Senior Public Information Specialist (Spanish Bilingual) - Emergency Management Department - County of Riverside
Riverside, CA 92501
About the Job
The County of Riverside Emergency Management Department is seeking a dedicated individual to fill a Senior Public Information Specialist position in Riverside.
This position requires an individual who is bi lin gual in English and Spanish (ability to read, write, and speak in both languages).
As a Senior Public Information Specialist, the incumbent will assist with planning, preparing, and implementing the department's public information program; inform the public of activities and available services; develop, prepare, and implement specialized and comprehensive public information and education programs mandated by the government or emanating from the organization's goals; and do other work as required.
Competitive applicants will possess the following skills and/or experience:
- Exceptional organizational and interpersonal skills
- Advanced literacy for effective communication with diverse audiences
- Comfortable with public speaking and/or experience serving as a spokesperson for an organization or agency
- Experience managing social media platforms and websites
- Experience coordinating, developing, and/or facilitating trainings
- I ntermediate to advance experience using various graphic design software
While the Senior Public Information Specialist will regularly have a 9/80 schedule, the incumbent must be available to be on-call for emergencies, weekends, and/or holidays as needed.
Meet the Team!
The Riverside County Emergency Management Department (EMD ) is a public safety department that includes Emergency Planning Division (EPD), the Riverside County Emergency Medical Services Agency (REMSA) and the Emergency Services Division (ESD). EMD coordinates emergency management and emergency medical services in order to mitigate, prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from emergencies and disasters.
EXAMPLES OF ESSENTIAL DUTIES
• Establishes and maintains regular contacts with the media, community groups, and government/private representatives to meet the organization's public information, awareness, and education needs.
• Develops and determines effectiveness of distribution and outreach media plan; makes recommendations for modifications as required.
• Writes feature articles and media releases on organization's activities, services, programs, and functions; prepares pamphlets and brochures.
• Coordinates release distribution to the media; organizes and arranges public information campaigns and press conferences.
• Plans, coordinates, and implements specialized public information and education programs pursuant to informing the public of the organization programs and services.
• Locates and utilizes existing resources available for special public information programs; writes Requests for Proposals to secure funding for specialized public information and education programs.
• Assists in preparing the program's budget; monitors program expenditures; initiates and answers correspondence related to public inquiries and citizens' problems and complaints.
• Performs public speaking activities; writes scripts and uses various forms of presentations; coordinates activities with audio visual specialists, graphic artists, or other related staff.
• Provides writing support to the organization; coordinates and edits the organization's newsletter; may monitor the work of consultants; supervises volunteer staff.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
Education: Graduation from an accredited college with a Bachelor's degree in Journalism, Communications, English, Public Relations, Public/Business Administration, or a closely related field. (Additional qualifying experience may be substituted for the education on the basis of one year of full-time experience equaling 30 semester or 45 quarter units of education).
Experience: Three years of full-time experience in developing and writing printed materials and/or media releases for use in print and electronic media; or in public or community relations which included the dissemination of information to internal and/or external audiences through various communications media.
Language: Required to be b ilingual in English and Spanish (ability to read, write, and speak in both languages).
License: Possession of a valid California driver's license.
Knowledge of: Methods of planning, coordinating, and implementing an effective public information program; methods and techniques used in planning press conferences; techniques in developing and producing audio-visual presentations; styles and techniques in speech writing.
Ability to: Complete assignments within strict time constraints; evaluate and apply government regulations to program planning; maintain confidentiality of sensitive information; establish and maintain effective working relations with staff, public, and representatives from outside agencies; coordinate public information and education programs with other jurisdictions; coordinate the activities of audio-visual specialists, graphic artists, or other specialists in preparing public information medium; recognize problems and develop effective solutions; act independently in converting complex technical information into a meaningful and applicable format for the targeted audience.
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
Veteran's Preference
The County has a Veteran's Preference Policy. Upload a copy of your (or your spouse's) Member-4 Form DD-214 indicating dates of service, and a copy of your spouse's letter of disability (if applicable) with your application. For privacy reasons, it is recommended that you remove your social security information from the document(s). A Human Resources Representative will review the materials and determine if you qualify for veterans' preference. See the policy here .
Reasonable Accommodations
The County of Riverside is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to applicants as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). Qualified individuals with disabilities who need a reasonable accommodation during the application or selection process should contact the recruiter for the position noted above. For additional information and/or to obtain the appropriate form for requesting a reasonable accommodation, please visit the Disability Access Office web page located at: http://dao.rc-hr.com/ .
What's Next?
