Council Assistant FT/PT – Council District Offices (D2, D6, D10)

Our diverse and inclusive workforce of more than 7,000 employees play a key role in the success of San José, the heart of the Silicon Valley. All City of San José employees work together as one team to make San José a vibrant, innovative, and desirable place to live and work. Visit here to learn more about our One Team Leadership Values and Expectations, including quality and excellent customer service and here to learn more about San José.

About the Department

The City of San José, the Capital of Silicon Valley, is one of the nation's best managed cities and one of the top ten cities in which to live, work and do business. Moreover, San José is the center of cultural government and economic activity for the region. The employees of the City of San José have embraced the following values: Integrity, Innovation, Excellence, Collaboration, Respect and Celebration.

The San José City Council consists of ten Councilmembers elected by district and a Mayor elected at-large, each for four-year terms. The Mayor and Council are responsible for representing the residents of San José, providing accountability, reviewing public policy and programs, and adopting those policies which best meet the needs of the residents, visitors, and businesses in San José.

Position Duties

The Council District Offices 2, 6, and 10 are up for election this year. The incoming elected officials will be recruiting for positions. The Council Assistant position serves as a liaison to the elected official and will regularly represent the Council District office at City-related meetings and functions. The position provides support with policy analysis, research, communication, event planning, community outreach, and other related matters as needed. The position requires an employee with strong and effective organizational skills; detail oriented and ability to handle multiple assignments; excellent written and oral communications skills, and the ability to develop and maintain effective and collaborative working relationships with community members and neighborhood organizations, key stakeholders, and City staff. It would be highly desirable for the successful candidate to have experience and knowledge of policy as well as event planning. Bilingual language skills (Vietnamese, Spanish, and/or Chinese), both oral and written, are desirable, but not required.

Responsibilities for the position may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Represents the elected official at neighborhood or community meetings and activities, City-related boards/commission meetings and other meetings with government agencies, private industry, and related meetings.
• Provides legislative support (legislative and policy research, responding to stakeholder inquiries, etc.) to the elected official.
• Gathers background information relative to issues pending before the City Council.
• Analyzes a wide variety of materials on assigned projects, programs, and topics.
• Provides communication support such as drafting correspondence, preparing memoranda or reports which articulate the elected official’s proposals, priorities, and positions on matters pending before the City Council or other governmental agencies.
• Assists in preparation of speeches, articles, or other communications for the elected official.
• Responds to a variety of constituent inquiries, resolving complaints, and interpreting operating policies for residents of the community and other interested parties.
• Plans, coordinates, and leads community meetings and special events.
• May provide training and supervision of interns and volunteers.
• Performs other duties of a similar nature or level as required.

Employees in this classification are not members of the classified civil service and appointment would be on a contract “at-will” basis and is for a specified period of time to be determined by the appointing elected official and does not extend past the end of the elected official's term. Candidates must be willing to work evenings and weekends on occasion, and as exempt management employees, are not eligible for overtime compensation. This unclassified position requires a disclosure of outside investments, real property interest, income and business positions.

Minimum Qualifications

Any combination of training and experience equivalent that provides the knowledge, skills, and abilities to advise and support the Councilmember on matters of public policy, democratic processes, constituent service, or citizen involvement.

Required Licensing:Licenses and certificates are based on the needs of the individual position.

Other Qualifications

Selection Process

The selection process will consist of an evaluation of the applicant's training and experience based on the application and resume. Only the candidates whose backgrounds best match the position will be invited to proceed in the selection process. Additional steps of the selection process may consist of one or more interviews.

To be considered for this position, you must fill out the online application on the City of San Jose website and submit the following:

• Cover Letter
• Resume

If you have questions about the duties of these positions, the selection or hiring processes, please contact Dominique.Voelker@sanjoseca.gov.

This posting/recruitment is for multiple offices and will remain open until vacancies in these offices are filled. Applications are reviewed continuously; therefore, we encourage applicants to apply as soon as possible.

Additional Information:

Employment Eligibility: Federal law requires all employees to provide verification of their eligibility to work in this country. Please be informed that the City of San Jose will NOT sponsor, represent or sign any documents related to visa applications/transfers for H1-B or any other type of visa which requires an employer application.

You must answer all job-specific questions to be considered for this vacancy or your application will be deemed incomplete and withheld from further consideration. Applicants are expected to write their own essays/responses. Please be advised that use of AI content in your responses may result in your removal from the hiring process.

Please note that applications are currently not accepted through CalOpps or any other third party job board application system.

This recruitment may be used to fill multiple positions in this, or other divisions or departments. If you are interested in employment in this classification, you should apply to ensure you are considered for additional opportunities that may utilize the applicants from this recruitment.

Please allow adequate time to complete the application and submit before the deadline or the system may not save your application. If your online application was successfully submitted, you will receive an automatic confirmation email to the email address you provided. IF YOU DO NOT RECEIVE THE CONFIRMATION, please email CityCareers@sanjoseca.gov and we will research the status of your application.

The City of San Jose offers a wide range of core health benefits including Medical, Dental, Vision, Employee Assistance Program, Life Insurance, Disability, and Savings Plans. Please visit the City's benefits pagefor detailed information on coverage, cost, and dependent coverage.

For information on the City’s Retirement Plan(pension for full-time employees), please visit the Office of Retirement Services website. You will be able to view information based on different Sworn/Federated job classification.

In additional to the benefits above, there is an additional perks siteto explore further benefits of working for the City of San Jose like paid leave, educational reimbursements, and holiday pay are specific to the job classification and union membership.

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• City of San Jose

• 408-535-1285

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