is a 1.4-mile-long flood protection system which is currently in design and expected to start construction in 2025.

The SVP’s primary role is to ensure the project is delivered on time, on budget, with a high level of design quality and careful management of quality of life for the BPC neighborhood during construction. The project has an approximately 5-year construction timeline.

This role also requires managing the Design & Construction team – a 13-person team of architects, planners, construction project management professionals – who manage a variety of design and construction projects. The SVP will work with the VPs to support the team’s development and execution of projects on schedule, on budget, develop a long-term capital strategy for the neighborhood, and support the team’s professional development and growth.

The successful candidate will feel equally comfortable being a public face for the project as well working closely with contractors, designers, engineers on day-to-day design, permitting, budgeting, construction management, and project coordination. The person will be a superior project manager able to toggle between big picture strategy and project risk to day-to-day oversight of a large infrastructure project, ensuring key stakeholders are informed throughout the whole construction.

Specific

Responsibilities include:

• Lead the Authority’s efforts in adapting Battery Park City to a changing climate through forward-thinking design, flood protection measures, and climate action to facilitate a carbon neutral neighborhood.
• Plan and execute capital projects in addition to resiliency measures to help ensure Battery Park City is built to last.
• Facilitate and lead interagency coordination on major Authority projects including but not limited to bridges, buildings, streetscapes and resiliency; coordinate with NYS DOT, NYC DOT, NY/NJ PA and LMDC, NYC Parks, NYC DEP, NYC PDC, and Community Board 1 and its subcommittees among others.
• Develop and maintain a detailed departmental operational budget.
• Oversee regular development of a physical needs assessment of public spaces and structures and development of a multi-year capital plan.
• Create and maintain a departmental system for keeping tasks on track in conformance with regulations and policies without sacrificing quality.
• Ensure effective project management by staff and vendors, including scoping, scheduling, budget management, and internal and external…