Ethics Committee Administrator

State of Alaska•Anchorage, AK

8h•Hybrid

About The Position

The Administrator serves at the pleasure of the Select Committee on Legislative Ethics, a nine-member committee; five public members appointed by the Chief Justice of the Alaska Supreme Court, two legislators appointed by the Senate President, and two legislators appointed by the Speaker of the House. All members are confirmed by the full House and full Senate. The Ethics Committee Administrator performs professional-level work in multiple administrative functional areas: budget, accounting, public relations, personnel management, purchasing and supply, planning, supervision of staff, policy/procedure review and development, and overall management of the office. Work is performed within established guidelines and under the general direction of the chair of the Ethics Committee, who serves as a public member of the committee. A new chair is appointed each year at the start of the legislative session. The Ethics Committee meets as needed: approximately seven to nine times a year. During the legislative session, the committee meets in Juneau; and during the interim, the committee meets in Anchorage. The ethics component of the job requires analysis to examine many factors related to a fact-specific scenario, application of a substantial body of knowledge of statutes, rules of procedure and at times other procedures in the area of law and legal principles, interpretation of conflicting statutes, review of previous advice and opinions, evaluation of various potential courses of action, and finally selecting a course of action based on the above review. The complexity of the work is characterized by frequently dealing with issues that lack clearly applicable precedent, are not adequately addressed in established procedures, and often involve conflicting state laws. The administrator may not be a registered lobbyist. The administrator may not participate in the political management or in any other aspect of a political campaign for a candidate for election to a federal, state, or local office, regardless if the campaign is partisan or nonpartisan, or for passage or defeat of a ballot measure of any type; a fund-raising event held on behalf of a political party or attend a political party fund-raising event; and the campaign of, or attend campaign fund-raising event for, or make a financial contribution to a candidate for the legislature, an incumbent legislator who is a candidate for another public office or to a person running for another office against an incumbent legislator. The administrator position is apolitical. The administrator routinely interacts with the media. Attending a public relations/media class would be recommended if the successful applicant has no prior experience in this field. The administrator also routinely conducts investigations. Attending a nationally recognized investigator training class would be recommend if the successful applicant has no prior experience in this field.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required; preferably in a liberal arts, law, or public administration related discipline.
Minimum of three years of professional work experience providing administrative support to a government agency/commission/committee, an organization, business, or individual.
Ability to work effectively in high-stress situations, analyze complex issues accurately, and take timely appropriate action.
Skill in prioritizing multiple projects and demands; and appropriately delegating responsibilities and authority as needed.
Ability to maintain neutrality on issues before the committee.
Ability to be accessible to legislators, legislative employees and LAA staff when an ethics question requires a timely answer.
Ability to interpret and enforce rules and regulations with firmness, tact, and impartiality.
Excellent skills in organizing, evaluating and presenting information, orally and in writing, to a broad variety of individuals under sometimes adverse or stressful conditions, and in tailoring the communication to its intended audience.
Working knowledge and ability to interpret statutes, policies, rules, regulations, and other reference materials.
Skill in researching and analyzing problems and issues and identifying the best course of action.
Ability to determine the need for revision to the department's operation and services, policies and procedures, and proactively recommend changes and oversee implementation.
Strong public speaking ability to effectively conduct training classes and speak on behalf of the committee.
Excellent interpersonal skills to establish cooperative relationships and work effectively with co-workers, the members of the Ethics Committee, other legislative committees and government agencies, elected officials and their staff, the public, the media, outside organizations, and all other entities and individuals.
Ability to adhere to strict confidentiality required by statute and the Committee’s rules of procedure.
Working knowledge of the requirements and limitations of computer systems and software used for business and public administration activities such as Word, Excel, Publisher, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
The successful applicant must be able to travel within the State by plane to attend meetings, conduct training classes, and attend the legislative session in Juneau as needed.
Background check required.

Nice To Haves

Law related background and knowledge of legal principles and procedures would be a plus.
Attending a public relations/media class would be recommended if the successful applicant has no prior experience in this field.
Attending a nationally recognized investigator training class would be recommend if the successful applicant has no prior experience in this field.
Preference will be given to Alaska residents

Responsibilities

Interpret AS 24.60, Legislative Ethics Act, and provide oral and written informal advice to legislators, legislative staff, and the public pursuant to AS 24.60.158.
Maintain an internal “Management Activity Log” for reference purposes and consistency of informal advice given.
Prepare for and conduct mandatory ethics training classes for 60 legislators and approximately 500 employees pursuant to AS 24.60.155. Training is tailored to the audience and updated yearly based on changes to ethics statutes and current events. Training is conducted in Anchorage and Juneau and via training videos at the beginning of the legislative session; as many as 15 classes may be scheduled annually.
Review all ethics disclosures for completeness, request additional information if needed, work with the Senate Secretary and House Clerk on publication requirements, and work with the Alaska Public Offices Commission on certain gift disclosures.
Prepare bi-monthly newsletters and “Action Alerts” focusing on current events and recent ethics questions thereby updating the legislature on what is permitted or prohibited activity.
Conduct ethics complaint investigations, i.e., prepare questions and interview persons of interest, research issues, review and analyze investigative materials, prepare reports for the committee, advise and make recommendations to the committee regarding the complaint.
Supervise one permanent part-time staff person and contractual service providers such as attorneys, investigators, process servers, and others depending on the workload.
Work closely with the chair of the ethics committee.
Work with the committee’s legal counsel on issues relating to the committee’s operation, complaints, advisory opinions and other issues on an as needed basis.
Work with the Legislative Affairs Agency (LAA) legal counsel on advisory opinion requests, draft legislation and on other issues on an as needed basis.
Maintain and update as needed the Ethics Committee website with Legislative Affairs Agency Media Services.
Prepare a yearly Standards of Conduct Handbook for legislators, legislative staff, and other legislative agencies.
Serve as lead person communicating with the legislature, public, the media, other elected officials, government agencies, lobbyists, and the Alaska Public Office Commission.
Testify before legislative committees regarding pending legislation.
Monitor, recommend, and draft ethics legislation.
Prepare and issue media releases when the committee issues a complaint decision or advisory opinion.
Interact with media representatives frequently.
Attend and/or speak at national organizations in the area of ethics.
Participate in various other speaking engagements as requested.
Conduct historical research on Alaska ethics legislation and research other states for applicable ethics laws when necessary.
Prepare and monitor the fiscal year committee budget.
Make recommendations for changes as dictated by the workload for resolving differences between appropriated funds and current needs.
Plan and coordinate committee meetings as needed and recommended by the chair of the committee.
Oversee the research and preparation of background materials for agenda items.