Civic Engagement Manager

City of San Rafael Civic Engagement Manager

The City of San Rafael is seeking a dynamic and experienced Civic Engagement Manager (formal title is Civic Design Manager) to spearhead comprehensive engagement programs while coordinating the Communication Team's activities. This role will work within the City's visionary Digital Services and Open Government Department (Department), which executes pioneering strategies to build trust with the community, increase transparency, and improve access to government for all. This position is part of a strong team with a service-driven culture where each day presents fresh challenges and opportunities to tangibly impact the lives of San Rafael's residents, businesses, and visitors!

This leader will play a pivotal role in the City by enhancing outreach and engagement, fostering inclusivity, providing methods of two-way communication and helping the City tell its story to the community. Our team achieves this mission through human-centered design, process improvement, and performance measurement, all aimed at continuously enhancing service delivery and the use of digital technologies to improve the relationship between government and people. This role will oversee our Digital Analyst and entails serving as the primary communications strategist for the City. Responsibilities include adept project management, fostering interdepartmental collaboration, improving the user experience of our digital engagement, working with community partners, engaging with media outlets, tracking metrics, and actively promoting San Rafael's outstanding reputation. Join us in reimagining how we bring all voices to the table and make government easier to use for everyone in our community-apply today!

THE CITY
The City of San Rafael is focused on enhancing our community members' quality of life through well-designed services and a positive workplace culture. San Rafael is the economic and cultural heart of Marin County, and its high quality of life is centered on its commercial districts, engaged neighborhoods, active lifestyles, and natural environments. San Rafael (population approx. 60,000) is a full-service city with a City Council/City Manager form of government with 12 departments, more than 400 employees, and a total citywide budget of approximately $172M. The City's vision is to be a vibrant economic and cultural center reflective of its diversity. The City Council is engaged and seeks to strengthen the urban and commercial areas as well as sustain the beautiful natural environment.

TOGETHER SAN RAFAEL
San Rafael's organizational culture framework is an initiative called "Together San Rafael." City employees are the organization's greatest asset, and talented individuals with diverse backgrounds who are creative, curious, and excited about a challenge are sought to join the team. All departments are results-driven, with the goal of best serving the needs of community members. The Together San Rafael initiative is focused on increasing the engagement of employees to modernize and improve services for the community. This initiative recognizes the interconnectedness of the customer and employee experience. Together San Rafael is about:

• Bringing staff and management together to collaborate cross-departmentally.
• Empowering all employees to share and implement their innovative ideas.
• Celebrating the innovation happening every day in our departments.

Employees across the organization developed these guiding principles and staff integrate them throughout their work.

THE DEPARTMENT - Digital Services and Open Government
Government faces new challenges in the post-pandemic era. Community expectations of how government communicates, engages, and delivers services are changing. The City's response is to assess what is working, what can be improved, and transform services to meet the needs of people and the expectations of modern times.

To meet these challenges, the Digital Service and Open Government is guided by core values including:

• Government should be designed with and for people.
• Empathy for all users leads to equitable outcomes.
• Data and information should be used to create trust, transparency, and better government.
• Building capacity across City teams empowers positive change.
• Technology should be secure, accessible, and make life easier.

The Department's work is centered around four key focus areas including Civic Engagement, Digital Transformation, Data & Insights, and IT Operations and Maintenance. Our team collaborates interdepartmentally to innovate, improve processes, leverage data, empower citizens to participate in decision-making processes, and make access to municipal services more efficient. From improving the user-experience of City services to implementing open data initiatives that provide insights into government operations, staff is dedicated to creating a more inclusive and responsive government that serves the needs of all residents.

THE JOB
This is an exhilarating opportunity that puts this Civic Engagement Manager at the forefront of transforming community engagement, technology, and communication in the vibrant community of San Rafael. Reporting to the Director of Digital Service and Open Government, they will oversee the interdepartmental Communications Team and manage engagement operations in coordination with both the City Manager's Office and other departments.

The Civic Engagement Manager will ensure that projects are completed on time, according to budget, and within the bounds of work contracts. They will direct website content strategy, guiding staff on user experience enhancements that will revolutionize the City's online presence. They will also take the reins on managing the City's social media strategy, shaping its voice and swiftly responding to media inquiries. Providing critical creative direction for the City's online presence is the key responsibility of this role - seizing the opportunity to lead crucial engagement strategies that promote equitable access to services and information!

