VENTURA COUNTY, HEALTH CARE AGENCY INVITES APPLICATIONS FOR: Communication and Engagement Manager

VENTURA COUNTY, HEALTH CARE AGENCY INVITES APPLICATIONS FOR:
Communication and Engagement
Manager
0452HCA-22AA (LC)
An Equal Opportunity Employer

SALARY RANGE (approximate)
$40.21 – $56.30 Hour $6,970.00 – $9,758.00 Monthly $83,640.00 – $117,096.00 Annually
This posting is for the Ventura County Health Care Agency; vacancy location is Ventura and will require travel throughout Ventura County.
POSITION INFORMATION

What We Offer:
NEW HIRE/RETENTION/REFERRAL INCENTIVES
Subject to the applicable section of the Management Resolution (Secs. 625 – 627 (Download PDF reader)):
New hires may be eligible for a one-time New Hire Incentive of $5,000.00.
Annual Leave Redemption: The option to cash out up to 100 hours out of 208 total accrued Annual Leave hours per year. Deferred Compensation: Section 457 Plan and/or 401(k) Shared Savings Plan with up to a 3% match on your 401(k) contributions. Health Plans: You are afforded a flexible credit allowance of up to $19,162 annually for purchasing medical, dental, and/ or vision insurance from a group of authorized plans. Flexible Spending Accounts: Pre-tax benefit towards eligible medical, dental, and vision care expenses. Bilingual Incentive: Proficiency levels by exam are $.65 per hour (Level I), $.80 per hour (Level II), or $1.10 per hour (Level III). Holidays: 11 paid days per year which includes a scheduled floating holiday.
Pension Plan: Both the County and you contribute to the County’s Retirement Plan and to Social Security. If you are eligible, you may establish reciprocity with other public retirement systems, such as PERS.
Student Loan Forgiveness: The County currently qualifies as an eligible employer for the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. For more information you are encouraged to speak with your student loan servicer or visit:
http://studentaid.ed.gov/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation.


THE POSITION
Under general direction, this position manages the Public Health Department’s communication strategy, which fosters public understanding and awareness of department’s goals, programs, and services. The incumbent will lead and organize the Public Health Department’s efforts to engage in a dialogue with our diverse communities in Ventura County, to promote health equity. The position provides the public, media, and County employees with accurate, timely, and consistent information.


THE IDEAL CANDIDATE
The Public Health Department is seeking a collaborative, bilingual, professional, communicator with a strong customer service orientation and experience creating community engagement. The successful candidate will support community outreach efforts to implement strategic plans for communications, marketing, and community relations that are in alignment with the Public Health Department’s mission and goals. The ideal candidate must have a positive attitude, work effectively in a fast-paced team environment, show initiative and adapt well to change, and possess effective public speaking and interpersonal communication skills; is organized, and detail oriented. The successful candidate will have the background, experience, and knowledge to demonstrate:
Knowledge and experience in modern marketing and public relations techniques, technologies, and platforms, including social media and content strategy and tactics, special events planning, community engagement, visual storytelling, and data visualization;
Demonstrated experience functioning in a dynamic and fast paced environment, including crisis communications planning and response; Ability to respond flexibly in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment; Knowledge of public sector functions and objectives, or a comparably complex private organization is desired.
Video development skills a plus.
Spanish bilingual is highly desired.


Payroll Title: Agency Public Information Officer II
Bilingual Incentive: This position is eligible for a bilingual incentive up to $1.10 per hour (Level III).
Educational Incentive: Incumbents may be eligible for an educational incentive of 2.5%, 3.5%, or 5% based on completion of an Associate’s, Bachelor’s, or Master’s degree that is not required for the classification.
The Agency Public Information Officer II classification is not eligible for overtime compensation. Incumbents in this classification are eligible for benefits at the MB3 level.


