Council Assistant PT – Council District Office 2 (D2)

Our diverse and inclusive workforce of more than 7,000 employees play a key role in the success of San José, the heart of the Silicon Valley. All City of San José employees work together as one team to make San José a vibrant, innovative, and desirable place to live and work. Visit here to learn more about our One Team Leadership Values and Expectations, including quality and excellent customer service and here to learn more about San José.

The City of San José is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants for all job openings will be considered without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, veteran status or any other consideration made unlawful under any federal, state or local laws. The City of San José is committed to offering reasonable accommodations to job applicants with disabilities. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please contact us at 408-535-1285, 711 (TTY) , or via email at CityCareers@sanjoseca.gov .

About the Department

The City of San José, the Capital of Silicon Valley, is one of the nation's best managed cities and one of the top ten cities in which to live, work and do business. Moreover, San José is the center of cultural government and economic activity for the region. The employees of the City of San José have embraced the following values: Integrity, Innovation, Excellence, Collaboration, Respect and Celebration.

The San José City Council consists of ten Councilmembers elected by district and a Mayor elected at-large, each for four-year terms. The Mayor and Council are responsible for representing the residents of San José, providing accountability, reviewing public policy and programs, and adopting those policies which best meet the needs of the residents, visitors, and businesses in San José.

Position Duties

The Council District Office 2 is recruiting for a Council Assistant position. The Council Assistant position serves as a liaison to Councilmember Pamela Campos and will regularly represent the Council District office at City-related meetings and functions. The position provides support with policy analysis, research, communication, event planning, community outreach, and other related matters as needed. The position requires an employee with strong and effective organizational skills; detail oriented and ability to handle multiple assignments; excellent written and oral communications skills, and the ability to develop and maintain effective and collaborative working relationships with community members and neighborhood organizations, key stakeholders, and City staff. It would be highly desirable for the successful candidate to have experience and knowledge of policy as well as event planning. Bilingual language skills (Vietnamese, Spanish, and/or Chinese), both oral and written, are desirable, but not required.

Responsibilities for the position may include, but are not limited to, the following:
• Represents the elected official at neighborhood or community meetings and activities, City-related boards/commission meetings and other meetings with government agencies, private industry, and related meetings.
• Provides legislative support (legislative and policy research, responding to stakeholder inquiries, etc.) to the elected official.
• Gathers background information relative to issues pending before the City Council.
• Analyzes a wide variety of materials on assigned projects, programs, and topics.
• Provides communication support such as drafting correspondence, preparing memoranda or reports which articulate the elected official’s proposals, priorities, and positions on matters pending before the City Council or other governmental agencies.
• Assists in preparation of speeches, articles, or other communications for the elected official.
• Responds to a variety of constituent inquiries, resolving complaints, and interpreting operating policies for residents of the community and other interested parties.
• Plans, coordinates, and leads community meetings and special events.
• May provide training and supervision of interns and volunteers.
• Performs other duties of a similar nature or level as required.

Employees in this classification are not members of the classified civil service and appointment would be on a contract “at-will” basis and is for a specified period of time to be determined by the appointing elected official and does not extend past the end of the elected official's term. Candidates must be willing to work evenings and weekends on occasion, and as exempt management employees, are not eligible for overtime compensation. This unclassified position requires a disclosure of outside investments, real property interest, income and business positions.

Minimum Qualifications

Any combination of training and experience equivalent that provides the knowledge, skills, and abilities to advise and support the Councilmember on matters of public policy, democratic processes, constituent service, or citizen involvement.

Required Licensing:Licenses and certificates are based on the needs of the individual position.

