Communications-A/V Specialist

Puyallup Tribe of Indians•Tacoma, WA

55d

About The Position

Under the direction of the Executive Director or designee, this position is responsible for managing and maintaining audio-visual equipment assigned to the Communications Department and providing support at public speaking events. This may include sound systems used at public speaking events, press conferences and livestreams that take place inside the new Tribal Administration Building; equipment for outdoor livestreams, virtual meetings and conferences; lighting systems needed for speaker stages; and other A/V needs as they arise. Internal clients will include Tribal Council, speakers from other departments and Tribal Entities and guests of the Tribe. This is a vital role in ensuring that speakers’ voices and words are heard as clearly as possible by their intended listeners. The position is also expected to work professionally and in liaison with other government departments and Tribal Entities that have their own A/V equipment and staff as well as with department co-workers who use visual and audio storytelling tools.

Requirements

A record of performing successfully in an audio-visual support role with a minimum of three to four years of experience is required.
A certificate or degree from a technical or other college is strongly preferred.
Candidates should also be able to demonstrate strong communication skills, such as the ability to communicate the effective use of microphones to time-limited elected officials and to communicate A/V organization and best practices to team members and to co-workers in other departments.
Must be professional at all times and be able to work independently with a variety of personalities and experience levels in time-sensitive, highly public situations.
Situational awareness is important.
Must be proactive and highly professional in helping various internal clients sound as best as possible, for example, watching for inadvertent “hot mics” and other issues.
Must have experience in maintaining confidentiality of sensitive information.
Must stay up to date on current events and legal topics relevant to the Tribe and to communications.
Must be able to work long hours and carry an unpredictable schedule.
Must be able to ask difficult questions, often in an emotionally charged situation.
Must be able to recognize and respect communications protocols.
Must demonstrate a strong ethical belief system and desire to tell the truth while remaining unbiased.
Ability to read, analyze and interpret general business instructions and procedure manuals.
Ability to follow oral instructions and write news and feature stories using correct English, grammar, spelling, punctuation and vocabulary.
Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals.
Ability to compute rate, ratio and percentages.
Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral or diagram form.
Ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations.
Must have and maintain a valid and unrestricted Washington State driver’s license and proof of insurance.
Driver’s License restrictions must not prevent the employee from complying with the Tribe’s Vehicle Use Policy or driving a GSA vehicle.
Must be a strong, dependable, trustworthy team member able to work for and with team members and across departments.
Must have reliable transportation.
This position must be able to work with all levels of personnel within the organization and with clients and vendors.
Must be able to work within a tight deadline and fact-check information quickly and accurately.
Must demonstrate ability to delve into a story to search for facts.
Must demonstrate strong communication skills, both written and oral.
Must demonstrate an eye for detail.
Must be able to multi-task and set priorities.
Requires the ability to operate a personal computer, multi-line telephone, calculator, facsimile and photocopier.
Requires the ability to read, write, communicate, and interpret information accurately in English.
Requires the ability to concentrate and consistently produce accurate work.
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; and talk or hear.
The employee frequently is required to stand and walk.
The employee is frequently required to stand and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl.
The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds.

Nice To Haves

Work experience supporting government or nonprofit public speaking is strongly preferred.
Demonstrated experience teaching others in technical skills is helpful.
Experience with Tribal government is preferred.
This position may be required to telework on either a part time or full-time basis depending upon the needs of the department and the organization. If required to telework, employee agrees to complete the Telework Agreement and abide by the Telework Policy and work expectations.

Responsibilities

Set up, operate, maintain and repair sound and visual equipment for use in live events, such as meetings, webinars and public speaking events such as ribbon-cuttings, dedications and other ceremonies.
Set up A/V systems as needed, test and have contingency plans to account for equipment failures and human error. Ensures cables, batteries, etc. are safe.
Operate A/V equipment at events as needed and remain on standby to troubleshoot as needed.
Will be expected to be available for and prioritize Tribal Council A/V needs and also will support department operations (such as multimedia news coverage for Puyallup Tribal News), other departments and Tribal Entities as directed. Many A/V needs will be in the evening or on weekends.
Manage audio-visual equipment assigned to the Communications Department.
Troubleshoot “built-in” A/V equipment in the Tribal Administration Building such as Council Chambers microphones and speakers used for virtual meetings. Work with Council Offices and IT as needed to resolve issues. Work proactively to find solutions to challenges.
Regularly check equipment to ensure it is working properly, charged, clean and ready to use at a moment’s notice.
Give clear and efficient instruction to public speakers and their assistants when needed, such as microphone ranges and how to tell when microphones are “hot” or “cold.”
Act as part of event staff as needed, and work productively with event management and others to ensure A/V works smoothly with other aspects of the event. For example, may identify optimal placement of public address speakers. May manage music and volume during events. May operate slide and video shows at such events.
Under direction of executive director or communications specialist, acts as resource to outside news media when A/V support is needed, such as providing A/V feeds for press conferences.
Research needed equipment and best practices and make recommendations to ensure the department is current and can best support A/V needs.
Give clear recommendations on when to bring in outside A/V support. Help select and manage resulting vendor contracts as needed.
Act as a liaison with the Tribe’s IT department on A/V topics.
Perform other duties as assigned.
Act as an in-house expert for audio visual tools and best practices. Expected to keep up to date on best tools and best practices.
Train selected Communications staff to act as backups to cover the A/V specialist’s vacation, sick time, schedule conflicts, etc.
Establish best practices and instruct others on use and care of equipment.
Assist and support co-workers when not focused on A/V assignments.
Event planning and support
Video editing
Photo/video archive management
Crisis communications support such as monitoring social media or news feeds, maintaining contact lists or sending alerts.