The City and County of San Francisco

Company Description

This is a Position-Based Test conducted in accordance with CSC Rule 111A.

• Application Opening – April 16, 2024
• Application Deadline – April 29, 2024
• Compensation: $112,450.00-$150,696.00 Yearly; https://careers.sf.gov/classifications/?classCode=9252&setId=COMMN
• List ID: PBT-9252-145725; RTF0145724-01091247

WHO WE ARE

At the San Francisco Human Services Agency, we believe in a San Francisco where everyone has the opportunity and support to achieve their full potential. We are comprised of the Department of Benefits and Family Support, and the Department of Disability and Aging Services (DAS), and are united by our commitment to deliver essential services that support and protect people, families, and communities.

From financial, nutritional and employment support to child and adult protective services, health care coverage, affordable childcare, and in-home services for older adults and persons with disabilities, our team lends support for all in need.

OUR COMMITMENT TO RACIAL EQUITY

As we work towards our vision of an inclusive San Francisco, we embrace our responsibility to root out systemic racism by creating services and a workforce which reflect the lived experiences and strengths of the people we serve. We are committed to fostering a work environment where our differences are celebrated and everyone has what they need to thrive--no matter their race, age, ability, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or country of origin. Click here to learn more about what this commitment looks like in action.

Job Description

Under the direction of the Director of Communications, this position is responsible for helping to plan, implement, and coordinate communications programs for the Department. This role supports one of HSA’s program areas as its Communications Lead in the development, planning, implementation, and coordination of a multi-channel communications strategy in support of that program’s goals. As a Communications Specialist, key responsibilities include creating, updating, editing, and disseminating content and messaging to external audiences (e.g. HSA clients, community partners, grantees, City partners, etc.) and internal stakeholders (e.g. HSA employees across divisions and teams) on multiple channels (i.e. print, electronic, social media, web, mobile, broadcast, etc.), creating broad public awareness, and understanding and effectively communicating the Department policies and programs.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND FUNCTIONS:

According to Civil Service Commission Rule 109, the duties specified below are representative of the range of duties assigned to this job code/ class and are not intended to be an inclusive list. This position may include additional duties as assigned.

1. Develop and execute effective communications strategies for policies and projects, both to City staff and stakeholders and externally to the public.
2. Prepares talking points and answers public questions related to a plan, program, event or activity that SFHSA administers.
3. Develops public relations and digital marketing programs that support the Departments brand strategy objectives, engage the public, and identify innovative methods to bring targeted messages to market.
4. Creates and develops informative, user-friendly, and customer-focused multi-channel content for internal and external communications.
5. Creates, proofs, and edits content including: writing stories and articles, press releases, advisories, fact sheets, briefing notes, website content, editorials, social media content, budget reports, brochure and report updates, including coordinating all aspects of the publication process.
6. Creates, supports and manages the master content calendar for all sites; prepares and issues press releases and articles concerning the Departments role in the community, current issues and relevant legislation through various mediums; maintains consistency on the website and print material design; responds to complaints or requests for information; ensures that all content is in compliance with federal, state, and local laws and regulations.
7. May represent the Department to the media as well as before the Board of Supervisors, various community groups, and non-profit agencies.
8. Coordinates public relations strategies with other City departments and/or with a variety of partner organizations.
9. Researches and analyzes industry practices and procedures, pertinent legislation, and issues dealing with the community; prepares proposals for improvements related to community interests and issues.
10. Serves as liaison between Department staff and community groups, providing accurate public, stakeholder, and community information; manages crises communications; represents directors in their absence at various community, organizational, and governmental meetings; and manages daily office operation as required.
11. Contributes to the development and implementation of project strategy and work plans for future expansion of all communication channels by managing promotional activities including, but not limited to the message copy and on-going implementation of communications campaigns, customer service messaging, and department services campaigns; monitors communication campaigns for effectiveness and information on projects and special events with the goal of developing and maintaining positive community and internal employee relations; works with departmental programs and sections to coordinate informational activities.
12. Provides assistance, direction, and support to the communications program, as directed.

Qualifications

1. Education: Possession of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university;

AND

2. Experience: Three (3) years of professional experience working in the field of internal communications, public affairs, public information, or public relations unit. Experience must include one (1) year of professional experience in media relations, executive communications, employee engagement, social media, or digital engagement.

Substitution of Education: Additional experience as described above may be substituted for the required degree on a year-for-year basis (up to a maximum of 2 years). Thirty (30) semester units or forty-five (45) quarter units equal one year.

Note: Applicants who meet the minimum qualifications are not guaranteed to advance through all of the steps in the selection process.

Applicants must meet the minimum qualification requirement by the final filing date unless otherwise noted.

Desirable Qualifications:

The stated desirable qualifications may be used to identify job finalists at the end of the selection process when candidates are referred for hiring.

• Bilingual speaker and/or writer, preferably in Spanish or Chinese (Mandarin or Cantonese).
• Strategic thinker, with judgement to make day-to-day decisions in alignment with longer-term Departmental vision and priorities.
• Ability to conceptualize and implement innovative and creative approaches to public engagement and communications.
• Comfort operating with City staff of all levels concerning land use projects at any scale; ability to consider interaction between internal operations and external public stakeholders.
• Exercises sound judgement; understands when to escalate matters.
• Functions well in a high-stress and quick-paced environment. Comfort with pivoting and re-formulating approaches in response to dynamic policy and regulatory environment.
• Solution-oriented; ability to not only anticipate and identify problems but also propose appropriate responses.
• Excellent interpersonal communication and team management skills.
• An understanding, acceptance, and ability to advance equity, inclusion and diversity concepts.

