Departmental Communications Manager

THIS IS A NEW ASSEMBLED EXAMINATION. The eligible list resulting from this examination will cancel any existing list and may last approximately one year but can be extended.

Supplemental Questionnaire: A properly completed Supplemental Questionnaire must be submitted with each application. Failure to submit the Application or Supplemental Questionnaire will result in disqualification.

Applications and Supplemental Questionnaires must be in the possession of the Human Resource Services Department by 5:00:00 p.m. on the Last Day for Filing.

 Applications and Supplemental Questionnaires will only be accepted on-line.

THE POSITION

Under general direction, administers a public information program for a county agency or department.  In partnership with senior management, incumbents will conceive, plan, develop and oversee a variety of programs and projects including creating, updating, editing and publishing content and messaging for all forms of media (i.e., print, electronic, social media, web, mobile, broadcast, etc.) and audiences, written marketing materials, creating public awareness, and understanding and effectively communicating the department or agency’s policies and programs.

THE DEPARTMENTS

Alameda County Library:

The Alameda County Library provides library services from ten libraries in the cities of Albany, Dublin, Fremont, Newark, and Union City and the unincorporated communities of Castro Valley and San Lorenzo. The Alameda County Library also provides additional services through Mobile and Outreach Services, Education and Literacy Services, and Social Justice Services.

The County Library was established in 1910 and is governed by the Alameda County Board of Supervisors. The Alameda County Library Advisory Commission advises County Librarian, Cynthia Chadwick, and the Board of Supervisors on library services.

The County Library is funded primarily by local property taxes, with additional revenue from State grants and contracts with cities for additional open hours and services.

The Board of Supervisors allocates a portion of utility users and business license tax which is collected only in the unincorporated areas of the County to the Library for service to the unincorporated areas. The Alameda County Library Foundation and active Friends of the Library or Library League groups in each community support library programs and services. To learn more about the Alameda County Library, please click HERE.

Alameda County Department of Child Support Services:

The Mission of the Alameda County Department of Child Support Services is to encourage responsible parenting, family self-sufficiency and child wellbeing by locating parents, establishing paternity, obtaining and modifying support obligations and collecting support.

The child support program was created to ensure that children receive the benefit of support from both of their parents. The program serves more than 1 in 5 children in the United States. Any custodial or non-custodial party may request that the Department of Child Support Services (DCSS) aid in collecting their court ordered support; DCSS is committed to providing these services with compassion, effectiveness and efficiency.

The Department has approximately 160 professional, administrative, technical, paraprofessional and clerical support employees working within three divisions; Administration/Financial Services, Attorney Services and Program Operations. The Department is located within the Hacienda Business Park (www.hacienda.org/) in Pleasanton, CA and services the entire Alameda County area. To learn more about the Department of Child Support Services, please click HERE.  

IDEAL CANDIDATE

In addition to meeting the minimum qualifications listed below, the ideal candidate will possess the following attributes:

• Understanding of communications strategies and importance of driving efforts to produce high-quality content across a wide array of platforms that engages our customers, community partners, staff, and builds program and brand recognition.
• A thoughtful and results oriented leader, supervisor, and team player. Encourages professional development and knowledge building for self and others; provides training, instruction, constructive feedback, reinforcing positive performance.
• Metrics-driven with experience leveraging systems to meet objectives and achieve positive results.
• Engages with all levels of employees and celebrates the diversity of customers of all backgrounds.
• Managing multiple projects, shifting priorities, and delivering on deadlines; working with a high degree of efficacy, emotional intelligence, maintains positive community and employee relations.
• Your main duties will also include creating high-quality informative content, press releases, articles, and media opportunities to share our organizations brand, products, and services.
• Excellent communicator with brilliant presentation and organization skills.

Please CLICK HERE for the full job description.

The current vacancies exist in the County Library and Department of Child Support Services. To learn more about the County Library CLICK HERE.To learn more about the Department of Child Support Services CLICK HERE. Please note that the eligible list resulting from this recruitment and selection process may be utilized for future vacancies which may arise within the next year.

