Career Opportunity

1312-Public Information Officer

Recruitment: RTF0129174-01150934

Published: July 26, 2023

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

About:

Role description

• Application Open: Reopened on July 26, 2023
• Application Deadline: August 2, 2023
• Compensation: $87,594 - $106,444 Annually
• Appointment Type: Permanent Exempt (PEX), Category 18. Exempt employees are considered "at will" and serve at the discretion of the Appointing Officer.
• Recruitment ID: RTF0129174-01150934

Introduction:

We are excited to announce a new employment opportunity in the Policy and Government Affairs Division with the Department of Human Resources (DHR). DHR administers the City's civil service system, ensures payment of workers' compensation benefits to injured employees, negotiates, and administers labor agreements with the City's labor unions, ensures equal employment opportunities for employees and applicants, and trains, develops and manages the City workforce.

Position Description:

Under the supervision of the Director of Policy and External Affairs for the San Francisco Department of Human Resources, the Public Information Officer will perform a variety of duties requiring strong organizational skills related to communicating the mission of the city’s central human resources agency and its multifaceted divisions and telling the unique stories of the city’s over 30,000 dedicated employees. The PIO will support the Director in Integrating the organization's communications and policy programs into a cohesive effort that conveys a consistent message and supports the, strategic goals, and objectives of the Department of Human Resources.  

Essential Duties:

• Communicates critical information effectively to city employees, applicants, and the public
• Prepares press releases, speeches, articles, social media posts, and other materials for departmental, citywide, and public consumption
• Prepares weekly chronological lists of departmental activities
• Tracks and responds to requests for information from the public and media outlets and ensures quality control of all externally communicated information
• Maintains a media mailing list and file of press clippings regarding department's activities
• Works with various teams to organize and host public events and promotions
• Performs miscellaneous job-related duties as assigned

These duties require analytical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity. The ideal candidate will be able to produce deliverables in a fast-paced environment

Public Information Officer Skills & Competencies

To be successful in this role, you’ll generally need the following skills and qualities:

• Interpersonal skills: Public information officers interact with people regularly, from the media and press to the public and government officials.
• Organizational skills: People in this position must be able to effectively and efficiently work on several projects at the same time.
• Problem-solving skills: Public information officers must be able to handle difficult and sensitive situations with discretion and grace.
• Communication skills: Public Information Officer must be a proficient and compelling writer that is able to draft press releases and speeches that are concise and grammatically correct. 

How to qualify

Education:

• Possession of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university with major course work in public relations, journalism, English, mass communications, public administration, public policy or a related field.

Experience:

• Two (2) years of 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 wherein the preparation or direction of informational material for mass media on the development of public information program was a major part of the position.

Substitution:

1. 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.
2. Possession of a Masters degree from an accredited college or university in public relations, journalism, mass communications or a closely related field may substitute for one (1) year of the required experience.

Nature of Work: Some positions may be subject to adverse weather conditions, walking long distances, and driving a vehicle to project sites and meetings. May require work on nights, weekends and/or holidays.

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. 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

What else should I know?

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

• Information About The Hiring Process
• Position Based Testing Information
• Conviction History
• Employee Benefits Overview  
• Equal Employment Opportunity 
• Disaster Service Worker
• ADA Accommodation
• Veterans Preference
• Seniority Credit in Promotional Exams
• 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).

Questions: If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the analyst, Gary Chen at gary.w.chen@sfgov.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.