Engagement/Outreach Specialist

Position Information

NOTE: This is a re-announcement to expand the pool of qualified candidates. If you have already applied for this position, there is no need to re-apply unless you wish to update your application.

Arlington County's Office of Communications and Public Engagement (CAPE) is seeking a Community Engagement Specialist to assist with developing, implementing, and managing public engagement strategies and initiatives. The position will help guide the County's Public Engagement Plan, including the implementation and enhancement of the Public Engagement Guide-- a comprehensive tool for designing and facilitating public engagement across the County. This position will also be working in the community to engage many County residents, many of whom are from diverse cultural backgrounds with limited English proficiency. Proficiency in Spanish (written and spoken) is strongly preferred.

Specific duties include:

• Establishing and maintaining relationships with key stakeholder groups, including hard-to-reach, diverse and under-represented communities by identifying and executing creative and accessible strategies to reach them;

• Designing and implementing online and in-person public engagement initiatives, including logistics, event planning, outreach strategies, communication, and facilitation of community events and public meetings on a broad array of topics (e.g., budget, race and equity, climate, housing, etc);

• Analyzing qualitative and quantitative feedback data gathered during various engagement sessions and presenting information in user-friendly formats;

• Facilitating and conducting training on public engagement guidelines and resources to strengthen capacity and add consistency across County efforts; and

• Creating briefing papers, fact sheets and other plain language and easy to access materials for targeted communities in specific issues and topics both proactively and in response to specific issues for communities.

The successful candidate will have the following:

• Ability to think creatively and use a comprehensive understanding of communication and engagement strategies to promote the department and engage with the community;

• Demonstrate skills and knowledge of both in-person and online engagement strategies and tools; and

• Experience with designing public engagement strategies and sessions to facilitate group conversations with stakeholders who have different experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives.

About the Office of Communication and Public Engagement (CAPE)

Located in the County Manager's Office (CMO) and is responsible for enterprise-wide communication and engagement with the public, stakeholders, and the media. CAPE manages the County's website, social media, newsroom, and Arlington Video Group. In addition, CAPE plays an instrumental role in enhancing public engagement, customer service and constituent relationships across the County.

Selection Criteria

Minimum: Bachelor's degree in public administration, planning, public policy, education, social work, communications, or related field, plus considerable responsible experience in public/community engagement and outreach, including community engagement design and implementation, outreach, event management, facilitation, writing, editing, graphic design, and/ or other related areas.

Substitution: A Master's Degree in a related field may substitute for one year of experience. Additional experience in non-profits, government, education, event management, and/or program management may substitute for the education on a year-by-year basis

Desirable: Preference may be given to those with experience in one or more of the following:

• Spanish Language (speak and read);

• GovDelivery or other Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools;

• Large and small group facilitation;

• Utilizing Microsoft Office (Word, Outlook, Power point, Publisher and Excel); and/or

• Creating signs, posters, flyers and presentations in digital and print forms.

Special Requirements

Please attach to your application a sample engagement/outreach plan for a specific issue that impacts the community (such as affordable housing, climate change, or transportation). The engagement plan should include both in-person and virtual engagement opportunities to connect with hard-to reach community members.

Additional Information

Work Hours: This is a 40 hour a week position with varying hours depending on meetings and engagements. Flexibility will be required to accommodate weekend and evening events, or meetings as needed.

The official title for this position is Communications Specialist II.

Your responses to the supplemental questionnaire are considered part of the selection process and are required for this position. Please do not give "see resume" as a response to the questions. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

#LI:Hybrid

Applicants who have questions or need assistance with the application may telephone (703) 228-3500 or visit the Human Resources Department. Our staff will be happy to work with you to enter your application into the system. Public access computers are available at all County Libraries, and in the Human Resources Department.

The examination process for this position may include: (1) training and experience evaluation; (2) written and oral examination; (3) personal interview; (4) performance test/work sample; and/or (5) physical examination.

Applicants with disabilities may request reasonable accommodation during the application or selection process. Please call the ADA Coordinator at 703-228-3559 (voice) or email pers@arlingtonva.us.

Eligibility for Arlington County Government employee benefits depends on your position type (permanent or temporary) and your status (full-time or part-time).

More detailed information on benefits and conditions of employment is available on the Arlington County Human Resources Department website: www.arlingtonva.us/pers.

