The City of San JoseThe City of San Jose is a full-service Charter City and currently operates under a hybrid Council/Manager form of government. The City Council consists of ten Council Members elected by district and a Mayor elected at-large. The City Manager, who reports to the Council, and the executive team provide strategic leadership that supports the policy-making role of the Mayor and the City Council and ensures the organization delivers high quality services that meet the community's needs. The City actively engages with the community through Council-appointed boards, commissions, and project specific engagement opportunities. Operations are supported by 6,885 full time equivalent positions and a total Fiscal year 2022-2023 budget of approximately $5.3 billion. San Jose is dedicated to maintaining the highest fiscal integrity and earning high credit ratings to ensure the consistent delivery of quality services to the community. Extensive information regarding San Jose can be found on the City's website at www.sanjoseca.gov .
The Housing Department The City of San Jose's Housing Department's mission is to strengthen and to revitalize the community through housing and neighborhood investments. The Housing Department has funded over 20,000 affordable apartments, oversees the Rent Stabilization Program that provides protection to both renters and mobile homeowners, and is implementing innovative programs to preserve restricted affordable apartments. The Housing Department also strives to make homelessness in San Jose rare, brief, and one-time, through the implementation of the Community Plan to End Homelessness. The Plan is a collaborative public-private partnership with the County of Santa Clara's Office of Supportive Housing, the Santa Clara Housing Authority, and Destination: Home, a nonprofit. The Housing Department manages four U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Programs entitlement grants in addition to numerous state and local grant programs. Over the past three years, the Housing Department has played a major role in protecting the City's most vulnerable residents by investing over $150 million in funding to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Housing Department has a capital budget of approximately $333.5 million, an operating budget of $19 million and 109 full-time employees. The Housing Department is committed to creating a welcoming, equitable, and supportive workplace for all employees.
The Housing Department is looking for a Senior Public Information Representative on the Communications Team.
Annual Salary range(s) for this classification is:
- Senior Public Information Representative: $120,010.80 - $146,196.96
The Housing Department is looking for a Senior Public Information Representative. The Housing Department addresses complex societal issues, including homelessness, affordable housing, and fair housing. Our audiences range from ordinary citizens to elected officials, and from nonprofits to advocacy groups. If you want to do meaningful and fulfilling work, utilizing every bit of creativity you possess, then this is the job for you.
This position will give you the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of real people while you learn new skills, have fun and collaborate with many internal and external stakeholders. Our team needs an individual who is excited to help educate the public about programs, projects and initiatives the City undertakes to make housing more accessible to everyone.
Please note, This position requires fluency in English and at least one of the following languages: Chinese, Spanish, Vietnamese Within our Communications Team, you will:
- Play an important role in helping the Housing Department communicate critical information to the public, City Council and a wide range of stakeholders;
- Provide graphic design services for the entire Department, including signage, brochures, mailers, flyers, and presentations;
- Develop content for our Department's social media channels, website, and SharePoint site;
- Support the Communications Team's public outreach via email and social media;
- Manage the Department's photo library;
- Manage the Department style guide and ensure all visuals produced by the Department comply with the City's brand guidelines;
- Translate data and statistics about homelessness and affordable housing into relatable content via infographics and images;
- Support multidisciplinary project teams that include policy experts and project managers from within and outside the Housing Department;
- Produce the Department's annual report as well as reports for teams within the Department (e.g., Rent Stabilization Program, Homelessness Response Team); and
- Support the Department's language access program and work with the City Manager's Office to ensure compliance with citywide language access policies.
Your Mindset and Duties- You are open-minded, curious and optimistic.
- You are agile and can be both scrappy (to move fast) and detail-oriented (to go deep).
- You have a contagious and positive work ethic.
- You take on tasks and challenges with high energy and you can be counted on to complete projects on time.
- You have a passion for storytelling and making a difference.
- You have a proven history of working well in team situations and collaborating productively.
- You are knowledgeable about affordable housing and homelessness issues.
(These qualifications are typically required. An equivalent combination of education, experience, knowledge, skills and abilities sufficient to satisfactorily perform the duties of the job may be substituted.) Education and Experience
Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in the fields of journalism, communications, advertising, marketing, public relations, public administration, or closely related fields and four (4) years of increasingly responsible public information, marketing, or public relations experience.
Licensing Requirements
- Valid California Driver's License may be required.
Certifications: This position requires a disclosure of outside investments, real property interest, income, and business positions. You must complete and file an "Assuming Office Form 700" with the City Clerk's Office within the first 30 days of employment with the office.
Other Qualifications The ideal candidate will possess the following competencies, as demonstrated in past and current employment history. Desirable competencies for this position include:
Job Expertise - Demonstrates knowledge of and experience with applicable professional/technical principles and practices of communications and public relations, including professional experience in some combination of graphic design, content creation, branding, language accessibility, print production, and website and social media content development.
Communication Skills - Effectively convey information and expresses thoughts and facts clearly, orally and in writing; demonstrates effective use of listening skills; displays openness to other people's ideas and thoughts.
Collaboration - Develops networks and builds alliances, engages in cross-functional activities.
Political Skill - In taking action, demonstrates an understanding and consideration of how it will impact stakeholders and affected areas in the organization.
Problem Solving - Approaches a situation or problem by defining the problem or issue; determines the significance of problem; collects information;
uses logic and intuition to arrive at decisions or solutions to problems that achieve the desired outcome.
Project Management - Ensures support for projects and implements agency goals and strategic objectives.
Supervision - Sets effective long and short-term goals based on a good understanding of management practices; establishes realistic priorities within available resources; provides motivational support; empowers others; assigns decision-making and work functions to others in an appropriate manner to maximize organizational and individual effectiveness.
