Community Engagement Specialist

Position Title:
Community Engagement Specialist – Energy Smart Eastside

Location:
Bellevue, Washington (hybrid)

Job Type:
Full time

Compensation
: $30-45/hour, depending on experience

Link to Apply:

Position Summary

We're looking for a resourceful and creative colleague who is capable of critical thinking, working both independently and collaboratively, and loves a fast-paced, fluid environment. Our current job opening is for a Community Engagement Specialist who can demonstrate a collaborative approach to work, a sense of humor, willingness to learn, handle feedback, and show initiative.

This unique position will support staff at the City of Bellevue by helping design and implement
Energy Smart Eastside
, a climate initiative of the Cities of Bellevue, Issaquah, Kirkland, Mercer Island, Redmond and Sammamish. This important program fosters resilient, healthy, and sustainable communities to create an accessible, carbon-free future for all, by connecting residents with the information, incentives, and resources they need to go electric.

This position involves a combination of remote work, and two days at Bellevue City Hall, plus variety of field work and community engagement events. Some local/Western Washington travel required.
This job is an initial one-year contract with possibility to renew.

Essential Duties + Responsibilities

This is a unique position that will work almost exclusively with the City of Bellevue and the other five Energy Smart Eastside cities. Our ideal candidate will have highly effective project management, communication, and relationship-building skills. This includes meticulous attention to detail, the ability to show initiative in problem-solving, and the ability to prioritize and manage multiple complex tasks simultaneously. 

A typical work week could include:

Building external relationships with community-based organizations to understand their perspectives, build partnerships, and tailor engagement strategies to increase participation in diverse communities.

Delivering outreach campaigns that include writing social media posts, website content, and press releases.

Evaluating the effectiveness of an outreach campaign and providing a summary to department leadership.

Attending community events to make presentations, build relationships, and raise awareness of Energy Smart East Side.

Working closely with staff from all participating East Side cities to design engagement strategies that work for their communities.

Minimum Qualifications

Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, and a high degree of comfort interacting with the community, providing public presentations and presenting information in a clear and concise manner.

A proven track record of designing and implementing successful (and creative) community engagement campaigns using a range of tools including social media/marketing, creating content, organizing events, conducting community surveys, and working with community-based organizations.

A background in energy efficiency or building performance management or experience with climate resilience policy.

Demonstrable experience providing equitable outreach and communicating respectfully and effectively with people from diverse backgrounds.

A demonstrated commitment to building positive relationships and tracking the effectiveness of engagement campaigns using superior organizational skills, data management abilities, and attention to detail.

Three to five years of related professional experience or a combination of relevant academic and professional experience.

Preferred Qualifications

Outreach and community engagement experience in eastside communities.

Experience working with/for a public agency.

A master's degree in communications or graduate-level studies in a comparable topic area.

Spoken or written fluency in a language other than English.

Website design

Benefits

K with employer match

holidays

vacation days

Sick/safe leave

Full medical/dental/vision insurance 100% employer paid

Application process

We are a small firm and will be very selective with who we interview. Please provide a resume and a one-page letter of introduction outlining your qualifications. Please include three stellar references.

After an initial screening, qualified applicants will have a phone interview with Broadview Planning staff. Successful interviewees will be asked to provide a writing sample and be interviewed by the hiring committee, which includes City of Bellevue and other eastside City staff. We will also conduct a reference check (we will contact all three).

We anticipate the successful candidate will start early December.