Public Affairs Specialist

City of Seattle•West Precinct - 810 Virginia Street, WA

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

CARE is hiring a Public Affairs Specialist to support the department’s 911 Center and Diversified Response divisions. This position’s primary responsibility will be to process public disclosure requests (PDRs) with a focus on privacy redaction, best practices, industry standards, legal requirements/regulations, and prioritization of requests. This role will also assist the Public Affairs team by responding to requests from the public, participating in education and community outreach initiatives, helping develop social media and communications campaigns, and assisting the department with other public facing work. The successful applicant will have strong knowledge of public disclosure laws and experience with community outreach/public education campaigns.

Requirements

Requires two years of experience in planning and research related to land use, urban economics, human services, environmental issues, conservation; or other work directly related to City planning and development work; and a baccalaureate degree in planning, urban design, environmental studies, public administration, or related field (or a combination of education and/or training and/or experience which provides an equivalent background required to perform the work of the class).
OR: an equivalent combination of education, training, certification, and experience that demonstrates the ability to perform the position’s duties will be evaluated on an individual basis for comparability to the minimum education and experience requirements.
Must pass a Criminal Justice Information Systems (CJIS) background investigation.
Two (2) years working in public safety, government, or public administration handling or overseeing PDRs, legislative affairs/government relations, community outreach/public education, or a relevant field
Exceptional written and oral communications skills.
Experience in handling public disclosure requests.
Exceptional time-management skills.
Self-motivation with strong organization and project management skills
Meticulous attention to detail, working well under pressure, and meeting deadlines.
Knowledge or familiarity working in public safety—from various systems and responders to relevant privacy concerns.
Collaborative and reliable team mentality.
Proven ability to navigate complex relationships and work effectively with diverse stakeholders.

Responsibilities

Responds to public disclosure requests in accordance with Washington State law, to include: Working within the City of Seattle’s Public Records Request Portal, powered by GovQA software, to process public requests; Responding within five (5) business days to requests for information and meeting all deadlines for records delivery as determined by department leadership; Working with requesters to occasionally clarify requests to ensure records are responsive to the needs of the requestor; Ensuring the responsiveness of each record to the associated request and determining the appropriateness of applying potential exemptions; Making determinations using state law about necessary redactions and redacting records as appropriate using Adobe Acrobat DC software; Keeping records of time spent on each request, and providing other summarizing information as required by Washington state law; Creating exemption logs, when necessary; Occasionally seeking legal guidance to ensure CARE is responding in alignment with the Revised Code of Washington (RCW), Washington Administrative Codes (WACs), and applicable case law and information; Preserving the confidentiality of records; and Ensuring the responsiveness of each record to the associated request and determining the appropriateness of applying potential exemptions.
Plans and implements procedures to evaluate and monitor performance of public disclosure requests and other public information inquiries.
Assist with community outreach and public educations campaigns, including attendance or participation in public forums.
Identifies and researches issues and impacts of programs, policies or projects; compiles data.
May support higher level staff on project or program activities.
May act as a liaison with other City departments and agencies, business interests, and community groups to coordinate planning activities, including public involvement process.
Other duties as assigned.