Career Opportunity

Public Relations Assistant - SFPUC- External Affairs (1310) (141405)

Recruitment: RTF0141404-01134631

Published: November 17, 2023

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About:

• Application Opening: 11/17/2023
• Application Filing Deadline: 11/28/2023 (may extend) 
• Annual Salary: $67,782 - $82,342
• Recruitment ID: RTF0141404-01134631

APPOINTMENT TYPE: Temporary/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: Large Diameter Sewer (LDS) Upgrade Program          

The Mission of our Wastewater Enterprise (WWE) is to operate and maintain the City's water pollution control plants, pumping stations and collection system to protect public health and the environment. The WWE maintains 1,900 miles of sewer mains and lateral and 27 pump stations that collect sewage and storm water, moving the wastewater to the three treatment plants for treatment and discharge to the San Francisco Bay and Pacific Ocean.

The Wastewater Capital Program, including the Sewer System Improvement Program (SSIP),  is a long-term citywide investment to upgrade our aging sewer infrastructure to ensure a reliable, sustainable and seismically safe sewer system now and for generations to come. These projects are in various stages, including planning, environmental review, detailed design, land acquisition, site preparation, property owner right-of-way negotiations, partner agency permitting coordination, pre-construction and construction across the City. The SFPUC provides overall Program communications support and outreach to raise awareness and educate the public about the challenges faced by our aging sewer system, as well as specific project-level outreach and engagement to interested and potentially impacted stakeholders. One important goal of these outreach efforts is to provide meaningful and timely engagement with the communities in which we operate and where our projects may impact residents, merchants and other stakeholders.                                                                                                         

Position Information:

Under general supervision, the Public Relations Assistant provides general support to the overall Wastewater Capital Program communications team including but not limited to:  ongoing and upcoming outreach activities; assists in the preparation of informational materials and reports; prepares and distributes information through press releases, meetings, workshops, briefings, presentations, surveys and reports; assembles material for files; staffs community events and project meetings; responds to inquiries; and conducts grassroots outreach to engage with stakeholders where they are most comfortable.

The position will participate in the development and implementation of outreach activities related to the planning, environmental review, design and construction phases of Wastewater Capital projects

Essential Functions:

• Contribute to the development of strategic communication plans and implementation strategies for a wide variety of program and project needs, including drafting plans, developing timelines and tracking evaluation metrics to enhance public engagement and outreach outcomes for the agency.
•  Support the SFPUC with general communications and community engagement for Wastewater Capital program and projects as needed, including crisis communications and media/social media engagement.
• Support the Wastewater Capital program and projects with stakeholder engagement through development of collateral materials and attendance at events, meetings, and tours.
• Develop and maintain Wastewater Capital project contacts lists and utilize the SFPUC Sales Force and SharePoint systems to send, track and analyze outreach campaigns related to Wastewater Capital program and projects.
• Develop written materials for a wide variety of audiences in multiple formats, with a particular focus on translating technical information into simple, engaging and accessible language.
• Respond to requests from other departments and organizations for presentations, briefings and tours, and response to constituent requests for information regarding Wastewater Capital program and projects.
• Coordinate and provide outreach and communication for joint efforts between SFPUC, SFMTA, SF Planning, SF Arts Commission, Public Works and other City and water industry agencies as they relate to Wastewater Capital program and projects.
• Support and assist with engaging non-English and limited English proficiency communities throughout San Francisco.
• Respond to customer inquiries and complaints related to Wastewater Capital program and projects and track and report on status as needed.
• Participate in planning for and attending outreach events and activities, including possible evening and weekend events.
• Class 1310  performs other related duties as required.

How to qualify

Education:

Requires possession of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university.

Substitution:

Professional experience in public affairs, public information, editorial, newspaper, magazine, radio, television, public relations, social media, digital engagement, advertising or similar work involving collection and dissemination of news and information may be substituted for the re- quired 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.

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.

- Experience working directly with Salesforce CRM and SharePoint 
- On-camera media experience
- Experience using analytics to develop social media and media campaigns 
- Fluent in Spanish or Chinese 
- Experience developing and producing videos for informational, promotional or marketing purposes, including development of scripts, storyboards, video editing and other aspects of video production 
- Working knowledge of how a combined sewer system operates 
- Experience working with multicultural communities
- Experience giving tours or presenting in an educational environment

“The stated desirable qualifications may be considered at the end of the selection process when candidates are referred for hiring.”

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.

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.