Communications Specialist II

King County•Seattle, WA

4d•Hybrid

About The Position

Metro Transit is hiring for two (2) exciting Community Engagement Planner II (Communication Specialist II) opportunities on Metro’s Community Engagement Team coordinating the planning and implementation of community engagement efforts to solicit input from the public regarding Metro service and capital planning, programs, and policies. The Partnership & Engagement group within Metro Transit's General Manager's Office facilitates community engagement, government relations, language equity and community-based organization partnerships for King County Metro. This workgroup is part of the Strategic Communications and Engagement section that provides Metro trusted leadership, coordination, and expertise in engagement and communications with employees, stakeholders, partners, and the community to shape and implement equitable and sustainable regional mobility solutions. This recruitment will be used to fill one (2) Career Services, Communications Specialist Il - Community Engagement Planner vacancy. In addition, this selection process may be used to generate an eligibility list for future Career Service (CS), Special Duty Assignment (SDA) and Term Limited Temporary (TLT) positions that may occur in this classification and workgroup. The eligibility pool list is valid for up to 12 months from the time of posting for use at the discretion of the hiring authority.

Requirements

Minimum of one year of community engagement experience in non-profit or the public sector or demonstrate progressive professional related experience with a combination of communications-related skills.
Excellent organization and business communications skills, including writing, editing technical information in a clear, concise and accessible manner for public audiences for materials such as emails, PowerPoint presentations and other digital and print materials.
A skilled meeting organizer and facilitator who can develop the agenda, handle pre- and post-meeting communication needs with participants, address logistical and technical set up needs, and facilitate a meeting to meet objectives.
Skills organizing and prioritizing work assignments, setting priorities, working under pressure and meeting deadlines
Knowledge of government and community processes and structures, and skill in being sensitive to the political environment.
A personal and professional commitment to equity and social justice, with experience engaging historically underserved people or communities in decision making.
Experience in analyzing public feedback and creating reports on public feedback for internal decision makers and elected officials.
Interpersonal skills to build external and internal relationships, being a team player, and being able to work collaboratively.
Ability to treat all employees and customers equitably, with respect and dignity, as well as solving problems for the good of all.
Proficiency using Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook), collaboration tools like Teams, file sharing tools like SharePoint, survey creation tools, virtual meeting hosting through Teams and Zoom including creating break out rooms, screen sharing, setting up multilingual interpretation channels, etc.

Nice To Haves

Education (or interest) in developing professional skills in facilitation, dialogue, deliberation, organizational development, conflict resolution, community organizing, or equity and social Justice.
Experience staffing committees, commissions, or other community advisory groups.
Experience working in both government and community settings.
Fluency in one of King County's top languages - referred to as Tier 1 or Tier 2 languages in the County's Executive Order on Translation (Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean, Russian, Somali, Ukrainian, Amharic, Punjabi), and/or other languages not listed here.

Responsibilities

Support the planning of engagement and outreach efforts led by the Community Engagement planner IV and/or III to equitably engage and solicit input from the public regarding Metro services, plans, programs, and policies to ensure they center the needs of priority population communities.
Research demographics and languages of the project area, community-based organizations and other stakeholders, community locations for outreach, and opportunities for reaching populations affected by changes to plans, policies, and programs.
Support the development, logistics and implementation of outreach plans identifying opportunities to be visible and accessible in the community through tabling, intercept surveys, posting signs or flyers, street teaming, attending and presenting at external meetings, planning logistics, drafting agendas and presentations, and staffing plans for community meeting such as open houses, briefings, round table discussions and town halls.
Maintain project calendars for outreach activities, schedule outreach events and stakeholder briefings, coordinate the staffing of events, and prepare Metro staff for participation in outreach activities.
Support the staffing of outreach efforts, community meetings, mobility board meetings, advisory groups, standing committees and commissions by representing Metro and the project, welcoming community members, facilitating conversations, taking notes, helping with technical and logistical planning, and other coordination activities.
Monitor Community Engagement team email and voicemail inboxes by monitoring, tracking, and summarizing community input and responses; preparing drafts for public and stakeholder feedback; ensure questions and feedback are added to designated project feedback trackers.
Support in recruitment planning and development for standing working groups and mobility boards.
Support in relationship building and engagement tracking of Community-Based Organization partners by contacting CBOs, MOU contract and engagement report tracking, providing engagement materials, and ensuring all contacts are tracked in the CBO list.
Facilitate formal commissions including recruitment, work plan development, agenda preparation, orientation, facilitation of decision-making, and oversee agenda preparation, regular communications, note-taking, and assuring accessibility of meetings and materials with support of CE II or consultant when available.
Support tracking and reporting of project and CE performance metrics.
Process and track invoices and payments to vendors, organizations, and community members to ensure timely payment.
Compile and summarize community input and responses for decision-makers including internal project managers, Metro leadership, King County Council, elected officials, and key external stakeholders.
Coordinate with internal communications, creative, and marketing teams to develop plain language, in-language, and accessible communication products and strategies to reach external audiences.
Other duties as assigned.