Department: Municipal Transportation Agency
Job class: 1314-Public Relations Officer
Salary range: $107,016.00 - $140,088.00
Role type: Temporary Exempt What does this mean?
Hours: Full-time

https://careers.sf.gov/role/?id=3743990002942548

About:

The External Communications, Marketing & Outreach Division is responsible for managing and supporting Media Relations, Marketing, Public Outreach & Engagement, Internal and Executive Communications for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), which oversees all transportation modes for the City and County of San Francisco, including San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni), bicycle, pedestrian, parking and taxi.

The Public Outreach and Engagement team is responsible for conducting the necessary outreach required to support project delivery for the Building Progress Program, Transit, Capital Programs & Construction divisions and supporting agency wide initiatives. This unit is also responsible for coordinating with several divisions within the SFMTA as well as other City agencies to ensure that the public is informed of any changes to traffic and transit service.

Role description

Please Note: A resume must be attached to the online application. 

APPOINTMENT TYPE: Temporary Exempt, Full Time appointment not to exceed three (3) years. This position is excluded by the Charter from the competitive Civil Service examination process and shall serve at the discretion of the Appointing Officer.

Number of Position(s): One (1)

Annual Salary: $107,016.00 - $130,078.00

Application Opening: November 8, 2023

Application Filling Deadline: December 5, 2023

Recruitment ID: 141085

POSITION DESCRIPTION:

Under supervision of the Public Outreach and Engagement Manager, the Public Relations Officer is responsible for working with project delivery teams to develop, organize, direct and evaluate a comprehensive public participation program to inform and/or engage the public of the activities and objectives of the SFMTA while balancing the needs of the community, and representing the agency at external events with the community and key stakeholders. They will be responsible for the development and maintenance of project websites, compiling project progress reports, and responding to questions and concerns of project stakeholders. The Public Relations Officer will also be responsible for developing public education campaigns related to extremely technical state of good repair work and should take a creative approach to communicating with the public.

EXAMPLES OF IMPORTANT AND ESSENTIAL DUTIES:

• Develops and implements a comprehensive public participation program for assigned projects.
• Establishes, develops and maintains relationships with key stakeholders, both internal and external.
• Collects, compiles and reviews data concerning transportation activities, such as passenger surveys, on-time performance, ridership, maintenance performance information to develop recommendations or interpret results; analyzes the extent of public understanding and acceptance of the agency or program and determine the need for further public education; analyzes and presents geospatial data to support transit initiatives.
• Keeps the public, public officials, advocates, advisory committees, interested organizations and staff informed of the agency’s activities by applying the appropriate public participation technique, reaching out to and engaging individuals and groups and providing information to the media, as necessary.
• Develops and provides presentations to community, staff or policymaker groups to explain the activities and services of the department.
• Represents the agency at meetings of elected and appointed boards and commissions, executive staff and conferences; reports to the subdivision head regarding the discussions involved at each meeting or conference.
• Drafts, designs, prepares and/or supports the preparation of visual content and communications materials that help facilitate the delivery of San Francisco transportation projects including press releases, reports, social media and presentations for oversight bodies, members of the public and stakeholder communications.
• Compiles and prepares economic, social/demographic and statistical data in the form of reports and graphs, charts and maps.
• Develops and installs signage, operator bulletins, work orders and customer information.
• Prepares correspondence in response to public or other stakeholder inquiries, tracks and reports on correspondence and constituent feedback trends.
• Maintains relationships with stakeholders, advocacy groups and other relevant communities.
• Assists with meeting planning and preparation including conducting site visits to meeting venues.
• Maintains and updates computer files, databases and lists of relevant stakeholder groups and committees and generate computerized reports.
• Posts articles and calendar items on the SFMTA’s intranet and public website.
• Maintains and updates project-related web pages in a timely manner.
• Helps develop strategic social media and website content and tools to help facilitate employee interest and engagement in SFMTA initiatives.
• Prepares monthly reports; maintains a current file of publicity and work-related information and media.
• May supervise staff performing moderately complex work.
• Conducts and performs other related tasks to public participation.
• Performs other duties and responsibilities as assigned.

How to qualify

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

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

2. Four (4) years of verifiable full-time professional experience in editorial, newspaper, magazine, radio, television, public relations, social media, digital engagement, or advertising. This experience must be equivalent to job code 1312 Public Information Officer for the City and County of San Francisco and must include at least one (1) year of experience in planning and conducting a public relations, public information, or public education program.

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 Master’s degree from an accredited college or university in public relations, journalism, mass communications or a closely related field may substitute for up to one (1) year of the required experience.

Nature of Work:

The position may require working weekends and nights on an as-needed basis, driving a motor vehicle, working outdoors in varying weather conditions, standing, walking and/or sitting for prolonged periods of time, occasional lifting of objects weighing up to 15 pounds and the transport of materials and equipment.

Desirable Qualifications: The stated desirable qualifications may be used to identify candidates advancing to the interview process and/or to identify job finalists at the end of the selection process.

• Genuine interest in promoting public transportation, enhancing transportation networks and a desire to learn about transit infrastructure projects and their funding and planning complexities.
• Strong public relations skills, including experience in public outreach, community relations, government affairs, communications and conflict resolution.
• Ability to communicate with diplomacy, facilitate dialogue, conduct meetings and build consensus with a wide range of stakeholders through an open and inclusive public involvement process.
• Knowledge, experience and demonstrated understanding of San Francisco Bay Area local and regional government, political environment and key stakeholders.
• Strong ability to thrive in a dynamic, fast-paced environment with multiple demands and priorities.
• Ability to distill highly technical information into simple concepts for non-technical stakeholders and demonstrated experience communicating complex information to a diverse population.
• Ability to work collaboratively with other job functions including project managers, engineers, contractors, communications consultants and others.
• Experience with budget management.
• Proficiency in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Adobe Illustrator and InDesign, SQL, Python, Tableau, or other related analysis or visualization program.
• Proficiency with Salesforce, Adobe Creative Suite including Acrobat, Illustrator and InDesign; Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel, Power Point and Outlook.
• Proven experience in construction communications helpful.
• Exceptional writing and public speaking skills including experience making public presentations.
• Ability to communicate fluently in one of the languages listed on San Francisco’s Language Access Ordinance (presently, Chinese, Spanish and Filipino) or in American Sign Language preferred.