Council Community Relations Coordinator – Council District Offices

The City of San José, the Capital of Silicon Valley, is one of the nation's best managed cities and one of the top ten cities in which to live, work and do business. Moreover, San José is the center of cultural government and economic activity for the region. The employees of the City of San José have embraced the following values: Integrity, Innovation, Excellence, Collaboration, Respect and Celebration.

The San José City Council consists of ten Councilmembers elected by district and a Mayor elected at-large, each for four-year terms. The Mayor and Council are responsible for representing the residents of San José, providing accountability, reviewing public policy and programs, and adopting those policies which best meet the needs of the residents, visitors, and businesses in San José. The Council Community Relations Coordinator position will serve as a community relations representative in direct support of an elected official. The position will coordinate media communication and public information efforts for the Council District offices.

Education and/or experience in the fields of public relations, communications, journalism, public information, web design, or marketing is highly desirable. Strong writing skills, communication skills, and computer proficiency with a firm grasp of social media tools and platforms are essential in this position. Bilingual language skills (Vietnamese, Spanish, and/or Chinese), both oral and written, are desirable, but not required.

Responsibilities

• Planning, writing, and managing monthly external communications.
• Designing flyers, graphics, and material for community and public information.
• Updating and designing web and social media content.
• Collaborating with staff on ideas for media and communication outreach to disseminate the Councilmember’s message to various audiences.
• Engaging and collaborating with constituents, organizations, and city staff as needed.
• Media relations and tracking.
• Planning and coordinating media events, interviews, and responses on behalf of the elected official.
• Assisting with talking points, quotes, and messages for events and/or social media outlets.

Employees in this classification are not members of the classified civil service and appointment would be on a contract “at-will” basis and is for a specified period of time to be determined by the appointing elected official and does not extend past the end of the elected official's term. Candidates must be willing to work a flexible schedule as needed, including frequent evenings and weekends and as exempt management employees, are not eligible for overtime compensation. This unclassified position requires a disclosure of outside investments, real property interest, income and business positions.

Minimum Qualifications

Any combination of training, education, and experience that provides the knowledge, skills, and abilities to advise and support the Councilmember on matters of constituent services; public policy; community outreach and engagement; and communications.

Education

Typically requires a Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent.

Experience

Typically requires two (2) or more years’ experience of public or customer service, public relations, communications, or recreation programming experience.

Required Licensing

Possession of a valid California Driver’s license is required.

Competencies

• Knowledge of federal, state, and local rules and regulations pertaining to municipal operations.
• Ability to effectively communicate with the media and members of the public through a variety of letters, memoranda and reports; prepare agendas and meeting summaries; ability to obtain information from and convey information to the public.
• Ability to develop and maintain harmonious and effective working relationships with a wide range of individuals, neighborhood, business, and community organizations, as well as City staff, members of Boards and Commissions and other constituencies.
• Ability to provide administrative support to an elected official including scheduling and coordinating appointments, meetings, and events for the Councilmembers.
• Ability to plan, manage, and evaluate community relations methods and events.
• Ability to collaborate with representatives of other elected officials, public and community-based agencies; and City staff regarding policy analysis and development; consideration of policy and program options; or other matters affecting public services.
• Ability to plan, manage, coordinate, and collaborate to successfully produce special events, public meetings.

Desirable Qualifications

• Bilingual skills: oral and written proficiency with languages such as Spanish, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Korean, Chinese (Cantonese and/or Mandarin), Tagalog, or other languages as determined by the hiring authority.
• Ability to exercise sound judgment in developing, analyzing, and evaluating various programs and services.
• Ability to collaborate with community based organizations regarding the preparation and management of grants, programs, special events, and community outreach efforts.
• Ability to manage programs, activities, and projects within the scope and authority of the elected official regarding community relations methods, programs, and events.
• Ability to draft routine to complex correspondence, memoranda, and reports which articulate the elected official’s proposals and position on matters before the City Council and other governmental bodies.
• Proficiency with conducting public meetings and events on behalf of the elected official and/or prepare summaries of public and private meetings; reports, memoranda and other documents for review by senior staff and the elected official.
• Ability to serve as support staff in community engagement efforts with neighborhood, district or city-wide business or community groups or associations and other interested parties regarding community concerns, issues, and priorities.
• Ability to produce public information including media releases and relations and to use social media sources including web site development and management to effectively engage the community and constituents with the elected official’s policies, positions, and goals.
• Ability to effectively engage with other elected and appointed officials (boards and commissions, other governmental representatives and staff) regarding programs and services for mutual constituencies.
• Proficiency in web design and the use of various software programs including Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Photoshop, InDesign; Dreamweaver, and other applications; the incumbent should also be proficient in graphic design.
• Specialized knowledge, skills, abilities, education, experience, or licensure requirements may be established for individual positions.

Selection Process

The selection process will consist of an evaluation of the applicant's training and experience based on the application and resume. Only the candidates whose backgrounds best match the position will be invited to proceed in the selection process. Additional steps of the selection process may consist of one or more interviews.

To be considered for this position, you must fill out the online application on the City of San Jose website and submit the following:

• Cover Letter
• Resume

If you have questions about the duties of these positions, the selection or hiring processes, please contact .

This posting/recruitment is for multiple offices and will remain open until vacancies in these offices are filled. Applications are reviewed continuously; therefore, we encourage applicants to apply as soon as possible.

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