Government Affairs Specialist - Houston, United States - Harris County (TX)

Description

Position Description

About Harris County Flood Control District:

The Flood Control District has the mission to reduce the risk of flooding in Harris County, the third most populated county in the United States, with a population in excess of 4.7 million, including the City of Houston, the nation's fourth largest city.

The Flood Control District has jurisdiction over the primary stormwater facilities in the county, which consist of approximately 1,500 channels totaling nearly 2,500 miles in length, as well as more than 60 regional stormwater detention basins, totaling more than 10,000 acres and several wetlands mitigation banks including Greens bayou.

What you will do at Harris County Flood Control District:

Harris County Flood Control District (District) is seeking a qualified candidate for the role of Government Affairs Specialist.

Reporting to the Chief External Affairs Officer, the Government Affairs Specialist will be responsible for leading cross functional teams in planning and implementing the District's strategic plans including leading governmental efforts to advance the mission of the District.

Essential Functions and Duties:

• Lead significant cross-functional teams to plan, build and manage program strategies and plans.
• Collaborate with the District's External Affairs, Programs and Partnership staff, as well as County officials, other government officials and staff, external liaisons, associations, and county personnel to achieve successful policy and funding outcomes.
• Prepare written reports, letters of support, memos, one-pagers, presentations and talking points on complex public policy issues.
• Execute with decision making-authority to implement legislative communication, and outreach, working closely with the Harris County Intergovernmental Affairs Department.
• Track and assess legislation and regulations for the District.
• Track global policies and issues, and support interactions with international stakeholders that engage with the District.
• Deliver presentations, write, or give testimony, and attend meetings, hearings, and events as needed.
• Support the District's efforts to respond to legislative and constituent inquiries.
• Perform other duties that may be added or changed as the course and scope of the job directs.

Harris County is an Equal Opportunity Employer

If you need special services or accommodations, please call or email

This position is subject to a criminal history check. Only relevant convictions will be considered and, even when considered, may not automatically disqualify the candidate.

Requirements


Education:

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited four-year college or university in government affairs, communications, law, public policy, or a related field.

Experience:

• Five (5) years of verifiable professional experience in government affairs, communications, law, public policy, or a related field.

Licensure:

• Valid Class "C" Texas Driver's License

Knowledge Skills, and Abilities:

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills including writing, presentation, and grammar.
• Comprehensive knowledge of County governmental processes.
• Comprehensive knowledge of Federal and State appropriations and funding processes.
• Proven government affairs experience and ability to develop relationships and partnership.
• Ability to prioritize and manage multiple projects and/or assignments.
• Strong managerial, diplomacy and conflict resolution skills.
• Strong decision making, and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent knowledge of Microsoft Office applications.

NOTE:
Qualifying education, experience, knowledge, and skills must be documented on your job application.

You may attach a resume to the application as supporting documentation but ONLY information stated on the application will be used for consideration.

"See Resume" will not be accepted for qualifications.

General Information


Position Type, Salary:

• Regular | Full-Time
• Salary: To be discussed at interview

Location:

• External Affairs | 9900 Northwest Freeway Houston, TX 77092

Physical Demands and Environmental Exposure:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions:

• Frequent standing and walking; prolonged sitting for extended periods of time.
• Frequent sorting, filing, shelving, and handling of documents, books, files, file drawers, and related materials and equipment required for clerical operations.
• Occasional stooping, bending, reaching, lifting, and carrying of items up to 15 pounds; occasional ascending/descending stairs.
• Work is performed indoors in a normal office environment with acceptable lighting, temperature, air conditions, and noise levels.

Employment may be contingent on passing a drug screen and meeting other standards.

Due to a high volume of applications positions may close prior to the advertised closing date or at the discretion of the Hiring Department.

BENEFITS

Harris County offers a competitive benefits program, including comprehensive group health and related benefits plan as well as defined benefit retirement plan.

