Communications & Government Relations Director (WMS Band 2) - job 2 of 2

Communications & Government Relations Director (WMS Band 2)Office of Administrative HearingsHeadquarters DivisionNOTE:• This is a project appointment with funding for a 12-month appointment.• This position is eligible for PEBB and PERS benefits.• This position is eligible for full-time remote work after onboarding at an OAH facility. If working remotely, the alternate worksite must be located in Washington state.The Opportunity:The Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) is seeking a Communications & Government Relations Director (WMS Band 2) to join our Headquarters team. This is a project position with funding for a 12-month appointment. The position is eligible for full-time telework (within Washington state) as well as PEBB and PERS benefits.The Communications & Government Relations Director supports the OAH mission by managing agency communications and rulemaking. Reporting directly to the Deputy Chief Administrative Law Judge for Strategy & Performance, the position is part of the agency’s Strategy & Performance Team, which manages strategic planning, performance reporting and data integrity, continuous improvement, risk, rules, and customer service. The position also serves as the agency’s legislative liaison and public information officer. As the agency communications director for both internal and external communications, this position develops agency communication strategy and leads communication efforts. As a central services agency, OAH must maintain strong working relationships with dozens of state and local agencies, as well as with its judges and support staff. This position is responsible for overseeing the communication strategies for maintaining effective communication channels with all of these interest holders. As the rulemaking director, this position leads agency compliance with the legislative mandate to maintain the statewide model administrative hearing rules, in consultation with affected agencies. As the legislative affairs director and legislative liaison, this position leads communications with the legislature, including materials and presentations for legislative work sessions and hearings.About the Agency:The 1981 Legislature created the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) to offer Washingtonians an independent, fair, and neutral forum to hold administrative hearings on disputed matters referred by state and local government agencies. Operating out of field offices in Olympia, Tacoma, Seattle, and Spokane Valley there are currently 230 employees, including 120 administrative law judges who preside over administrative hearings involving unemployment insurance benefits, child support, food assistance, medical benefits, business and professional licensing, and more.OAH conducts hearings for more than 30 agencies and 160 programs. Our referring agencies include the Employment Security Department (ESD), Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF), Health Care Authority (HCA), Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB), Department of Financial Institutions (DFI), the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), and others.For more information about OAH, please visit our website at oah.wa.gov.OAH Mission: To hear and independently resolve disputes between the public and state agencies with an impartial, quick, and easy to access process.OAH Vision: All people of Washington can meaningfully participate in their hearing and understand the result.OAH Values:• Fairness and independence• Diversity, equity, inclusion, and respect• Performance excellence• IntegrityOAH Goals:• Performance Excellence: We deliver high quality, timely work.• Convenience & Accessibility: We make it easy for people to do business with us.• Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Respect: We promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and respect.• Good Stewards: We are efficient, effective, and accountable.OAH Offers:• Work that is important and makes a difference.• In-house training and professional development opportunities.• Healthy work/life balance, including remote work options.• Comprehensive benefits package.Duties include, but are not limited to:Communications Director• Advises agency leadership on internal and external communications.• Leads development and implementation of agency communications strategy.• Manages internal communications to foster two-way information sharing among staff and with management.• Serves as the principal agency spokesperson at events and meetings.• Advises executive management as the agency’s public relations strategist.• Connects internal and external stakeholders to OAH’s vision, mission, and values through outreach, meaningful content, and storytelling.• Develops and maintains communications policies and procedures.• Builds and implements communication campaigns and outreach strategies.• Produces, publishes, and communicates OAH’s annual report.• Trains and supports agency staff on elements of effective written and oral communications, communications strategies, and media relations.• Leads the development and improvement of the agency’s public-facing content.• Serves on the Public Website Governance Team.• Serves on the agency’s intranet committee.• Maintain the policy for Executive Correspondence and General Writing Guidelines.• Serves as the agency’s public information officer• Develop and maintain the agency’s media relations policy.• Lead the agency’s media strategy.• Serve as the agency’s primary spokesperson to the media.• Keep the Governor’s press office informed of media communications as appropriate.Rulemaking Director• Continually updates the model rules of hearing procedure in Chapter 10-08 WAC.• Manages engagement with interest holders on the model rules development and updates, including community members, affected agencies, and employees.• Conduct rulemaking events, including rulemaking hearings and information sessions.• Develop and staff a model rules advisory committee.• Lead and coordinate model rules advisory committee engagement and meetings.• Manage updates for the Chapters 10-04, 10-16, 10-20, and 10-24, WAC.• Draft rules using plain language principles, with support from OAH’s Writing Style Committee.• Partner with the rules coordinator to maintain up-to-date public information on OAH rulemaking efforts.• Advise agency leadership on rulemaking.• Lead development and implementation of the agency’s rulemaking strategy.• Serve as a member of the Writing Style Committee.• Support the executive management team in developing and updating policies and procedures.Legislative Affairs Director• Lead the agency’s legislative strategy.• Manage the agency’s legislative bill tracking to ensure OAH is aware of and has opportunity for input on bills that may impact the agency.• Serve as a resource to the fiscal unit and subject matter experts for fiscal notes.• Participates in post-session legislative update training.• Liaison with legislators and legislative staff.• Provide materials and testimony at committee hearings, work sessions and other legislative events.• Lead the development of OAH’s agency-request legislation.• Manage communication with referring agencies to ensure OAH is consulted on agency-request legislation that has impact on OAH.Required education and experience includes one of the following options:• Option 1: 8 years of professional experience in communications, public relations, legislative affairs, or a closely allied field.