Permanent, Full-Time Appointments

All jobs are permanent, full-time appointments unless otherwise stated in the announcement. The following benefits are available:

Paid Leave: Vacation leave is earned at the rate of five hours biweekly. Leave accrual increases gradually until eight hours of leave are earned biweekly for twelve or more years of service. Sick leave is earned at the rate of four hours biweekly. Paid parental and family leave benefits are also offered. Leave is pro-rated for part-time employees.

Holidays: There are eleven paid fixed holidays each year, as well as two floating holidays. Initial allotment of floating holidays may vary based on when you are hired.

Health and Dental Insurance: Four group health insurance plans are offered - a health maintenance organization, two plans with in-network only coverage, and a high-deductible plan with in and out-of-network coveerage, along with a Health Savings Account (HSA). Group dental insurance is also offered, with two options for coverage. The County pays a significant portion of the premium for these plans for employees and their dependents. The County also contributes to the HSA.

Life Insurance: Basic life insurance is provided at no cost to employees. The benefit is one times annual salary. Additional life insurance may be purchased for yourself, spouse, and/or children.

Retirement: The County retirement program is made up of three parts: a defined benefit (pension) plan, a defined contribution plan (401(a)), and a deferred compensation plan (457). The defined benefit plan provides a monthly retirement benefit based on your final average salary and years of service with the County. You contribute a portion of your salary on a pre-tax basis to this plan. General employees contribute 4% of pay; uniformed public safety employees contribute 7.5% of pay. The County also contributes to this plan. Employees become vested in the plan at five years of service.

For general employees, the County also contributes 4.2% of pay to a defined contribution plan (401(a)). The 457 deferred compensation plan allows you to save for retirement on either a pre-tax (457b) or post-tax (457 Roth) basis up to the IRS annual limit. New employees are automatically enrolled with a pre-tax contribution equal to 2% of your pay. A variety of investment options are available for the 401(a) and 457 plans.

Other Benefits: The County also offers health care, dependent care, and parking flexible spending accounts; adoption assistance, tuition reimbursement; transit and walk/bike to work subsidies; a college savings plan; wellness programs; training opportunities; and a variety of other benefits.

Permanent, Part-Time Appointments:

Part-time employees who work ten or more hours per week receive paid leave and benefits in proportion to the number of hours worked per week.

Limited Term Appointments:

Benefits are the same as permanent appointments except that the employees do not achieve permanent status.

Temporary Regular Appointments:

Temporary regular employees who work 30 hours or more per week are eligible for health, dental, and basic life insurance as described above. They are also eligible for vacation, sick leave, and paid holidays.

Temporary Seasonal and Occasional Appointments:

Temporary employees who work on a seasonal basis or variable hours receive sick leave, but do not normally receive other paid leave or benefits. Exceptions are noted in individual announcements.

01

Do you have at least a bachelor's degree in public administration, planning, public policy, education, social work, communications, or related field?

• Yes

• No

02

How many years of experience do you have working in communication, public/community engagement and outreach, including community engagement design and implementation, outreach, event management, facilitation, writing, editing, graphic design, and/ or other related areas?

• None
• 6 months
• 1 year
• 2 years
• 3 years or more

03

How many years of experience do you have working in non-profits, government, event management, program management and/or related areas?

• None
• 6 months
• 1 year
• 2 years
• 3 years or more

04

Which of the following mediums do you have experience in developing communication strategy?

• In-person engagement design

• Survey design and analysis

• Online engagement tools

• Group facilitation (small and/or large)

• Community partnerships

• Community Organizing and Coalition Building

• Event and logistics planning

• Presentations (written and/or oral

• Flyers, Graphics, or Infographics

• Social media (Facebook, Twitter, NextDoor, etc)

• None of the above

05

Which of the following software do you have experience with?

• Microsoft TEAMS

• Public Input (or other online Engagement Platform)

• Microsoft Excel

• Microsoft PowerPoint

• Microsoft Word

• Vengage or Canva (or other creative tools)

• Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, etc.)

• None of the above

06

Describe your professional and/or volunteer experience working with multiple stakeholders that have differing priorities and viewpoints.

07

I understand that I must attach an example of a sample communications and engagement strategy, including supplemental materials (flyers, social media, etc.) I developed for a project.

• Yes

• No

08

A complete application includes a sample engagement/outreach plan for a specific issue that impacts the community (such as affordable housing, climate change, or transportation). The engagement plan should include both in-person and virtual engagement opportunities to connect with hard-to reach community members. I have attached this document.

• Yes

• No

Required Question

Agency Arlington County

Address 2100 Clarendon Blvd, Suite 511

Arlington, Virginia, 22201

Phone 703-228-3500

Website https://careers.arlingtonva.us/