Other Qualifications

Desirable Qualifications
- Social media and events management a plus.
- Bilingual skills: oral and written proficiency with languages such as Spanish or Vietnamese.
- Ability to exercise sound judgment in developing, analyzing, and evaluating various programs and services. Ability to collaborate with community-based organizations regarding the preparation and management of grants, programs, special events, and community outreach efforts.
- Ability to manage programs, activities, and projects within the scope and authority of the elected official regarding community relations methods, programs, and events.
- Ability to draft routine to complex correspondence, memoranda, and reports which articulate the elected official's proposals and position on matters before the City Council and other governmental bodies. Proficiency with conducting public meetings and events on behalf of the elected official and/or prepare summaries of public and private meetings; reports, memoranda and other documents for review by senior staff and the elected official.
- Ability to serve as support staff in community engagement efforts with neighborhood, district or city-wide business or community groups or associations and other interested parties in the regarding community concerns, issues, and priorities.
- Ability to produce public information including media releases and relations and to use social media sources including web site development and management to effectively engage the community and constituents with the elected official’s policies, positions, and goals.
- Ability to effectively engage with other elected and appointed officials (boards and commissions, other governmental representatives and staff) regarding programs and services for mutual constituencies. Proficiency in web design and the use of various software programs including Canva, Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Photoshop, In-design; Dreamweaver, and other applications; the applicant should also be proficient in graphic design. Specialized knowledge, skills, abilities, education, experience, or licensure requirements may be established for individual positions.

Selection Process

The selection process will consist of an evaluation of the applicant's training and experience based on the application, resume, cover letter, and answers to the job-specific questions. Only the candidates whose backgrounds best phases match the position will be invited to proceed in the selection process. Additional steps of the selection process may consist of one or more interviews.

To be considered for this position, you must fill out the online application and answer the job-specific questions on the City of San Jose website and submit the following:
• Cover Letter
• Resume

You will be prompted to answer the following job-specific questions during the online application process:

QUESTION 1*
Please describe your education and/or work experience and how you are a good fit for this position.

QUESTION 2*
Please describe your work style and the techniques you use to manage your responsibilities

QUESTION 3*
Please describe a specific example of a successful team experience, your role and responsibilities, and the technique you used to develop and maintain excellent working relationships, which resulted in the timely and effective delivery of a project, product, or service.
* Required Question

You must answer all job-specific questions in order to be considered for this vacancy or your application will be deemed incomplete and withheld from further consideration.

If you have questions about the duties of these positions, the selection or hiring processes, please contact sarah.shull@sanjoseca.gov.

This posting/recruitment is for multiple offices and will remain open until vacancies in these offices are filled. Applications are reviewed continuously; therefore, we encourage applicants to apply as soon as possible.

Additional Information:

Employment Eligibility: Federal law requires all employees to provide verification of their eligibility to work in this country. Please be informed that the City of San Jose will NOT sponsor, represent or sign any documents related to visa applications/transfers for H1-B or any other type of visa which requires an employer application.

You must answer all job-specific questions to be considered for this vacancy or your application will be deemed incomplete and withheld from further consideration. Applicants are expected to write their own essays/responses. Please be advised that use of AI content in your responses may result in your removal from the hiring process.

Please note that applications are currently not accepted through CalOpps or any other third party job board application system.

This recruitment may be used to fill multiple positions in this, or other divisions or departments. If you are interested in employment in this classification, you should apply to ensure you are considered for additional opportunities that may utilize the applicants from this recruitment.

Please allow adequate time to complete the application and submit before the deadline or the system may not save your application. If your online application was successfully submitted, you will receive an automatic confirmation email to the email address you provided. IF YOU DO NOT RECEIVE THE CONFIRMATION, please email CityCareers@sanjoseca.gov and we will research the status of your application.

The City of San Jose offers a wide range of core health benefits including Medical, Dental, Vision, Employee Assistance Program, Life Insurance, Disability, and Savings Plans. Please visit the City's benefits pagefor detailed information on coverage, cost, and dependent coverage.

For information on the City’s Retirement Plan(pension for full-time employees), please visit the Office of Retirement Services website. You will be able to view information based on different Sworn/Federated job classification.

In additional to the benefits above, there is an additional perks siteto explore further benefits of working for the City of San Jose like paid leave, educational reimbursements, and holiday pay are specific to the job classification and union membership.

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• City of San Jose

• 408-535-1285

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