Open Government Technologist / Illuminator

Your City. Your Career.

Living in the Bay Area can enrich your life. Now it can do the same for your career. As one of Northern California’s most powerful economic forces, the City of Oakland offers an impressive array of career opportunities for visionary people who thrive on open communication and dedicated service. If you'd like to share your talents with our city, Oakland welcomes you.

OPEN GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGIST/ILLUMINATOR

(Ethics Analyst II)

$5,522-$6,780/month

Closes: Monday, June 6, 2016 at 11:59 pm

The Oakland Public Ethics Commission (PEC) is expanding, innovating and redesigning its structure and staffing to create an effective organization to enhance City government integrity. In 2014, Oakland City Council members and voters expanded the PEC's authority and staffing, and the City adopted an entirely new Government Ethics Ordinance to take the City's ethics compliance and enforcement to a new level. As a result, the PEC now houses six positions to work in the following areas to create and sustain an ethical and compliant culture in Oakland City government: leadership, education, data illumination, investigation, prosecution and administrative support. Among the PEC's recent data illumination projects is www.OpenDisclosure.io, an online application that brings campaign data to life for Oakland citizens, which was developed in partnership with Oakland's local Code for America Brigade, OpenOakland.

The City of Oakland Public Ethics Commission seeks an energetic civic technologist, project manager or data geek with an interest in enhancing disclosure and illumination of campaign finance, government ethics, lobbying and City contract data. This newly created position (current vacancy), Open Government Technologist/Illuminator (Ethics Analyst II job classification), will lead the PEC's data disclosure and illumination program that includes the next iteration of the Open Disclosure project mentioned above, as well as additional technology, communications and public engagement projects to enhance transparency, accessibility, and utilization of government integrity data.

The selected candidate will:

• Coordinate technology projects to implement the PEC's electronic filing and disclosure programs and utilize open data, data visualization platforms and other computer programming/coding applications.
• Coordinate the PEC's online and social media communications and conduct outreach to City public servants, candidates, lobbyists, City contractors and the public.
• Provide technical assistance to public servants, committee treasurers, candidates, lobbyists and other regulated individuals, as well as respond to requests for information from elected officials, other government agencies and the public.
• Develop education, engagement and online disclosure tools to inform City staff, elected officials, candidates and citizens regarding state and local campaign finance, lobbying, transparency and ethics laws, and evaluate organizational learning needs and user experiences to determine effectiveness of the PEC's education and engagement resources.
• Plan and implement PEC programs such as the Campaign Finance Disclosure program, the Limited Public Financing (of campaigns) program and the Lobbyist Registration program by preparing forms and systems to execute program objectives, receive and process records and payments within established timeframes, publish information on the Commission's website and the City's open data portal, maintain files and monitor and track compliance with legal requirements.
• Analyze data, conduct research and draft correspondence and reports regarding compliance with state and local campaign finance, transparency and ethics laws, as well as conduct audits and investigations as needed.
• Recommend innovations in systems or changes in local laws and policies to enhance the PEC's effectiveness in achieving its goals.

The ideal candidate will be a resourceful, self-initiated team player with experience in coding, analyzing data or developing web applications that utilize or visualize data for public outreach, educational or compliance purposes. Experience managing people or projects, analyzing policy and working with government ethics, campaign finance or transparency laws or data is highly desirable, as is a passion for government integrity and effectiveness. Requires a Bachelor's degree in business or public administration, sociology, education, economics, political science, communications, journalism, business, finance, accounting, computer science or a related field from an accredited college or university (a Master's degree in a related field is desirable), along with 3 years of progressively responsible professional work experience assisting with and/or developing and implementing education, engagement, communications or online information or disclosure programs and related materials.

Must have knowledge of strategies and tools for conducting public engagement, communications and educational campaigns; research and data analysis methods and techniques; social media and online engagement platforms; computer applications, including word processing, spreadsheets, databases and web content management systems; campaign finance, ethics or government transparency laws; and computer programming code and applications related to open source data and open government technology platforms.

Must have good verbal/written communication, presentation and interpersonal skills, and be able to assist with the planning, administration and evaluation of policies and programs, create new and innovative methods of sharing information and data to enhance access and usability of the information, learn and interpret state and local laws and regulations pertaining to ethics, campaign finance, transparency or related laws and translate complex legal concepts into plain language. Additionally, you will use web-based content management system and other computer programs to publish and disseminate information, analyze information and data sets; prepare clear, concise summaries and reports, maintain records, collaborate with team members to meet tight deadlines and accomplish Commission goals and write computer programming code.

Individuals who are appointed to this position will be required to maintain a valid California Driver's License throughout the tenure of employment OR demonstrate the ability to travel to various locations in a timely manner as required in the performance of duties. Experience with campaign finance, lobbyist, transparency or ethics laws and regulations is highly desirable.

To apply and view current openings visit our employment opportunities webpage at: http://agency.governmentjobs.com/oaklandca/default.... You may also call (510) 238-3112 for information. EOE