This recruitment is open to all applicants. Applicants who are current County of Riverside employees and/or current employees of the Emergency Management Department may be considered before other applicants depending on the volume of applications received.
Bilingual Spanish Assessment
This position requires an individual who is bi lin gual in English and Spanish (ability to read, write, and speak in both languages). All applicants are required to pass an online Spanish bilingual assessment to be considered for this recruitment.
Upload a copy of your degree and/or transcripts as an attachment to your Government Jobs account at the time of application. Competitive experience/education must be reflected on your application/resume. If your education was completed outside of the United States, you will need to provide a copy of your Foreign Education Equivalency evaluation from a member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services ( NACES )or Association of International Credential Evaluators, Inc. ( AICE ).
Qualified applicants may be considered for future vacancies throughout the County. Based on the number of applications received, this posting may close without notice.
For more information regarding the position, please contact the recruiter, Stephanie Rodriguez, at (951) 955-5776 or via email at sterodriguez@rivco.org .
GENERAL APPLICATION INFORMATION:
Please read and follow any special application instructions on this posting. Click the 'Apply' link located on this page to submit your application. For instructions on the application process, examinations, Veteran's preference, pre-employment accommodation or other employment questions, please refer to our web site, www.rc-hr.com . A pre-employment physical examination and background check may be required.
MEDICAL/DENTAL/VISION INSURANCE: A choice of different medical, dental and visions plan are available to elect. The County provides a Flexible Benefit Credit contribution as governed by the applicable SEIU Memorandum of Understanding to contribute towards the cost of these plans.
Note: Employees on assignment through the Temporary Assignment Program (TAP) receive different benefits. See the list here .
MISCELLANEOUS RETIREMENT: County of Riverside has three retirement Tiers through the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS).
- Tier I (Classic Member - Formula 3% @ 60): Applicable to current and former County of Riverside local miscellaneous employees hired prior to 08/24/2012 and did not withdraw CalPERS contributions. The employee contribution is eight (8%) percent.
- Tier II (Classic Member - Formula 2% @ 60): Applicable to local miscellaneous employees 1) hired after 08/23/2012 through 12/31/2012; 2) Previously employed with another CalPERS contracting public agency or a reciprocal retirement system, with a break in service of less than six months between the separation date with the previous employer and the appointment date with the County of Riverside. The employee contribution is seven (7%) percent.
- Tier III (PEPRA New Member - Formula 2% @ 62): Applicable to CalPERS local miscellaneous new members hired on or after the implementation of the Public Employees' Pension Reform Act of 2013 (PEPRA) which took effect January 1, 2013. As of July 1, 2020, the employee contribution is 7.25% and subject to change annually.
A new member is defined as any of the following:
CalPERS refers to all members that do not fit within the definition of a new member as "classic members".
Contribution rates are subject to change based on the County of Riverside annual actuarial valuation.
Note:
This summary is for general information purposes only. Additional questions regarding retirement formulas can be sent to retirement@rivco.org or by calling the Benefits Information Line at (951) 955-4981,
Option 2.
If you have prior service credit with another CalPERS agency or within agencies, please contact CalPERS at (888) 225-7377 to determine which retirement tier would be applicable to you. CalPERS is governed by the Public Employees' Retirement Law. The Retirement Law is complex and subject to change. If there's any conflict between this summary and the law, the law will prevail over this summary.
DEFERRED COMPENSATION: Voluntary employee contribution with a choice between two 457 deferred compensation plan options.
VACATION ACCRUAL (Bi-Weekly Accrual):
0< 3 year = 80 Hours (10 Days)
4< 9 years = 120 Hours (15 Days)
10 or more years = 160 Hours (20 Days)
Maximum Vacation leave accumulation is 480 hours.
SICK LEAVE: Four (4) hours Sick Leave accrual per pay period with unlimited accrual.
HOLIDAYS: Normally 12 paid holidays per year.
BEREAVEMENT LEAVE: Allowed 5 days (3 days are County paid; 2 additional days can be taken from accrued Sick Leave balance).
BASIC LIFE INSURANCE: Equal to one times annual base salary not to exceed $50,000 of term life coverage. Premiums are paid by the County. Additional Supplemental Life plan is available for employee purchase.
DISABILITY: Short-term Disability benefit pays up to a maximum of $461.54 weekly, payable up to a maximum of 52 weeks.
POST RETIREMENT MEDICAL CONTRIBUTION: A monthly contribution is made by the County towards retiree health insurance offered through the County as governed by the applicable SEIU Memorandum of Understanding.
OTHER: There may be other benefit provisions as specified in the applicable Memorandum of Understanding. Please contact the recruiter listed on the job posting directly for more information.