• Option 2: An Associate's degree in communications, public relations, journalism or closely allied field AND 6 years of professional experience in communications, public relations, legislative affairs, or a closely allied field.• Option 3: A Bachelor's degree in communications, public relations, journalism or closely allied field AND 4 years of professional experience in communications, public relations, legislative affairs, or a closely allied field.Required knowledge, skills, and abilities include ALL of the following:• Excellent oral and written communication skills with the ability to write and produce content on a variety of issues in a concise, coherent, and clear manner.• Superior communication skills to effectively communicate with diverse groups utilizing, oral, written, and electronic communication methods with accurate English grammar, punctuation, and spelling.• Demonstrated ability to:• Quickly make thoughtful and analytical decisions regarding the appropriate message and communication strategy.• Edit reports, presentations, and other materials and content with close attention to detail, accuracy, plain talk, active voice, flow and format, repetition, and inconsistencies.• Write content that is easy to understand, in plain language, in active voice, accurate, vetted appropriately with subject matter experts, and effective in communicating the desired message.• Clearly communicate complex technical information in verbal, written, and other communication forms to a non-technical audience, including the application of plain language to legally precise or technical documents.• Effectively communicate with all levels of the organization, the media, and the public.• Share ideas, recommendations, and risks in a collaborative, courteous, and professional manner.• Organize and prioritize workload to complete work on time and in a fast-moving environment. Balance and successfully complete multiple projects/tasks with the same deadline.• Build strong and trusting relationships across teams, divisions, agencies, organizations, and partners to achieve communications goals.• Facilitate meetings of diverse interest holders so as to encourage active and respectful engagement.• Knowledge of:• Principles of strategic communications planning including website and social media communication, document design, content development, and maintenance.• Writing online content and editing methods.• Legal analysis and interpretation of federal and state laws, including rules and regulationsRequired position-specific competencies:• Active Listening Skills: Effectively listens, asks questions, and confirms understanding when receiving information.• Customer Focus: Builds and maintains internal and external customer satisfaction with the products and services offered by the organization.• Interpersonal Skills: The ability to develop, maintain, and strengthen partnership and work cooperatively with others, inside or outside the organization, who can provide information assistance and support. Build constructive working relationships characterized by a high level of acceptance, cooperation, and mutual regard.• Political & Legislative Processes: Experience with the political/legislative process. This experience may include researching and providing information as testimony before a legislative or other government committee. Experience in analyzing proposed legislation, regulations, or rule changes in order to determine its potential impact on the agency. Review, analyze, and prepare replies to legislative fiscal notes. Possess excellent, broad understanding of government organization and administrative procedures, governmental functions, and legislative processes.• Prioritization: The ability to effectively organize multiple assignments of a complex nature or involving competing priorities to produce work products that are accurate, thorough, and timely.• Professional Behavior: Builds self-awareness. Maintains self-control. Maintains or enhances self-esteem. Listens and responds with empathy. Asks for help and encourages involvement. Shares thoughts, feelings and rationale. Provides support without removing responsibility. Takes full advantage to receive and explore feedback about own performance. Uses feedback to take action to improve knowledge, skill, behavior, and impact on others.• Proofreading: Read with comprehension drafted, original, or other written materials and documents that may include citations, rules and regulations, and make corrections to effectively resolve problems or inaccuracies in punctuation, spelling, and grammar or omitted language. Ability to accurately discern intended context of main ideas or essential message of document content.• Strategic Planning: Experience in developing and implementing long-term strategic direction. This includes developing, planning, organizing, and administering policies and procedures for agency to ensure administrative and operational objectives are met.• Tact and Diplomacy: Responds to difficult, stressful or sensitive interpersonal situations in ways that reduce or minimize potential conflict and maintains good working relationships among internal and external customers.• Writing Skills: Compose clear, straightforward, and technically correct documents. Chooses the most effective and meaningful written form to express information. States information as simply as possible and organizes information logically. Proofreads and edits information to improve its clarity, organization, content, etc., according to accepted rules of the English language. Writes at different reading and educational levels by altering words, length of sentences and depth of explanation.Preferred Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:• Experience with:• Legislative, policy, budget development, or rule making• Media relations• Crisis and/or emergency communications• Working with news reporters and media outlets in Washington State• Developing educational materials• Applying plain language principles and an equity lens to rules development• Knowledge of:• Legislative processes• Rulemaking processes• Marketing principles and techniques• Effective and persuasive storytelling techniquesHow to apply:To begin the online application process, click the green "Apply" button on this announcement on careers.wa.gov or governmentjobs.com. To be considered for this position, you must include the following required information in your online application:• A letter of interest describing how you meet the qualifications for this position; and• A detailed chronological resume; and• 3 professional references with current contact information; and• A complete online application profile.OAH is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, national origin, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity diversity, age, honorably discharged veteran, veteran status, genetic information, or the presence of any sensory, mental or physical disability or the use of a trained guide dog or service animal by a person with a disability.For questions about this recruitment, or to request reasonable accommodation in the application process, please email us at OAHHR@oah.wa.gov. For TTY service, please call the Washington Relay Service at 7-1-1 or 1-800-833-6388.