Community Engagement Manager

Description

THE POSITION
Under the general direction of the Agency Director, or designee, and the functional supervision of the County Public Information Officer, manages a communications strategy which fosters public understanding and awareness of the Agency’s goals, policies, programs, and services across all County departments and divisions. The position provides the public, media, and County employees with accurate, timely, and consistent information. This position will supervise specialized system-wide library programs, services, and/or activities.

The Ventura County Library is looking for an experienced, dedicated, innovative, and proactive media relations professional who possesses outstanding team-leading skills, high integrity, solid ethical standards, and can exercise appropriate independent judgment. The successful candidate will be a highly collaborative professional who has experience successfully cultivating and maintaining effective working relationships.

IDEAL CANDIDATE
The ideal candidate will possess thorough knowledge of modern marketing and public relations techniques and have extensive experience creating community engagement using effective modern communication techniques in community relations, public engagement, media relations, marketing, social media and content creation, and website management to strategically advance the library's goals and objectives.

The demonstrated experience will include experience using data and information to create visually impactful reports and presentations, such as charts, graphs, videos, slideshows, and other presentation formats. They will also possess effective public speaking and interpersonal communication skills and will lead by example and always deliver outstanding customer service with compassion and empathy.

PAYROLL TITLE: Agency Public Information Officer I

EDUCATIONAL/BILINGUAL INCENTIVE: Incumbents may be eligible for an educational incentive of 2.5%, 3.5%, or 5% based on completion of an Associate's, Bachelor's, or Master's degree that is not required for the classification. Incumbents may also be eligible for bilingual incentive depending upon operational need and certification of skill.

DEPARTMENT/AGENCY: Library Services

Agency Public Information Officer I is a Management classification and is not eligible for overtime compensation.

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
OPENING DATE: Tuesday, July 08, 2025
CLOSING DATE: Friday, July 25, 2025, at 5:00 p.m.
APPLICATION REVIEW COMPLETE: Week of July 28, 2025

Examples Of Duties

Duties may include, but are not limited to the following:

• Promotes the Library's programs, services, collections, and announcements through a variety of media including press releases and promotional materials through the Library's webpage, social media, and brochures and flyers.
• Plans, organizes, coordinates, and directs the content for the Agency website, social media, media events, and various community outreach activities, such as informational presentations to achieve a planned outcome.
• Coordinates the internal and external communications needs for the Agency by developing communication strategies for Agency programs, initiatives, services, and events; and communicating with other public information officers to ensure messages related are aligned.
• Confers with staff at all levels within the Agency and staff of other County Agencies and organizations; prepares information for dissemination to the media and stakeholder groups; communicates with members of the media, the public and various community organizations.
• Develops materials, including writing and producing newsletters, brochures, bookmarks, flyers mobile application, talking points, speeches, videos, and web communications.
• Creates visually compelling marketing and public information materials, including flyers, posters, notices and infographics.
• Oversees the Library's website content, including accessibility, website policy, and technical standards.
• Provides guidance, training and support for Library personnel involved in web content generation, communication best practices, and social media creation.
• Provides prompt, courteous and direct assistance to all patrons with basic information regarding use of library materials, equipment, and services and refers patrons to appropriate staff as needed.
• Develops communication calendar and plans for specific projects that require public engagement, in collaboration with County Agencies.
• Works with other County agencies to develop and strengthen relationships that promote library services, partnerships, and collaboration.
• Coordinates translations of communication materials.
• Informs, visits, and educates on various issues with community stakeholders, including businesses, residents, churches, schools, hospitals, other governmental entities, community organizations, and environmental groups.
• Represents the Agency through contact with the media, other governmental or community agencies and the public; confers and cooperates with others on policies and procedures as well as organizational and operational issues; develops informational materials, talking points, speeches and needs assessment materials.
• Oversees the collection, compiling, and reporting specific information and data needed for reporting to the State Library, granting agencies, and the community stakeholders.
• Manages and develops the Library's mobile web presence.
• Delivers presentations to the Board of Supervisors and other community groups.
• Interacts with and effectively communicates in a professional manner with members of the public, elected/appointed officials, department/agency directors, and other high-profile individuals.
• Prepares special and periodic reports involving compilation of, and analysis of data from a number of sources.
• May supervise staff engaged in a broad scope of activities pertinent to Agency operations.
• May operate camera to take photographs of events and persons of note.
• Performs other related duties.

Typical Qualifications

These are entrance requirements to the examination process and assure neither continuance in the process nor placement on an eligible list.

EDUCATION, TRAINING, and EXPERIENCE
Extensive experience in communications management in the public or private sector which has led to the acquisition of the required knowledge, skills, and abilities. An example of a qualifying education and experience is:

• Bachelor's degree in Journalism, Communication, Public Administration, Business, or a related field; and
• Two (2) years of recent, paid, and progressively responsible professional experience in journalism, public relations, or the media managing the communication and information for a public or private sector organization.

NECESSARY SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

• Experience using social media (e.g., Instagram, Twitter (X), Facebook, YouTube, Hootsuite, etc.)
• Effective written communication skills must be demonstrated in the completion of the employment application and supplemental questionnaire
• Must posses a valid California driver license

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, and ABILITIES

Considerable knowledge in:

• Media relations, news writing and production, and the operation and needs of the media industry;
• Media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform via written, oral, and visual/social media, including Instagram, Twitter (X), Facebook, YouTube, Hootsuite, etc.
• The structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rule of composition, and grammar;
• Principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction;
• Business software tools;
• Business office procedures, practices and protocol.
• Specific information and data needed for reporting to the State Library granting agencies, and the community stakeholders.

