Community Affairs Specialist

Overview

Do you have a passion for public safety and community connection? Join TVF&R's Community Risk Reduction & Public Education Team as a Community Affairs Specialist and help implement strategic initiatives that make our neighborhoods safer and more resilient.

The ideal candidate is a highly organized and detail-focused professional who excels at managing multiple projects and timelines with precision. They bring a hands-on, solutions-focused approach to coordination, ensuring accuracy in correspondence, resource management, and complex scheduling. With exceptional follow-through and a professional demeanor across all levels of interaction, they are energized by engaging with others. Proficient in Microsoft tools, they thrive in fluid environments, skillfully balancing priorities and adapting seamlessly.

As a Community Affairs Specialist, you can expect to:

• Engage with diverse internal and external stakeholders on strategic initiatives
• Plan, coordinate, and attend community and public education events throughout the District
• Design and manage content for events, education, and promotional products
• Represent the District in various assigned committees and community groups
• Evaluate existing programs for efficiency and effectiveness

If this sounds like a match for your skills, we invite you to review the job posting below!

Consideration of candidates will occur immediately upon application receipt, with evaluation steps moving very quickly for qualified candidates. The open period may close without notice as soon as a sufficient number of qualified candidates are received.

Examples of Duties

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

PUBLIC RELATIONS: Prepares and delivers messages, presentations, and education content to a variety of public stakeholders including written materials, in-person events, and online media. Answers questions from the public. Provides input to the planning process for short- and long-term public relations and community interaction goals. Responsible for carrying out strategic initiatives.

EVENT COORDINATION: Plans, coordinates, and hosts community and public education events, including in-person and virtual events, such as Scouts Day, Hands-Only CPR classes, fire station open houses, landlord safety training, adult foster care training, and fire safety house events. Event coordination may include TVF&R hosted events or coordinating TVF&R resources to participate in events hosted by others. Maintains a calendar of community and public education events, as well as processes requests for event participation from the community. Event coordination may include online or in-person event support, logistical coordination, registration, food, room/facility setup and take down, parking, and providing materials.

Identifies and solicits District staff resources appropriate for assigned community events (e.g., line crews, volunteers, Fire & Life Safety staff, and/or Safety Education Team personnel). Completes formal event action plan as needed.

EVENT AND INSTRUCTION RESPONSIBILITIES: Serves as primary representative for community events, festivals, programs, fairs, and participates on the Safety Education Team. Provides information and instruction formally and informally to event attendees. Involves speaking, presenting, teaching and answering questions to small and large audiences on a variety of District-related topics.

DISTRICT REPRESENTATION: Represents the District on assigned committees and community groups to promote the District’s programs related to community involvement and educational events.

CONTENT AND MATERIAL DESIGN: Designs and manages templates for informational and educational content provided by subject matter experts, including collateral materials as well as presentation support tools (e.g., presentation slides and speaking points). Customizes content for specific events, programs and campaigns. Maintains and organizes on-site informational, educational, and promotional products, including coordinating with internal and external staff and stakeholders and/or vendors to order products, and updates materials as needed.

PROGRAM EVALUATION: Evaluates the effectiveness of events, programs, materials and information to ensure continual improvement of District activities. Under supervision, they may provide recommendations or make limited changes to activities and materials.

RECORD KEEPING: Maintains records associated with community events, including data collection used to analyze efficacy of community events and public education strategies.

For a complete description of each of these areas of responsibility, as well as the secondary functions, we invite you to review the job description.

Qualifications

The education and experience minimum requirements below are those typically required for performing the job functions (unless specifically noted to be preferred). Equivalent combinations of education and experience may be considered.

EDUCATION:

Associate degree required. Bachelor’s degree in education, public relations, or related field preferred.

EXPERIENCE:

Two (2) years of experience with primary responsibilities that demonstrate public-facing interaction required. Experience involving event coordination, communications, and/or public outreach, instruction and/or public education, experience preferred.

For additional information on the requirements for this position, please see the job description.

Supplemental Information

TVF&R evaluates each applicant's work history and responses to supplemental questions. Please be sure to thoroughly answer the application's supplemental questions to ensure our subject matter experts can appropriately evaluate your experience and qualifications.

ANTICIPATED TIMELINE:

Application review

October 3 - November 2

One-way recorded interview

Beginning mid-October

On-site panel interview and community presentation scenario

Beginning November 3

COMPENSATION:

The monthly salary range for this position is $5,510 - $7,457 per month. The starting pay assignment is based on a candidate's bona fide factor analysis in accordance with the District's pay equity system and the Oregon Equal Pay Act.

WORK LOCATION:

This is a hybrid-eligible position (for Oregon residents) with work onsite at TVF&R’s Command and Business Operations Center located at 11945 SW 70th Ave, Portland, OR 97223.

VETERANS PREFERENCE:

It is the District's policy to provide eligible veterans with preference as required by law. Applicants must provide certification of eligibility for entitlement to the preference (e.g. DD-214 long form clearly showing discharge status) with the application submission by the closing date of the posting.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY:

TVF&R is an equal employment opportunity employer and seeks to attract a diverse workforce that reflects the community we serve in order to deliver safe, professional, and high-performance service.

ACCOMMODATION REQUESTS:

Persons needing accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act for any part of the application process should contact Human Resources staff at 503-649-8577. We accept operator relay calls. If you’re deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please call 711 for assistance.

More questions? Click here to be connected with our recruitment team.

Compensation at TVF&R includes far more than salary! While harder to quantify, the value of employee benefits at TVF&R is a significant consideration in total compensation.

Performance-based step increases

Eligible employees who are not already at the top of the relevant pay grade range are rewarded with annual performance-based step increases.

Time off accruals

TVF&R provides generous paid time off for full-time employees, including vacation, sick leave, and personal leave. Those accruals begin immediately upon employment with no waiting period.

Paid holidays

In addition to the paid time off noted above, the District recognizes 12 paid holidays per year, also available immediately upon employment.

Other paid time off

Other paid time off include leaves for bereavement, military duty and jury duty.

Medical insurance

Full-time employees (and eligible spouse/dependents) may enroll in comprehensive medical and dental coverage, in which the District pays 90% of monthly premiums. TVF&R establishes and contributes funds to an HRA VEBA for employees, which can be used to pay for out-of-pocket medical and dental expenses during active employment or after separation. Employees with existing coverage may opt out of medical and/or dental coverage and receive a monthly stipend.

Dental insurance

Comprehensive dental coverage is also offered to full-time employees. As with medical coverage, the District pays 90% of monthly premiums.

Life insurance/AD&D/LTD

The District provides generous life insurance coverage to full-time employees and dependents, as well as accidental death and dismemberment insurance and long-term disability insurance. There is no cost to eligible employees.

Retirement plans

TVF&R has several plans to support employee financial wellness, including Oregon’s Public Employee Retirement System (PERS). Some plans are funded by the employee and some plans are funded by TVF&R. Together, these plans add a considerable amount to total compensation.

Other benefits

Other benefits provided to full-time employees include the following:

• Tuition reimbursement program for proposed work-related education (subject to approval and with restrictions)
• Employee Assistance Program
• Short-term disability insurance availability (employee paid)
• Supplemental life insurance availability (employee paid)
• Section 125 flexible spending plan
• Section 125 dependent care plan

Disclaimer: This is a general description of the benefits offered through employment with TVF&R, and every effort has been made to ensure its accuracy. In the event of any incorrect information, applicable laws, rules, collective bargaining agreements or official plan documents will prevail.