Senior Public Information Representative - Planning, Building and Code Enforcement

Job Description:

Senior Public Information Representative - Planning, Building and Code Enforcement

Description

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.

The City of San José is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants for all job openings will be considered without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, veteran status or any other consideration made unlawful under any federal, state or local laws. The City of San José is committed to offering reasonable accommodations to job applicants with disabilities. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please contact us at 408-535-1285, 711 (TTY) , or via email at CityCareers@sanjoseca.gov .

About the Department

The City of San Jose’s Department of Planning, Building, and Code Enforcement serves to ensure the orderly and safe development of private properties, compliance with all applicable building, zoning, and quality of life ordinances and regulations, and to promote healthy and safe community standards. This is accomplished by departmental staff in service to customers by:

• Assisting and guiding land use and development to promote long-term goals and objectives that render safe, beneficial, and more sustainable communities
• Providing orderly administration and compliance of building codes, as mandated by the various levels of government, to ensure the construction of buildings, homes, and structures meet intended life safety and structural requirements
• Investigating and resolving citizen complaints of municipal code violations on private property in order to promote, maintain, and improve quality of life issues that better allow for safe and harmonious conditions in all neighborhoods

The Department is seeking applicants who are committed to understanding, executing, and improving the customer experience to best achieve the above goals and objectives. This includes providing excellent service and guidance to residents, property and business owners, developers, and other stakeholders throughout the planning, building, and code enforcement processes. Strong communication and interpersonal skills are essential, as the department values building positive relationships and fostering collaboration with other departments, agencies, and the community. Additionally, applicants who possess a strong knowledge of planning principles, building codes, and/or regulatory requirements will be highly valued, as they will play a key role in ensuring compliance and promoting healthy, safe, and sustainable development practices.

About the Division

The PBCE Communications team is the department’s marketing hub, plain-language storytelling experts, and cheerleading squad. Everything we do contributes to the reputation and ability of PBCE to serve the people of San José.

Our team identifies new and exciting way to reach key stakeholders, maintains a quarter of the City’s webpages (300+), answers over 200 media inquiries yearly, produces 500+ of blogs and social media posts a year, and coordinates large-scale community events including Building Safety Month and more. We inspire our teammates to work collaboratively and creatively for the promotion of our department and City.

Position Duties

Salary Range : $130,472.16 - $158,951.52 annually

The actual salary shall be determined by the final candidate’s qualifications and experience. This salary range includes an approximate five percent (5%) ongoing non-pensionable compensation pay.

The Communications team works closely in support of each of the Department’s divisions to improve customer service and publicize the organization’s services and programs. The Senior Public Information Representative is responsible for developing and implementing public information campaigns and utilizing tactics including printed collateral, web, social media and community events to reach key stakeholders.

Multilingual candidates are encouraged to apply. Experience creating video and graphics for social media is a plus.

Typical duties of this position may include, but are not limited to:

• Lead strategic marketing and communication plans for PBCE programs and services, with a specific focus on Code Enforcement, including:
  
  • Multilingual outreach and education campaigns to reduce and prevent common code violations and promote compliance in the community.
  • Promote and support Special Programs and initiatives such as the Enhanced Vacant Building and Storefronts Program and the FAST Pilot Program.
  • Foster tenant engagement and increase rental property maintenance and compliance by property owners through targeted outreach.
• Identifying multilingual public education and outreach opportunities, including partnerships with Community Based Organizations and outside partners to reach targeted audiences.
  
• Oversee and help craft multilingual surveys and other evaluation mechanisms.
  
• Support accurate content on the City’s PBCE webpages.
  
• Write compelling and accurate content for social media webpages, blogs, videos, flyers, etc.
  
• Support the Public Information Manager with media relations, internal communications, and developing protocols and procedures for communications team around community relations, language access, and community event engagement.
  
• Collaborate with department staff to ensure consistent and accurate messaging on all departmental communications.
  
• Other duties as assigned.
  

Minimum Qualifications

Education: Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in the fields of journalism, communications, advertising, marketing, public relations, public administration, or closely related fields.

Experience: Four (4) years of increasingly responsible public information, marketing, or public relations experience.

Licenses and certifications : Possession of a valid California Driver’s License may be required.

Other Qualifications

The ideal candidate will possess the following competencies, as demonstrated in past and current employment history. Desirable competencies for this position include:

Collaboration - Develops networks and builds alliances; engages in cross-functional activities.

Communication Skills - Communicates and listens effectively and responds in an timely, effective, positive and respectful manner; written reports and correspondence are accurate, complete, well- organized, legible, concise, and in proper grammatical form; responds to statements and comments of others in a way that reflects understanding of the content and the accompanying emotion; asks clarifying questions to assure understanding of what the speaker intended, ensures consistent communication takes place within area of responsibility.

Creativity - Addresses objectives and problems while questioning traditional assumptions/solutions in order to generate creative ideas and new ways of doing business; exhibits creativity and innovation when contributing to organizational and individual objectives; seeks out opportunities to improve, streamline, reinvent work processes.

Customer Service - Demonstrates the ability to anticipate customers' needs and deliver services effectively and efficiently using professional demeanor.

Job Expertise - Demonstrates knowledge of and experience with applicable professional/technical principles and practices, Citywide and departmental procedures/policies and federal and state rules and regulations.

Leadership - Leads by example; demonstrates high ethical standards; remains visible and approachable and interacts with others on a regular basis; promotes a cooperative work environment, allowing others to learn from mistakes; provides motivational supports and direction.

Problem Solving - Approaches a situation or problem by defining the problem or issue. Determines the significance of problem(s). Collects information. Uses logic and intuition to arrive at decisions or solutions to problems that achieve the desired outcome.

Teamwork & Interpersonal Skills - Develops effective relationships with co-workers and supervisors by helping others accomplish tasks and using collaboration and conflict resolution skills.

Selection Proces s

The selection pr ocess will consist of an evaluation of the applicant's training and experience based on the application and responses to all the job specific questions. Only those candidates whose backgrounds best match the position will be invited to proceed in the selection process. Additional phases of the selection process will consist of one or more interviews.

You will be prompted to answer the following job-specific questions during the online application process:

Describe how you have led an outreach campaign that targeted diverse audiences, including how you created the campaign identity and creative elements; how you measured results; and what you might do differently if starting over. Please cite a specific example.
Describe your experience in creating content for promotional purposes. Include types of mediums (webpage, blog, newsletter, articles, flyers, social media post, speeches, script, etc.), target audience, and results. Explain your approach to simplify complex information.
How do you approach working building relationships with other organizations with the goal of educating a target audience?


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

If selected for an interview, applicants will be required to submit three (3) work samples (e.g., comprehensive communications plans, social media posts, blogs/web or newsletter copy, flyers, link to video (no longer than 2 minutes), or other like work products as a part of the screening and selection process.

If you have questions about the duties of these positions, the selection or hiring processes, please contact Travis Hobson at travis.hobson@sanjoseca.gov.

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.

Closing Date/Time: 8/11/2025 11:59 PM Pacific

Salary:

$130,472.16 - $158,951.52 Annually