Jacksonville City Council Research Assistant

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Jacksonville City Council Research Assistant

Salary

$51,871.50 - $64,987.44 Annually

Location

Jacksonville, FL

Job Type

Appointed Employee

Job Number

2024-06106

Department

CITY COUNCIL

Opening Date

07/12/2024

Closing Date

8/5/2024 11:59 PM Eastern

• Description

• Benefits

• Questions

Job Description

The Jacksonville City Council is hiring a Research Assistant in its Research Division to provide high quality public policy research and legislative process assistance to the City Council as a whole, its standing and special committees, individual City Council members, and to appointed citizen boards and commissions. Research Assistants attend meetings and produce accurate minutes of those proceedings; analyze and produce short summaries of new legislation upon introduction; draft resolutions for council members honoring and commending significant persons, institutions and events; and manage the database and process of City Council appointments to numerous citizen boards and commissions. Research Assistants produce thorough and timely research on a wide variety of topics upon request, including reviewing historical practice in Jacksonville and identifying best policies and practices in other jurisdictions primarily through internet searches. The Research Assistant position requires excellent writing and oral communication skills; the ability to read, comprehend and clearly explain sometimes complex policy and legal issues to a variety of audiences; and the ability to independently prioritize projects and manage time to complete multiple overlapping tasks to meet deadlines.

Examples of Work

• Minutes – Standing and Special Committees: attend committee meetings, take and disseminate accurate meeting minutes and documents in a timely manner.

• Boards and Commissions: Manage the council board/commission process from beginning to end, to include tracking vacancies, intake of applications, vetting for conflicts of interest, submitting requests for background checks, and drafting appointment legislation. Maintain boards database with membership, contact information, and board descriptions. Coordinate with IT and department staff regarding vacancy postings. Provide staffing to appointed citizen boards and commissions, including the scheduling, and noticing of meetings, development of agendas, provision of background materials, and production of minutes.

• Bill Summaries: Read and understand complex City Council legislation and associated attachments and relevant historical documents and summarize those materials in a concise, accurate format.

• Policy research: Conduct research on a wide variety of public policy and related topics as requested by the City Council, a Council committee, or individual Council Members. Conceptualize and carry out both long-term and short-term research projects.

• Public Notices: post all council related public notices, minutes, and accompanying documents to council’s public notice webpage.

• Resolutions and certificates: upon request draft certain honorary resolutions and certificates for council members.

• Research library and archives: update subject files with relevant documents.

• Document maintenance: update the Council Rules and Ordinance Code Supplements documents as needed to reflect legislative changes.

• Performs related work as required.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Thorough knowledge of the principles and practices of local government administration and thorough knowledge of, or the ability to rapidly acquire thorough knowledge of, the functions and activities of the Jacksonville City Council and the organization and functions of a consolidated city/county government and the governments/agencies with which it deals, Council Rules, Jacksonville Municipal Code and Council Legislation.

• Thorough knowledge of and hands-on ability to use computer equipment and applicable software, used in the legislative process, including considerable knowledge of document, spreadsheet, database, presentation, and internet search programs.

• Strong written and oral communication skills required. Ability to be an open communicator who can relate to Council Members, administrative staff, other government professionals, business interests, citizen volunteers, and the general public in a professional, courteous, effective manner.

• Ability to provide positive customer service to continue and enhance that attitude throughout the division. An understanding that the citizen comes first. A commitment to advise and work with all members equally of an active City Council who occasionally represent diverse opinions and to participate in positive solutions to community issues.

• Must possess strong attention to detail, ability to multitask and learn new technology.

• Ability to think and manage strategically to accomplish short-range and long-range goals while keeping an eye for accuracy and detail and a strong orientation toward customer service.

• Ability to read, understand, summarize and clearly explain complex public policy documents.

• Maintain a high level of professionalism.

Open Requirements/Supplemental Information

• A five-year combination of education and professional experience in public administration, political science, or related field, which includes

• Three years of experience in public sector policy analysis or research.

A master’s or bachelor’s degree is preferred.

A FULLY COMPLETED ONLINE APPLICATION IS REQUIRED. Apply at www.coj.net. Work history is required for all employment/volunteer work on which qualifications are being based.

The below documents are required with your application:

• Resume

• Writing Sample (no more than 5 pages, preferably a previous research piece)

• When meeting/basing qualifications on education, a copy of your college transcript, with your social security number blacked out, is required with your application. Transcripts do not need to be official, but must state your name, the school’s name, classes taken, grades received, type of degree, and date degree was conferred.

The application system works best with Google Chrome or Edge with Chromium web browsers. Please try to apply using one of these browsers. Be sure to add coj.net to your safe senders list to ensure you receive email notifications. You may also track the status of your application and see notifications by logging into your account.