Education:  

Possession of a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with a major in public relations, journalism, communications, business administration, or a closely related field.  

 AND  

Experience:  

The equivalent of three (3) years of experience in journalism, public relations, or media which included providing information to the public in the capacity of an organization’s public relations spokesperson and writing and placing news releases or writing of news and feature articles for various communications media. One (1) year of the required experience must have been in a supervisory capacity.  

Substitution:   Additional experience in journalism, public relations, or media may be substituted for the education requirement on a year-for-year basis.  

NOTE:  The Civil Service Commission may modify the above Minimum Qualifications in the announcement of an examination.

NOTE: The most suitably qualified candidates will possess the following competencies: 

Knowledge of:

• Principles and practices of public information, media relations, and community outreach project and program development.
• Principles and methods of supervision, management, and training.
• Methods used in evaluating the effectiveness of a public information program.
• Methods and techniques used in evaluating public attitudes regarding departmental operations and issues and the determination of public affairs needs.
• Copyright and trademark laws pertaining to use of multi-media.
• Marketing strategies and techniques.
• Desktop publishing, web content design and development and basic graphics preparation/presentation applications and equipment.
• Principles, techniques, procedures and methods used in the composition and production of a variety of print and internet communications.
• Understanding of the working media.
• English grammar, spelling, syntax and punctuation.
• Social Media and current internet trends.

Ability to:

• Communicate clearly and effectively both orally and in writing.
• Develop effective communication and marketing strategies.
• Plan, organize, coordinate, and implement a variety of communications, marketing, media relations, and outreach activities.
• Stay abreast of current communication and marketing trends.
• Maintain effective working relationships with community groups and members of the media.
• Determine potential public information items.
• Provide a high level of customer service when interacting with the public, vendors, contractors, and departmental staff.
• Plan, assign, train, supervise, review, and evaluate the work of assigned support staff.
• Plan and organize programs and projects.
• Make decisions quickly and effectively.
• Solve problems.
• Produce accurate information within short timeframes.
• Manage multiple and changing priorities.
• Meet deadlines.

THE EXAMINATION WILL CONSIST OF THE FOLLOWING STEPS:

1) A review of candidates' applications to verify possession of minimum requirements. Those candidates who possess the minimum requirements for the class will move on to the next step in the examination process.

2) A review of candidates' Supplemental Questionnaires to select the best qualified applicants to continue in the process.

3) An oral interview which will be weighted as 100% of the candidate's final examination score. The oral interview may contain situational exercises.

CANDIDATES MUST ATTAIN A QUALIFYING RATING ON EACH PORTION OF THIS EXAMINATION.

We reserve the right to make changes to the announced examination components. 

Alameda County utilizes a Civil Service Selection System founded on merit. Such a system is competitive and based on broad recruitment efforts and equal opportunity for qualified applicants to test in an examination process designed to determine the qualifications, fitness and ability of competitors to perform duties of the vacant position. Many of our recruitments are targeted and specific to the needs of a current vacant position, in which case, the eligible list may be exclusively used for that current vacant position. Other recruitments may be more broadly used for both current and future vacancies, or for other alternate jobs with comparable scopes of work.

To learn more about our recruitment and selection process, please visit the “What You Need to Know” section of our website, www.acgov.org/hrs.

Applicants will be informed via email with reasonable notice in advance of any examination process which will require their attendance. The following dates are tentative and subject to change based on the needs of the Agency.

TENTATIVE SELECTION PLAN    

Updated: 7/19/2021 SK 

We Reserve the Right to Make Changes to the Announced Recruitment & Selection Plan    

Alameda County and the Human Resource Services Department will make reasonable efforts in the examination and/or selection process to accommodate qualified individuals with disabilities and/or medical conditions in accordance/compliance with the State Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), Federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Alameda County’s Reasonable Accommodation Policy and applicable statutes. To request an accommodation due to a disability/medical condition during this or other phases of the examination/selection process, please contact the assigned Human Resources Representative listed on the job announcement. Alameda County requires applicants to provide supporting documentation to substantiate a request for reasonable accommodation. In order to qualify for a reasonable accommodation, applicants must have a disability/medical condition pursuant to the ADA, FEHA and applicable statutes.