The following list of benefits is offered only to employees in regular (full-time) positions:

• Medical Coverage
• Dental Coverage
• Vision Coverage
• Wellness Plan
• Life Insurance
• Long-term disability
• Employee Assistance Program
• Ten (10) days of vacation each year for the first five (5) years of service
• Accrual rates increase based on years of service
• Eleven (11) County-observed holidays and one (1) floating holiday
• Professional development opportunities
• Dependent Care Reimbursement Plan
• Healthcare Reimbursement Account
• 457 Deferred Compensation Plan

The following benefits are also available to regular (full-time) employment and may be available to part-time employees:

• Retirement Pension (TCDRS)
• Flexible schedule (varies by department)
• Transportation Assistance (Metro RideSponsor Program)

In accordance with the Harris County Personnel Regulations, Group Health and related benefits are subject to amendment or discontinuance at any time.

Commissioners Court reserves the right to make benefit modifications on the County's behalf as needed.

For plan details, visit the Harris County benefits website:
01

Which of the following best describes your highest level of education completed as it relates to this position?

• High School or GED diploma
• Associate Degree
• Bachelor's Degree
• Master's Degree or higher
• None of the above

02

If you selected a college degree in response to the previous question, which of the following best describes your major?

• Government Affairs
• Communications
• Law
• Public Policy
• Other Related Field
• Unrelated Field
• N/A; No Degree

03

Which of the following best describes your verifiable professional experience in government affairs, communications, law, public policy, or a related field? (To be considered, qualifying experience must be documented in your application's employment history)

• Less than five (5) years
• Five (5) years or more but less than six (6) years
• Six (6) years or more but less than seven (7) years
• Seven (7) years or more
• I do not have this experience

04

Please provide details about your verifiable professional experience in government affairs, communications, law, public policy, or a related field.

* Do not use "See Resume", as we do not use resumes to assess qualifications.* (To be considered, qualifying experience must be documented in your application's employment history) Include your (a) role(s), (b) types of organizations, (c) scope of duties and responsibilities.

If you do not have this experience, please type "None" in the space provided.

05

Which of the following describes your level of proficiency using a personal computer and common office software such as MS Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook).

Please select your level of proficiency based on the following descriptions:

Advanced:

A person with this level of skills is able to produce very large, complex formal documents that require a table of contents, footnotes, endnotes, bookmarks, and other special elements; a wide range of graphic effects, and use advanced techniques for analyzing and manipulating data.

Has full mastery of Macro commands and skills to tie the objects together into a cohesive system by using Macros and Visual Basic for Applications code.

Makes interactive presentations by using hyperlinks and action buttons.


Intermediate:

A person with this level of skills is able to customize toolbars, import and insert graphs, embed Excel data, and elaborate reports.

Understands the concepts of databases and is able to work with charts and to use the list management capabilities of Excel.

Able to use complex query techniques, create efficient forms and reports, and create Macros to automate these forms. Makes interactive presentations by using hyperlinks and action buttons.


Basic:

A person with this level of skills is able to use basic formatting, editing, printing functions, and understands the document page setup.

Has the ability to enter and correct data, modify a workbook, format a worksheet, and use printing functions.

Understands the different database concepts and structures and is familiar with data validation and is able to create a simple presentation in PowerPoint, run it, and print it.

Entry Level:

A person with this level of skills has the ability to open, create, save and modify documents in Word, send and receive email in Outlook and create spreadsheets in Excel.

Format documents for printing, comfortable using the printer menu to preview documents.

Has ability to change the font, the margins, insert or delete pages and use the built-in spellchecker and grammar check.

• Advanced
• Intermediate
• Basic
• Entry Level
• Not proficient

06

For this position, a valid Texas Driver's License is necessary.

Please choose the option that best describes your situation:
Do you meet the above requirement? (Please be sure to include all related details in the Certificates and Licenses section of your application.)

• Yes, I currently hold a valid Texas Driver's License.
• Yes, I possess a valid Out-of-State Driver's License, but I am aware that I must acquire a valid Texas Driver's License before the start date.
• No, I do not currently have a driver's license, but I commit to obtaining one before the start date.
• No, I do not currently have a valid driver's license.

Required Question

Agency Harris County

Address 1111 Fannin St

Ste. 600

Houston, Texas, 77002

Phone

Website