There will be an examination for this position. Exams are in person at City Hall in Jacksonville, Florida. You will be notified by email when the exam has been scheduled. To ensure you receive email notifications, be sure to make “info@governmentjobs.com” a trusted sender.

Certain servicemembers and veterans, and the spouses and the family members of such service members and veterans, receive preference and priority, and certain servicemembers may be eligible to receive waivers for postsecondary educational requirements in employment and are encouraged to apply for positions being filled.

If claiming veteran's preference, you must attach a DD-214 (Member Form-4 copy) or military discharge papers, or equivalent certification from the Department of Veterans Affairs listing military status, dates of service and character of discharge. You must also attach the Veterans Preference Certification Form and, if applicable, the additional forms as noted here: http://www.coj.net/departments/employee-services/veterans-preference

If a candidate believes he or she was not afforded veteran’s preference, he or she may file a written complaint, within 60 calendar days upon receipt of notification of the hiring decision, requesting an investigation to:

Florida Department of Veterans Affairs

Attention: Veterans’ Preference Coordinator

11351 Ulmerton Road, Suite 311-K

Largo, FL 33778-1630

Email: VeteransPreference@fdva.state.fl.us

The City of Jacksonville provides a wide array of benefits to meet the diverse needs of our employees. Our comprehensive benefit programs include medical, dental and vision plans; life insurance coverage for you and your dependents; flexible spending plans for medical reimbursement, dependent care, parking, and transit expenses; an employee assistance program for you and your dependents; a 457(b) tax-deferred compensation plan to supplement your retirement, and a ROTH IRA plan. We also provide an extensive wellness program that includes a health intervention program if qualified, lunch and learns, health fairs, and discounted gym memberships. Please visit the Employee Benefits website for details on all the plans we offer.

www.coj.net/benefits

01

Each applicant must complete this supplemental questionnaire as a part of the application screening and selection process. The information you provide will be reviewed and used to determine your eligibility to move forward in the selection process. Copying and pasting your resume or stating "see resume" does NOT fulfill the requirements of the question. Incomplete responses, false statements, omissions, or partial information may result in disqualification from the selection process. Do you agree to answer each supplemental question truthfully and certify that your responses can be verified from information included within the application?

• Yes

• No

  02

  Are you authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship from the City of Jacksonville either now or in the future?

• Yes

• No

  03

  The budgeted annual salary range for this position is $51,871.50 - $64,987.44. This is not negotiable. If selected, would you be willing to accept this position in this pay range?

• Yes

• No

  04

  This position is located in an office and is not a remote location.

• I have read and understand the above statement.

  05

  An exam is required for this position. The exam will be conducted in person at City Hall in Jacksonville, Florida at a date to be determined and there are no exceptions to this. The exam cannot be taken online. Do you understand that you must take an exam in order to be considered for this position?

• Yes, I understand that I must take an exam in person at City Hall in Jacksonville, Florida in order to be considered for this position.

• No, I will not be able to take an exam for this position.

  06

  Do you have a bachelor's degree or higher from an accredited college or university?

• A bachelors' degree in public administration, political science, or related field.

• A masters' degree or higher in public administration, political science or related field

• A bachelors' degree in an unrelated field.

• A masters degree or higher in an unrelated field.

• None of the above

  07

  If you have a degree, indicate which degree you have and include any major/minor. If basing qualifications on education, a copy of your college transcript is required with your application.

  08

  How many years of experience in public sector (federal, state or local government) policy analysis or research do you have?

  09

  Provide a detailed description (at least 3-4 complete sentences) of your experience.

  10

  Indicate the organization(s) you worked for where you gained this experience.

  11

  Briefly describe a research project you've undertaken. What topic did you study and how did you go about researching it?

  12

  Briefly describe any experience you have working with appointed citizen boards or commissions.

  13

  If you are requesting veterans preference, you MUST download the appropriate state of Florida form (even if you don't live in Florida) and attach it to your application. FAILURE TO DO SO WILL DELAY YOUR VETERANS PREFERENCE STATUS. Please download the forms at http://www.coj.net/departments/employee-services/veterans-preference

• Yes, I am claiming veterans preference and I understand that I MUST download the appropriate form and attach it to my application.

• No, I am not claiming veterans preference and this does not apply to me.

  14

  A copy of your resume and a writing sample are required with your application. If basing/meeting qualifications on education, a copy of your college transcript is also required with your application. College transcripts do not need to be official, but must state your name, the name of the school, type of degree, classes taken, grades received and date degree was conferred. NOTE: A copy of your diploma does not meet this requirement. Transcripts from colleges outside of the U.S. must be converted to U.S. Standards. If required documents are not provided your application will be considered incomplete and may result in disqualification from the selection process.

• I have read the above statement and understand what is required.

  Required Question

Agency

City of Jacksonville

Address

117 W. Duval St. Suite 100 Jacksonville, Florida, 32202

Website

http://www.coj.net/departments/employee-services.aspx

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