Community Organizer for the Mayor’s Office

The City of San José, the Capital of Silicon Valley, is one of the nation's best managed cities and one of the top ten cities in which to live, work and do business. Moreover, San José is the center of cultural government and economic activity for the region. The employees of the City of San José have embraced the following values: Integrity, Innovation, Excellence, Collaboration, Respect and Celebration.

The San José City Council consists of ten Councilmembers elected by district and a Mayor elected at-large, each for four-year terms. The Mayor and Council are responsible for representing the residents of San José, providing accountability, reviewing public policy and programs, and adopting those policies which best meet the needs of the residents, visitors, and businesses in San José.

The Mayor serves as the political leader of San José, and under the City Charter, is responsible for recommending policy, program, and budget priorities for the City.

Please note that applications are currently not accepted through CalOpps or any other third-party job board application system. To apply, applicants must complete an application via the City of San José’s website at http://www.sanjoseca.gov/citycareers.

The Office of Mayor Matt Mahan is seeking a highly qualified professional with a passion for community to serve as a member of the Mayor’s Neighborhood Outreach Team as a full-time Community Organizer for the Mayor’s Office. The position will represent the Mayor’s Office at community meetings/events, communicate neighborhood priorities, make recommendations, and develop action plans for meeting the Mayor’s community relations objectives.

The total salary range for the Community Organizer position is $80,000.00 – $98,000. This amount includes an approximate five percent (5%) ongoing non-pensionable pay. The actual salary shall be determined by the final candidates’ qualifications and experience.

Responsibilities for this position may include, but are not limited to the following:

• Own the Mayor’s brand within a particular community – his visibility, reputation, responsiveness, neighborhood engagement, and service to residents.
• Attend neighborhood, district, business or association meetings and community events with the Mayor, and on behalf of the Mayor, to gather information on resident concerns (requires availability on evenings and weekends).
• Respond to constituent inquiries and policy questions with a relentless focus on great customer service; mobilizes City resources on behalf of residents.
• Develop and maintain positive working relationships with neighborhood leaders, council offices, community organizations, city staff, residents, small business owners, non-profit organizations, and government agencies.
• Prepare and advise the Mayor on talking points and local issues, especially by providing hyper-local expertise.
• Research and prepare background information for the Mayor relative to issues pending before the City Council.
• Coordinate beautification projects, cleanups and civic improvements with neighborhood groups and City administration.
• Handle logistics for meetings, programs, or other civic functions on behalf of the Mayor.
• Perform other duties of a similar nature or level as required.

Employees in this classification are not members of the classified civil service and appointment would be on a contract “at-will” basis and is for a specified period of time to be determined by the appointing elected official and does not extend past the end of the elected official's term. Candidates must be willing to work frequent evenings and weekends, and as exempt management employees, are not eligible for overtime compensation. This unclassified position requires a disclosure of outside investments, real property interest, income, and business positions.

The minimum qualification requirements include any combination of training, education, and experience that provides the knowledge, skills, and abilities to advise and support the Mayor or Councilmember on matters of constituent services; public policy; community outreach and engagement; and communications. 

Desirable Qualifications:

The ideal candidate will possess the most desirable combination of training, skills, and experience, which will allow them to serve as a member of the Mayor’s Team.

Education: Bachelor’s degree or equivalent.

Experience: Two (2) or more years of public or customer service, public relations, communications, or recreation programming experience.

 The ideal candidate will offer the following abilities and knowledge, as demonstrated in employment history or other experience. We desire a well-rounded, dedicated, and enthusiastic individual with a broad combination of skills and abilities. A competitive candidate will possess all the following attributes:

• A strong communicator with exceptional writing skills; Ability to express ideas clearly and concisely, with both precision and political- and cultural- sensitivity.
• An individual who brings a flexible and creative approach to every task.
• A highly organized individual who demonstrates sound judgment and attention to detail, with the ability to effectively prioritize and manage multiple tasks on tight deadlines.
• A “people person” who can relate to a diverse group of individuals, with the ability to initiate, develop and maintain productive relationships with a wide variety of stakeholders.
• Willingness to take direction from Communication Director while asserting personal initiative to determine the best means to accomplish such tasks or projects and the organizational objective. 
• Proficiency in all Microsoft Office Tools (including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook).
• An individual who demonstrates high ethical standards.
• Understanding of social media and other “new media tools” and how to strategically deploy such tools as part of a broader communication strategy.
• Experience managing websites via content management tools; proficiency with web-related technologies such as HTML, Flash, etc. are a plus.
• Development of marketing collateral, infographics, or other design materials; proficiency with Adobe Creative Suite or similar design software.
• Experience in using photography or video equipment, and related production and editing tools.
• Detailed data analysis and information management experience.
• Logistical and staff support of all other communications tactics and needs.
• Bilingual language fluency in Spanish or Vietnamese (written and oral skills) is desirable.

Selection Process

The selection process will consist of an evaluation of the applicant's training and experience based on the application and resume. Only the candidates whose backgrounds best match the position will be invited to proceed in the selection process. Additional phases of the selection process may consist of one or more interviews.

To be considered for this position, you must fill out the online application on the City of San José website and submit the following:

• Cover Letter 
• Resume 

Additional Information:

If you have questions about the duties of these positions, the selection or hiring processes, please contact amanda.hook@sanjoseca.gov.

To learn more information about City Benefits, click on the Benefits tab of this job posting. 

To learn more information about Mayor and City Council, click here.

Link to California Equal Pay Act

Salary : $80,000 - $98,000