Legislative Assistant - Chief of Staff – Councilmember Saka

City of Seattle•Seattle, WA

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Legislative Department has an outstanding opportunity for a full-time, in-person Legislative Assistant – Chief of Staff in the Office of Councilmember Rob Saka, Chair of the Transportation, Waterfront, & Seattle Center Committee and representative for District 1, which includes West Seattle, South Park, Georgetown, Pioneer Square, and SODO. If you are passionate about public service and want to make a meaningful impact to Seattle residents, this role offers an opportunity to shape policy, lead a team, and make a tangible difference in Seattle. As the most senior staff member in the office, the Chief of Staff serves as the Councilmember’s principal strategic, operational, and political adviser. This role is responsible for managing day-to-day office operations, supervising staff, directly advancing the Councilmember’s legislative agenda and policy priorities, and ensuring disciplined execution across all workstreams. Providing excellent constituent services is fundamental to the office and a shared responsibility of all team members, including the Chief of Staff. The successful candidate will model responsiveness, professionalism, and problem solving in service to constituents, while ensuring appropriate systems and processes are in place to deliver timely and effective casework support and legislative results. This is a critical leadership role in a fast-paced, highly political, and community-driven environment. The successful candidate will demonstrate strong judgment, political acumen, organizational discipline, and the ability to manage people, priorities, and pressure simultaneously. This at-will appointment serves at the discretion of the Councilmember.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in public administration, political science, law, business administration, or other relevant field. Combination of appropriate education, training, certification and experience will be evaluated on an individual basis for comparability to the minimum education and experience requirements.
At least five years of experience working in legislative affairs, public policy, government, public administration, product management, or a related field.
At least one year of experience leading or supervising staff and managing teams with professionalism and accountability.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in public administration, political science, business administration, or other relevant field; or experience demonstrating educational equivalency.
Senior leadership experience in government, public policy, political organizations, or similarly complex environments.
Proven ability to develop and maintain positive, influential relationships with diverse communities.
Strong written and verbal communication and interpersonal skills.
Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
Demonstrated ability to manage multiple high stakes projects and programs in a fast-paced environment while managing competing priorities and operating comfortably and independently within ambiguity, including by meeting deadlines and accomplishing objectives with minimum supervision or oversight.
Ability to exercise discretion and maintain confidentiality, while exhibiting sound judgment and consummate professionalism.

Responsibilities

Serve as a trusted adviser to the Councilmember on legislative strategy, policy priorities, political considerations, and issue management.
Partner with the Councilmember to plan, prioritize, and execute strategic initiatives aligned with district and citywide priorities.
Anticipate political, media, and stakeholder dynamics and provide timely guidance to support effective decision making.
Act as a key liaison between the Councilmember and internal and external stakeholders, including City departments, community leaders, and advocacy organizations.
Oversee and advise on development of legislation, resolutions, and policy initiatives.
Coordinate with Council committees, Central Staff, the Executive Department, and external partners to advance legislative priorities.
Review and provide strategic guidance on legislative drafting and policy analysis.
Ensure effective internal coordination on legislative strategy and outreach.
Assist with constituent services and casework, including by screening and responding to Councilmember’s paper and electronic mail, answering telephone calls.
Ensure constituents receive timely, respectful, and effective responses across all communication channels.
Establish and maintain systems and protocols to track, manage, and resolve constituent issues.
Regularly review constituent services performance and identify opportunities for improvement.
Supervise all office staff, including legislative assistants, temporary hires, and interns.
Oversee day-to-day office operations, establishing and maintaining systems, processes, polices, protocols to track priorities, projects, deadlines, and measurable outcomes across all office workstreams.
Lead and implement strong project management and program management practices across the team, ensuring defined ownership, timelines, deliverables, and accountability.
Ensure consistent follow-through on commitments, prompt resolution of issues, and proactive identification of risks.
Maintain structured and regular check-ins with the Councilmember to align on priorities, emerging issues, and key decisions.
Lead regular all staff meetings to ensure clear communication of priorities, deadlines, and execution expectations.
Provide ongoing coaching, feedback, and structured performance development support for team members.
Foster a collaborative, respectful, and high-performing culture grounded in accountability, responsiveness, and service.
Ensure compliance with administrative policies, including staff evaluations, performance check-ins, leave tracking, and other administrative functions.
Establish and monitor performance metrics for major initiatives to ensure timely and disciplined delivery.
Anticipate operational bottlenecks and implement preventive process improvements rather than reactive fixes.
Develop and advise on messaging, media strategy, and public engagement to ensure timely and professional communication with constituents and stakeholders.
Support reputation management and rapid response related to emerging issues or political challenges.
Draft and prepare speeches, talking points, press releases and other public-facing materials to ensure consistency and strategic alignment with the Councilmember’s priorities.