For more information regarding our Reasonable Accommodation procedures, please visit our website, www.acgov.org/hrs

Alameda County offers a comprehensive and competitive benefits package that affords wide-ranging health care options to meet the different needs of a diverse workforce and their families. We also sponsor many different employee discount, fitness and health screening programs focused on overall well being.  These benefits include but are not limited to*:

For your Health & Well-Being Medical

• Medical – HMO & PPO Plans
• Dental – HMO & PPO Plans
• Vision or Vision Reimbursement
• Share the Savings
• Basic Life Insurance
• Supplemental Life Insurance (with optional dependent coverage for eligible employees)
• Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance
• County Allowance Credit
• Flexible Spending Accounts - Health FSA, Dependent Care and Adoption Assistance
• Short-Term Disability Insurance
• Long-Term Disability Insurance
• Voluntary Benefits - Accident Insurance, Critical Illness, Hospital Indemnity and Legal Services
• Employee Assistance Program

For your Financial Future

• Retirement Plan - (Defined Benefit Pension Plan)
• Deferred Compensation Plan (457 Plan or Roth Plan)

For your Work/Life Balance

• 11 paid holidays
• Floating Holidays
• Vacation and sick leave accrual
• Vacation purchase program
• Management Paid Leave** 
• Catastrophic Sick Leave
• Group Auto/Home Insurance
• Pet Insurance
• Commuter Benefits Program
• Guaranteed Ride Home
• Employee Wellness Program (e.g. At Work Fitness, Incentive Based Programs, Gym Membership Discounts)
• Employee Discount Program (e.g. theme parks, cell phone, etc.)
• Child Care Resources
• 1st United Services Credit Union 

*Eligibility is determined by Alameda County and offerings may vary by collective bargaining agreement.  This provides a brief summary of the benefits offered and can be subject to change.

**Non-exempt management employees are entitled to up to three days of management paid leave. Exempt management employees are entitled to up to seven days of management paid leave.

All notices related to County recruitments for which you have applied will be sent/delivered via email. Please add @acgov.org and Noreply@jobaps.com as accepted addresses to any email blocking or spam filtering program you may use. If you do not do this, your email blocking or spam filtering program may block receipt of the notices regarding your application for recruitments. You are also strongly advised to regularly log into your County of Alameda online application account to check for notices that may have been sent to you. All email notices that will be sent to you will also be kept in your personal online application account. You will be able to view all of your notices in your online application account by clicking on the 'My applications' button on the Current Job Openings page.

Please take the steps recommended above to ensure you do not miss any notices about a recruitment for which you have applied. The County of Alameda is not responsible for notices that are not read, received or accessed by any applicant for a County recruitment.

NOTE: All notices are generated through an automated email notification system. Replies to the email box alamedacountyHR@acgov.org are routed to an unmonitored mailbox. All notices are generated through an automated email notification system. Replies to the email box are routed to an unmonitored mailbox. If you have questions, please go to our website at www.acgov.org/hrs. You may also contact the Human Resources Analyst listed on the job announcement for the recruitment for which you have applied.

Sandy Kim, Human Resources Analyst
Human Resource Services, County of Alameda
Sandy.Kim@acgov.org
(510) 272-6470
www.acgov.org/hrs

DISASTER SERVICE WORKER
All Alameda County employees are designated Disaster Service Workers through state and local law.  Employment with the County requires the affirmation of a loyalty oath to this effect.  Employees are required to report to work as ordered in the event of an emergency.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
Alameda County has a diverse workforce, that is representative of the communities we serve and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.  All aspects of employment are based on merit, competence, performance and business need. Alameda County does not discriminate in employment on the basis of, race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factors protected under federal, state and local law. Alameda County celebrates diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive, and welcoming workplace environment.