Verification of Experience and/or Education: Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. If education verification is required, information on how to verify education requirements, including verifying foreign education credits or degree equivalency, can be found at https://sfdhr.org/how-verify-education-requirements

Note: Falsifying one’s education, training, or work experience or attempted deception on the application may result in disqualification for this and future job opportunities with the City and County of San Francisco.

All work experience, education, training and other information substantiating how you meet the minimum qualifications must be included on your application by the filing deadline. Information submitted after the filing deadline will not be considered in determining whether you meet the minimum qualifications.

Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of a completed City and County of San Francisco application.

Applications completed improperly may be cause for ineligibility, disqualification or may lead to lower scores.

Selection Procedures

Supplemental Questionnaire Examination: (Weight: 100%)

Candidates who meet the minimum qualifications will be invited to complete a Supplemental Questionnaire. The Supplemental Questionnaire is designed to measure an applicant’s relative knowledge, skills and abilities in job-related areas identified as critical for successful performance. These may include but are not limited to: knowledge of strategic communications principles and practices; ability to exercise independent judgment; knowledge of industry regulations; interpersonal skills; written and oral communications ability. All responses to the Supplemental Questionnaire are subject to verification and should be consistent with the information provided in your application.

Candidate scores on this examination may also be applied to other announcements involving other job titles, when directed by the Human Resources Director.

A passing score must be achieved on the Supplemental Questionnaire Examination in order to continue in the selection process.

Candidate exam responses will be vetted as appropriate using AI use detection software. Evidence of use of AI, plagiarized answers, or falsified information in exam responses will be addressed in accordance with Civil Service Rules related to fraud and cheating.

The above test component is considered standardized and, therefore, test questions and answers are not available for public inspection or review.

After application submission, candidates deemed qualified must complete all subsequent steps to advance in this selection process, which includes the following:

Minimum Qualification Supplemental Questionnaire (MQSQ): Candidates will be required to complete a MQSQ as part of the employment application. This MQSQ is designed to obtain specific information regarding an applicant's experience in relation to the Minimum Qualifications (MQ) for this position. The MQSQ will be used to evaluate if the applicant possesses the required minimum qualifications.

Additional Information

Eligible List/Score Report: A confidential eligible list of applicant names that have passed the civil service examination process will be created, and used for certification purposes only. An examination score report will be established, so applicants can view the ranks, final scores and number of eligible candidates. Applicant information, including names of applicants on the eligible list, shall not be made public unless required by law. However, an eligible list shall be made available for public inspection, upon request, once the eligible list is exhausted or expired and referrals resolved. The eligible list/score report resulting from this civil service examination process is subject to change after adoption (e.g., as a result of appeals), as directed by the Human Resources Director or the Civil Service Commission.

The duration of the eligible list resulting from this examination process will be of six (6) months, and may be extended with the approval of the Human Resources Director.

To find Departments which use this classification, please see: https://sfdhr.org/sites/default/files/documents/Forms-Documents/Position-Counts-by-Job-Codes-and-Department-FY-2023-24.pdf

Terms of Announcement and Appeal Rights:

Applicants must be guided solely by the provisions of this announcement, including requirements, time periods and other particulars, except when superseded by federal, state or local laws, rules or regulations. Clerical errors may be corrected by the posting the correction on the Department of Human Resources website at: https://careers.smartrecruiters.com/CityAndCountyOfSanFrancisco1

The terms of this announcement may be appealed under Civil Service Rule 111A.35.1. The standard for the review of such appeals is ‘abuse of discretion’ or ‘no rational basis’ for establishing the position description, the minimum qualifications and/or the certification rule. Appeals must include a written statement of the item(s) being contested and the specific reason(s) why the cited item(s) constitute(s) abuse of discretion by the Human Resources Director. Appeals must be submitted directly to the Executive Officer of the Civil Service Commission within five business days of the announcement issuance date.

Additional Information Regarding Employment with the City and County of San Francisco

• Information About The Hiring Process
• Conviction History
• Employee Benefits Overview 
• Equal Employment Opportunity 
• Disaster Service Worker
• ADA Accommodation
• Veterans Preference
• Right to Work
• Copies of Application Documents
• Diversity Statement

How to Apply

Applications for City and County of San Francisco jobs are only accepted through an online process. Visit https://careers.smartrecruiters.com/CityAndCountyOfSanFrancisco1/ and begin the application process.

• Select the “I’m Interested” button and follow instructions on the screen 

Applicants may be contacted by email about this recruitment and, therefore, it is their responsibility to ensure that their registered email address is accurate and kept up-to-date. Also, applicants must ensure that email from CCSF is not blocked on their computer by a spam filter. To prevent blocking, applicants should set up their email to accept CCSF mail from the following addresses (@sfgov.org, @sfdpw.org, @sfport.com, @flysfo.com, @sfwater.org, @sfdph.org, @asianart.org, @sfmta.com, @sfpl.org, @dcyf.org, @first5sf.org, @famsf.org, @ccsf.edu, @smartalerts.info, and @smartrecruiters.com).

Applicants will receive a confirmation email that their online application has been received in response to every announcement for which they file. Applicants should retain this confirmation email for their records. Failure to receive this email means that the online application was not submitted or received.

Exam Analyst Information: If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the exam analyst, Patrice Brown, by telephone at (415) 557-5559 or by email at patrice.brown@sfgov.org. 

All of your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.