Career Opportunity

Communications Specialist - SFPUC - EA (9252) (137995)

Recruitment: RTF0137989-01069994

Published: August 17, 2023

Accepting applications until: August 11, 2023

Apply using SmartRecruiters, the City and County of San Francisco's application portal.

About:

• Application Opening: 07/21/2023
• Application Filing Deadline: New deadline 08/24/2023 
• Annual Salary: $109,980 - $147,368
• Recruitment ID:  RTF0137989-01069994

APPOINTMENT TYPE: Permanent Exempt: This position is excluded by the Charter from the competitive Civil Service examination process and shall serve at the discretion of the Appointing Officer. The duration of the appointment shall not exceed 36 months.

WHO ARE WE?
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC)
Headquartered in San Francisco, we have 2,300 employees operating across eight counties serving more than 2.7 million customers in the San Francisco Bay Area – 24 hours per day, 365 days per year.

Our Mission: To provide our customers with high quality, efficient, and reliable water, power, and wastewater services in a manner that values environmental and community interests and sustains the resources entrusted to our care.

Our Vision: We are an innovative utility leader, recognized for excellent results in service, safety, stewardship, and inclusiveness.

We are an award-winning and industry-leading utilities organization committed to our customers, community interests, and the environment. To learn more about our organization, please visit our website at https://www.sfpuc.org/.

We are proud of our infrastructure and programs, but most importantly, we value our highly qualified and dedicated workforce which ensures that this vision becomes a reality.

To learn more about working at the SFPUC, visit our career site at https://www.sfpuc.org/about-us/careers-sfpuc

Role description

Project Name: Climate Change, Budget, Rates and Public Power Media Relations           

The Press Secretary (9252) serves as the SFPUC’s point person for media relations, including proactively pitching stories and handling incoming media requests. They work closely with relevant agency staff and leadership to draft media statements, press releases, talking points, and other material for dissemination to the media. The Press Secretary organizes and staffs press conferences and other media events wherever suitable throughout the SFPUC’s service territory, and works with the Communications Director to formulate the agency’s media strategy. The position also entails drafting speeches, letters, newsletter items, and other communications for the Executive Team for both internal and external audiences.

Essential Functions:

1. Serve as the SFPUC’s point person for media relations, including proactively pitching stories and handling incoming media requests.
2. Work closely with agency staff and leadership to draft media statements, press releases, talking points, and other material.
3. Organize and staff press conferences and other media events wherever suitable throughout the SFPUC’s service territory.
4. Work with the Communications Director to formulate the agency’s media strategy.
5. Compile media clips for agency leadership.
6. Supervise other communications staff as needed in interacting with the media.
7. Provide coaching and guidance to agency leadership and staff on interacting with the media.
8. Draft speeches, letters, newsletter items, and other communications for the Executive Team for both internal and external audiences.

How to qualify

Education:

Possession of a Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited college or university in Journalism, Communications, Public Administration, Business, or a related field.

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 social media, digital engagement or web content management.

Substitution:

Additional experience as described above may be substituted for the required degree on a year-for-year basis (up to a maximum of two (2) years). Thirty (30) semester units or forty-five (45) quarter units equal one (1) year.

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

Verification of Education and Experience:

Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. Education verification information on 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.

What else should I know?

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
• 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 “Apply Now” 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 updated. 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.

Job Analyst Information: If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the job analyst, Rocio Mendoza, by email at rmendoza@sfwater.org.

CONDITION OF EMPLOYMENT:  All City and County of San Francisco employees are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment. Someone is fully vaccinated when 14 days have passed since they received the final dose of a two-shot vaccine or a dose of a one-shot vaccine. Any new hire must present proof of full vaccination status to be appointed. Any new hire who will be routinely assigned or occasionally enter High-Risk Settings, must provide proof of having received a COVID-19 booster vaccine by March 1, 2022, or once eligible.

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.