Working knowledge of:

• The Library's programs, collections, organization, operations, services, policies and procedures;
• Printing and print production;
• Graphic design;
• Photography and video.

Skills and Abilities to:

• Actively listen;
• Communicate orally and in writing, make public presentations to the media and other agency representatives on Agency issues and decisions;
• Establish and maintain good working relationships with media representatives, community organizations, staff, and volunteers;
• Plan, organize and establish goals and objectives;
• Exercise sound judgment and decision making;
• Supervise, motivate, train, and evaluate the work of others;
• Adhere to deadlines and short time constraints;
• Produce accurate information using appropriate tools/media;
• Compose news releases, articles, brochures and pamphlets;
• Maintain confidentiality of sensitive information.

Recruitment Process

FINAL FILING DATE: Applications must be received by the County of Ventura Human Resources in Ventura, California, no later than 5:00 p.m. on Friday, July 25, 2025.

To apply online, please refer to our website at www.ventura.org/jobs . If you prefer to fill out a paper application form, please call (805) 654-5129 for application materials and submit them to County of Ventura Human Resources, 800 South Victoria Avenue, L-1970, Ventura, CA 93009.

NOTE: If presently permanently employed in another "merit" or "civil service" public agency/entity in the same or substantively similar position as is advertised, and if appointed to that position by successful performance in a "merit" or "civil service" style examination, then appointment by Lateral Transfer may be possible. If interested, please click here for additional information.

Note to Applicants: Sufficient information must be provided under the Education/Work experience portion of the application and supplemental questionnaire to thoroughly and accurately demonstrate your qualifications to determine eligibility. A resume may be attached to supplement your responses in the above referenced sections; however, it may not be substituted in lieu of the application.

SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONNAIRE - qualifying
All applicants are required to complete and submit the questionnaire for this examination at the time of filing. The supplemental questionnaire may be used throughout the examination process to assist in determining each applicant's qualifications and acceptability for the position. Failure to complete and submit the questionnaire may result in the application being removed from consideration.

APPLICATION SCREENING - qualifying
All applications will be reviewed to determine whether or not the stated requirements are met. Applicants meeting the stated requirements will be invited to continue to the next step in the recruitment process.

TRAINING & EXPERIENCE EVALUATION: A Training and Experience Evaluation (T&E) is a structured evaluation of the job application materials submitted by a candidate, including the written responses to the supplemental questionnaire. The T&E is NOT a determination of whether the candidate meets the stated requirements; rather, the T&E is one method for determining who are the better qualified among those who have shown that they meet the stated requirements. In a T&E, applications are either scored or rank ordered according to criteria that most closely meet the business needs of the department. Candidates are typically scored/ranked in relation to one another; consequently, when the pool of candidates is exceptionally strong, many qualified candidates may receive a score or rank which is moderate or even low resulting in them not being advanced in the process.

NOTE: The selection process will likely consist of an Oral Exam, which may be preceded or replaced with the score from a Training and Experience Evaluation (T&E), contingent upon the size and quality of the candidate pool. In a typical T&E, your training and experience are evaluated in relation to the background, experience and factors identified for successful job performance during a job analysis. For this reason, it is recommended that your application materials clearly show your relevant background and specialized knowledge, skills, and abilities. If the T&E replaces the oral exam, candidates must earn a score of seventy percent (70%) or higher to qualify for placement on the eligible list.

ORAL EXAMINATION - 100%: A job-related oral examination may be conducted to evaluate and compare participating applicants' knowledge, skills, and abilities in relation to those factors which job analysis has determined to be essential for successful performance of the job. Applicants must earn a score of seventy percent (70%) or higher to qualify for placement on the eligible list.

If there are three (3) or fewer qualified applicants, an oral examination will not be conducted. Instead, a score of seventy percent (70%) will be assigned to each application, and each applicant will be placed on the eligible list.

ELIGIBLE LIST
Candidates successfully completing the examination process may be placed on an eligible list for a period of one (1) year.

The eligible list established from this recruitment may be used to fill current and future Regular (including Temporary and Fixed-Term), Intermittent, and Extra-Help vacancies for this and similar positions only. There is currently one (1) Regular, Full-time vacancy with the Library Services Agency.

BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION: A thorough pre-employment, post offer background investigation which may include inquiry into past employment, education, criminal background information and driving record may be required for this position.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
The County of Ventura is an equal opportunity employer to all, regardless of age, ancestry, color, disability (mental and physical), exercising the right to family care and medical leave, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, military or veteran status, national origin, political affiliation, race, religious creed, sex (includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and related medical conditions), and sexual orientation.

For further information about this recruitment, please contact Esmeralda Oseguera by e-mail at Esmeralda.Oseguera@ventura.org or by telephone at (805) 477-7268.

YOUR BENEFITS AS A COUNTY OF VENTURA EMPLOYEE

MANAGEMENT

To learn more about Benefits, Retirement, and the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), see links below.

• Benefits website or you may call (805) 654-2570.
• Retirement FAQ's
• Memorandum of Agreement

Union Codes:MB3, MB4, MS, MT,MCC, MU

Closing Date/Time: 7/25/2025 5:00 PM Pacific

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• County of Ventura

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