Community Relations Coordinator – Cultural Conversations

Community Development Department vision:

Securing Bellevue’s future as a livable, inspiring, vibrant and equitable community.

Bellevue is a city of diverse and connected neighborhoods that provide amenities and opportunities for a high quality of life. People from around the world are welcomed by people from around the corner. The strong connections among neighbors contribute to creating a welcoming and inclusive community for all, greater mutual understanding, and the ability of neighborhoods to respond to change. Bellevue listens, engages and values the many voices within our community, and residents know they are an essential part of their community and have many opportunities to engage with the city and each other.  

The Community Relations Coordinator is a member of the Neighborhood Outreach team, which is supervised by the Neighborhood Outreach Manager in Neighborhood Services, a division of the Community Development Department.  

The Neighborhood Outreach team is looking for our next Community Relations Coordinator. The coordinator will focus on improving two-way communication and outreach with Bellevue’s residents, workers, visitors and building connections and community within Bellevue’s diverse neighborhoods. The coordinator will also develop, launch and oversee programs that build understanding and community connections.  

The position will be the key leader, including all aspects of event planning and logistics, marketing, documentation and strategic and demographic evaluation, for the Cultural Conversations program. The position manages, develops, coordinates and implements programming and events that are important to residents, businesses, visitors and advances city priorities.

Since 2010, Cultural Conversations program has helped foster community relationships and created a space to break social barriers and confront biases. The program features an annual forum as well as regular small group community conversations, highlighting diverse stories and perspectives to create a greater sense of community belonging. The coordinator will provide oversight to Bellevue’s Cultural Conversations program, providing a safe place for connection and mutual learning through storytelling and insightful discussions, reaching and involving the entire community.

As part of the Outreach Team, the coordinator will also assist with other Neighborhood Outreach programs and events, such as Neighborhood Enhancement Program, Neighborhood Walks, Experience Bellevue, Keep Bellevue Beautiful, Bellevue Essentials, multifamily community outreach, and other events. 

The coordinator will serve as a primary point of contact for the community as a neighborhood liaison for several neighborhood areas, answering questions and helping constituents find best solutions to their concerns.  

Ideal candidates will demonstrate aptitude for working directly with multicultural and multilingual communities, be experienced in creative public outreach and engagement, co-creation and program management, community collaboration and have a vision to provide pathways for civic engagement for a diverse and changing community. Direct knowledge of immigrant and multifamily communities is preferred, and the new coordinator will develop outreach strategies with the Outreach Team to serve and learn from all of our community. 

Neighborhood programming promotes resident involvement and empowerment in the community and provides opportunities for residents to learn about city programs, services and operations. This position is focused on deepening civic engagement with Bellevue’s diverse communities and improving city understanding and responsiveness to emerging concerns.  

Performs duties and responsibilities commensurate with assigned functional area which may include, but are not limited to, a combination of the following tasks and roles:

• The coordinator plans and leads all aspects of the Cultural Conversations program, including establishing a comprehensive marketing plan to inform and engage the whole community, recruits and prepares program presenters and content, plans for all aspects of event logistics, provides a welcoming and culturally appropriate environment during events, applies city values and priorities in all sessions and presentations, manages the program budget, assesses with city staff program trends and community needs, maintains a participant database, and assesses participant evaluations and plans for future programming and adjustments to respond to emerging community trends and needs.
• Lead outreach efforts that strengthen two-way communication and connection with Bellevue’s community residents, including in-person outreach to establish trust and new connections, with individuals, advocacy groups and community organizations.
• Create new approaches to community outreach and engagement that apply an equity lens to community outreach, building new systems, structures and new programs and demographic documentation that improve the participation of and outcomes for Bellevue’s diverse communities in civic engagement and city responsiveness to emerging community needs and historic inequities.
• Integrate guiding principles of equity, access, inclusion, belonging and cultural competence into city outreach events and programming.
• Provide program administration for program outcomes, including material procurement, fiscal stewardship, communication and marketing, volunteer management, contracting and measuring key performance data.
• Create, with other city staff, all communication program materials, website maintenance, distribution lists, newsletters, reports and presentations relating to program development.
• Communicate, advise and collaborate with city staff regarding neighborhood issues.
• Work as part of the Neighborhood Outreach Team to plan and implement projects and approaches to resident involvement and neighborhood service delivery.  
• Ensure effective two-way communication with residents and community members to address emerging concerns.
• Prepare and deliver presentations to neighborhood, community and decision-making groups.
• Work with neighborhoods to identify and address city and neighborhood issues that affect other city departments.
• Plan and complete public outreach events that support outreach initiatives, including all supporting logistics and follow-up materials.
• Craft, with other city staff, communication strategies, press releases, social media posts and related summaries of community meetings for public awareness and engagement.
• Track performance measures for engagement and programming to evaluate effectiveness and adapt approaches to improve outcomes for residents and stakeholders.
• Support additional public engagement strategies and implementation for citywide initiatives to ensure transparency and broaden public input in city decision-making.

Education and Experience

• Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with a degree in public administration, communications, political science or a related field.
• Three years of related professional experience in public outreach, program and event management, community organizing or providing direct customer service with diverse communities.  
• Or any equivalent combination of education, experience and training that provides the required knowledge, skills, and abilities.
• Multilingual skills preferred.

Core Competencies

• Builds networks: Effectively building formal and informal relationship networks inside and outside the organization
• Interpersonal savvy: Relating openly and comfortably with diverse groups of people
• Optimizing work processes: Knowing the most effective and efficient processes to get things done with a focus on continuous improvement
• Communicates effectively: Developing and delivering multi-mode communications that convey a clear understanding of the unique needs of different audiences
• Organizational capacity: Maneuvering comfortably through complex policy, process and people-related organizational dynamics   
• Values differences: Recognizing the values that different perspectives and cultures bring to an organization
• Understanding cultural competence: Produce equitable policies and practices by developing skills and knowledge that facilitate effective interactions across diverse cultures

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities 

• Strong public outreach skills and knowledge of the principles and practices of group process, community organizing, and public participation that broadens participation for a diverse community.
• Resourceful and adaptable to meet changing and emerging community needs and have the ability to work independently and collaboratively to problem solve and identify gaps in service.
• Adept at listening, public speaking, facilitation and community presentations.
• Excellent written communication skills, including developing messages for a variety of audiences, an ability to produce quality written materials, reports, and program updates for the community, city leadership and Bellevue City Council.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships with various stakeholders, establishing and maintaining strong relationships with community organizations, neighborhood groups, business leaders, City departments, governmental jurisdictions, regional partnership agencies and media.  
• Knowledge of community outreach and public relations principles, practices, methods and techniques, leading to community empowerment.
• Ability to plan, execute and manage multiple outreach efforts, including identifying project milestones, timelines, essential materials, and communication strategies utilizing appropriate and varied techniques for each purpose and audience.
• Contribute to Bellevue's One City culture and values of Sharing Leadership,
• Communicating and Collaborating Widely, Engaging and Empowering Employees,
• Encouraging innovation and keeping short-term and long-term visions.
• Use good judgment in prioritizing work assignments.

This position is a .8 FTE, which equates to 32 hours per week instead of a 40-hour schedule. Please consider whether this schedule aligns with your availability and professional goals before applying.

WORK ENVIRONMENT/PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position or that an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Work is performed both at City Hall with a considerable number of meetings outside the office environment.
• Travel to and from meetings at various local locations.
• Attend evening and weekend meetings and events as required.

Salary : $90,045 - $117,000