EXAMPLES OF DUTIES
Duties may include, but are not limited to the following:
Coordinates the internal and external communications needs for the Agency by developing communication strategies for Agency programs, initiatives, services, and events; communicates with other public information officers to ensure messages relayed are aligned; Engages with diverse community groups and establishes trusted relationships; informs, visits, and educates on various issues with community stakeholders, including businesses, residents, churches, schools, hospitals, other governmental entities, community organizations, and environmental groups;
Coordinates, promotes and participates in a variety of community events, which may require weekend or evening attendance; plans and coordinates special events, presentations and establishes communications and outreach timelines and schedules; Develops outreach programs to support health equity through community engagement; oversees design, production and distribution of a variety of promotional, marketing, and outreach materials and makes presentations related to public health issues; Plans, organizes, coordinates, and directs the content for the Agency website, social media, media events; uses data analytics from website and social media to evaluate communication needs and identify enhancements; Strategically markets county services to increase public awareness; and develops a diverse and inclusive communications plan; Assists with the County’s efforts to provide information, services, and materials to communities having limited English proficiency, including translation and interpreters; Develops materials, including writing and producing newsletters, brochures, editorials, talking points, speeches, videos, and web communications; Confers with staff at all levels within the Agency and staff of other County Agencies and organizations; prepares information for dissemination to the media and stakeholder groups; communicates with and develops relationships with members of the media, the public, various community organizations, and local governments; Represents the Agency through contact with the media, other governmental or community agencies and the public; confers and cooperates with others on policies and procedures as well as organizational and operational issues; develops informational materials, including letters, brochures, editorials, talking points, speeches, videos, online communications, and needs assessment materials; Prepares and may deliver presentations to the Board of Supervisors and other community groups; Interacts with and effectively communicates in a professional manner with members of the public, elected/appointed officials, department/agency directors, and other high profile individuals; Prepares special and periodic reports involving compilation of, and analysis of data from a number of sources; May supervise staff engaged in a broad scope of activities pertinent to Agency operations; May operate camera to take photographs of events and persons of note; and Performs other related duties as required.

TYPICAL QUALIFICATIONS
These are entrance requirements to the examination process and assure neither continuance in the process nor placement on an eligible list.


EDUCATION, TRAINING, and EXPERIENCE
Experience in communications management in the public or private sector which has led to the acquisition of the required knowledge, skills, and abilities. An example of a qualifying education and experience is:
A Bachelor’s degree in Journalism, Communication, Public Administration, Business, or a related field; and
Two (2) years of recent, paid, and progressively responsible professional experience serving as a public information officer in the public sector or similar environment equivalent to that of an Agency Public

Information Officer I.
NECESSARY SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS
A valid California driver’s license by date of hire
Skill in relationship management, enhancing organizational relations and external community interactions
Experience partnering effectively with diverse stakeholders internally and externally, including community and business leaders, government officials, staff, and volunteers to build strong relationships, create clarity and deliver successful results Experience engaging with individuals representing different cultures and backgrounds with ease, adapting language and style to the context both in person and at a distance Familiarity with community engagement training approaches focused on historically marginalized and hard-to-reach populations


HIGHLY DESIRED:
Written and oral bilingual skills in English and Spanish.
Some experience in emergency information or crisis communications.
Some experience delivering effective public speaking presentations.
Supplemental Information:
Work is performed primarily in an office environment, but incumbents may be required to visit various County departments/agencies on a regular basis and meet offsite with business and community leaders, staff of other governmental organizations, and the public.

OTHER REQUIREMENTS
This position may be subject to State Health Officer Orders regarding vaccine verification and/or testing. These requirements are a condition of employment. Depending on assignment and work location(s), successful candidates for this position will be required to submit proof of vaccination and/or booster against COVID-19 or request an exemption for qualifying medical or religious reasons during the onboarding process.
Supplemental Information:
Work is performed primarily in an office environment, but incumbents may be required to visit various County departments/agencies on a regular basis and meet offsite with business and community leaders, staff of other governmental organizations, and the public.

RECRUITMENT PROCESS
FINAL FILING DATE: This is a continuous recruitment and may close at any time; therefore, apply as soon as possible if you are interested. Your application must be received by County of Ventura Human Resources in Ventura, California, no later than 5:00 p.m. on the closing date.
To apply online, please refer to our website at www.ventura.org/jobs. If you prefer to fill out a paper application form, please call (805) 654-5129 for application materials. Our address is: County of Ventura, Human Resources Division, 800 South Victoria Avenue, L-1970, Ventura, CA 93009.
LATERAL TRANSFER OPTION: If presently permanently employed in another “merit” or “civil service” public agency/entity in the same or substantively similar position as is advertised, and if appointed to that position by successful performance in a “merit” or “civil service” style examination, then appointment by “Lateral Transfer” may be possible. If interested, please click here for additional information.
Applicants must provide sufficient information under the Education/Work experience portion of the application and supplemental questionnaire in order to determine eligibility. A resume may be attached to supplement your responses in the above-referenced sections; however, it may not be submitted in lieu of the application.


SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONNAIRE – qualifying: All applicants are required to complete and submit the questionnaire for this examination AT THE TIME OF FILING. The supplemental questionnaire may be used throughout the examination process to assist in determining each applicant’s qualifications and acceptability for the position. Failure to complete and submit the questionnaire will result in the application being removed from consideration.


APPLICATION EVALUATION – qualifying: All applications will be reviewed to determine
whether or not the stated requirements are met. Those individuals meeting the stated requirements will be invited to continue to the next step in the screening and selection process.
TRAINING & EXPERIENCE EVALUATION – 100%: A Training and Experience Evaluation (T&E) is a structured evaluation of the job application materials submitted by a candidate, including the written responses to supplemental questions. The T&E is NOT a determination of whether the candidate meets the stated requirements; rather, the T&E is one method for determining who are the better qualified among those who have shown that they meet the stated requirements. In a T&E, applications are either scored or rank ordered according to criteria that most closely meet the business needs of the department. Candidates are typically scored/ranked in relation to one another; consequently, when the pool of applicants is exceptionally strong, many qualified candidates may receive a score or rank which is moderate or even low resulting in them not being advanced in the process.


ORAL EXAMINATION – 100%: A job-related oral examination will be conducted to evaluate and compare participating examinees’ knowledge, skills, and abilities in relation to those factors which job analysis has determined to be essential for successful performance of the job. Examinees must earn a score of seventy percent (70%) or higher to qualify for placement on the eligible list.
NOTE: The selection process will likely consist of an Oral Exam, which may be preceded or replaced with the score from a Training and Experience Evaluation (T&E), contingent upon the size and quality of the candidate pool. In a typical T&E, your training and experience are evaluated in relation to the background, experience and factors identified for successful job
performance during a job analysis. For this reason, it is recommended that your application materials clearly show your relevant background and specialized knowledge, skills, and abilities. It is also highly recommended that the supplemental questions within the application are completed with care and diligence. Responses such as “See Resume” or “Refer to Resume” are not acceptable and may disqualify an applicant from further evaluation. If there are three (3) or fewer qualified applicants, a T&E or an Oral Examination will not be conducted. Instead, a score of 70% will be assigned to each application, and each applicant will be placed on the eligible list.


SPANISH/ENGLISH BILINGUAL SKILLS EXAMINATION – pass/fail: Candidates may be given a standardized bilingual skills examination by an outside contractor. A score of 70% or higher must be obtained for bilingual designation to be assigned. This examination tests for oral bilingual skills only.
Candidates successfully completing the examination process may be placed on an eligible list for a period of one (1) year.


BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION: A thorough pre-employment, post offer background investigation which may include inquiry into past employment, education, criminal background information, and driving record may be required for this position. For further information about this recruitment, please contact Lorin Calderon by e-mail at Lorin.Calderon@ventura.org or by telephone at (805) 654-2959.
Communication and Engagement Manager Supplemental Questionnaire Please respond to the following questions. Your responses will give us additional information about your experience and background related to this position, and will be used in the selection process. Please be as concise and specific as possible; clarity of expression and ability to follow instructions will be considered in the evaluation process.

  1. Briefly describe your work experience in communications management. In your response, include the following: A. Your involvement in managing or implementing the communication strategy for your employer. B. Your approach for measuring the impact of communications. If you have no experience, type “no experience.”
  2. Briefly describe your work experience strategically utilizing: 1. Social media 2. Web content 3. Adobe Professional 4. Publishing software and 5. Other new media platforms for public facing corporate communications. Include: A. Employers where you obtain this experience B. Level of expertise with each, beginner, intermediate, advanced, expert C. How you used them D. Subject matter of the information distributed E. Intended audiences If you have no experience in this area, type “no experience.”
  3. This position may require delivering bilingual presentations to large audiences. Are you able and willing to perform public speaking?
    Yes
    No
  4. Describe your experience with public speaking and delivering presentations using your bilingual skills. In your response, please include the following: A. The type and size of audience B. The topics you have presented on, and C. The employer(s) in which you acquired the experience. If you have no such experience, indicate “no experience.”
  5. You must be willing to work varied hours, including evenings and weekends, as needed. Are you willing to do so?
    Yes
    No
  6. Describe your work experience establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with the public and other entities. Include: A. Employers where you obtained this experience B. With whom you developed effective working relations, community groups, management, elected officials, volunteers, etc. C. Your responsibilities in these relationships If you have no experience in this area, type “no experience.”

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