UPCOMING PROJECTS & OPPORTUNITIES

• Communications Strategy: Establish an advanced strategy for communicating the City's mission, vision, and values.
• Citywide Language Access Plan: Increase the accessibility of City services by establishing consistent guidelines and practices for multilingual engagement.
• Citywide Website Content Strategy: Coordinate with the website team to develop content strategy, oversee improvements to enhance the user experience.
• Public Comments & Requests Process: Coordinate with teams across the City to build best practices for responding to requests and questions from the community.

The City of San Rafael is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Job Announcement URL:

https://indd.adobe.com/view/29dcf60b-e937-4eca-897f-0d393466418a

Ideal Candidate

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE
The Civic Engagement Manager will be enthusiastic about communications, design, and the user experience - championing the Department's mission to make services easy to use, and work for everyone! The ideal candidate will have a background in marketing, communications, and/or digital engagement strategies. They will also have experience in project management and leading a team in the effective completion of large-scale communications campaigns. They will have foundational technical abilities and proven ability to improve processes, combined with exceptional interpersonal skills. They will be a strong collaborator who seeks out opportunities to utilize the strengths and knowledge of their team.

The ideal candidate will be passionate about accessibility, and the many ways in which they can use modern technology to increase access to core services, exciting programs, and fun engaging events for the community. They will be excited to explore language access in their digital marketing efforts, and further the culture of inclusivity and acceptance that is key to the success of San Rafael.

CORE COMPETENCIES FOR THIS ROLE INCLUDE:

• Digital Proficiency: Understands digital tools and platforms, including social media, website management, and digital engagement strategies.
• Strategic Thinking: Develops and executes strategic plans for communication and engagement initiatives, aligning them with organizational objectives and priorities.
• Team Collaboration: Works collaboratively with internal teams and external stakeholders to achieve major milestones and drive projects to completion.
• Flexibility and Creativity: Remains open to new ideas and approaches, challenges the status quo, and brings fresh perspectives to the table.
• Cultural Competence: Demonstrates sensitivity to cultural differences, ensuring engagement strategies are inclusive and accessible to all community members.

EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS

• Education: Equivalent to graduation from an accredited college or university with a degree in digital engagement, communications, community engagement, marketing, public relations, public policy, public administration, or a closely related field.
• Experience: Three years of progressively responsible experience in a related field, including at least one year in a management capacity.

HIGHLY DESIRED

• Master's degree
• Bilingual Spanish-speaking

Benefits

This position will receive an annual salary of $122,748 - $149,208 DOE/DOQ. The Civic Design Manager (formal position title) is a regular position a of the Mid-Management employee group, eligible to receive all related benefits to the group, which includes:

Retirement: The City is a part of the Marin County Employees Retirement Association (MCERA) plan, which offers reciprocity between agencies in CalPERS (this is part of the 37 Act County System); Classic members receive 2% @ 55 formula and PEPRA members receive 2% @ 62 formula (differs with years of public service), - Employee contributes an additional 1% of pensionable compensation towards the normal cost of pension in addition to the current employee pension contribution.

Medical Insurance : EE Only - $735.86; Employee + 1 $1,471.71; Employee + Family $1,913.24; Waive - $735.86.

Dental: Fully paid for employee and dependents.

Vision: Fully paid for employee and dependents.

Administrative Leave: 10 days per calendar year (applied every January (pro-rated based on date of hire)

Vacation: Vacation accrual of 15 days per year for the first 5 years, pro-rated based on hire date. Additional accrual based on years of service up to 25 days per year.

Holidays: 12 paid holidays, plus 1 floating holiday per year.

Sick Leave: 12 days per year.

Sick Leave Pay Out: 3% per year of service, up to 600 hours.

Service Credit for Sick Leave: Option upon retirement for EEs hired on or after 6/30/09.

Long Term Disability: 2/3 of monthly salary, up to a maximum benefit of $7,500.

Life Insurance: $150,000 life insurance policy.

Bereavement Leave: Up to 3 days for in-state, 5 days for out-of-state.

Gym Reimbursement: Up to $198/year.

125 Flex Spending Account (EE Option): Up to IRS Limit.

Special Instructions

HOW TO APPLY: For first consideration, apply by May 16th at https://wbcpinc.com/job-board/. Applicant screening will be ongoing throughout the period in which this position is accepting applications.

Save the Dates
Selected Candidates must be available for all dates:

• Round one interviews are in person and will take place on June 4th.
• Round two interviews are in person and will take place on June 5th, followed by finalist interviews that day with the City Manager.

Recruitment Contact

Contact phone:

(415)485-3069

Contact email:

alissa.curtin@cityofsanrafael.org


Closing Date/Time: 5/16/2024 at 5pm

1400 Fifth Avenue, San Rafael, California 94901 United States View Map