Position Summary
The Constituent Services and Government Affairs Coordinator leads the county’s constituent response operations, serving as the primary point of contact for residents, businesses, local governments, and community groups seeking assistance. The role combines casework management, public engagement, and interdepartmental coordination to ensure timely, accurate, and effective responses to constituent concerns. This position manages and responds to inquiries, attends government briefings on behalf of the County Council, and advises the County Council on emerging community issues. This position requires being onsite 100% of the time and is not eligible for remote work. The Office of County Council is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday (except on County holidays). Occasional evening and weekend hours may be required, as described above.
Reporting Structure:
All employees within the Office of Allegheny County Council ultimately report to the Council’s Executive Committee, which is responsible for all matters relating to staffing and office function. The Executive Committee meets as necessary to perform these functions.
The Constituent Services and Government Affairs Coordinator will interact directly with Council members regarding constituent or intergovernmental communications and requests, scheduling, and other matters described below.
The Office of County Council employs two directors (one overseeing budget and administration, and the other overseeing legislation, procedure, and recordkeeping) and one Communications & Special Projects Coordinator (overseeing the office’s outreach activities). The Constituent Services and Government Affairs Coordinator will not directly report to these staff members, but is required to work cooperatively with them at all times, and to defer to their determinations for all matters that lie within their respective subject areas.
Duties
Constituent Case Management:
- Serve as the initial point of contact for residents and businesses; investigate concerns, provide information, and connect constituents with appropriate county services. This includes monitoring and responding to incoming constituent inquiries through a variety of mediums, including in-person visits, telephone, email, mail and interactions via social media platforms, and managing the flow of correspondence to ensure timely responses. Responses may require requesting the constituent to call in to the Office of County Council to further assist in determining the nature of the need and the relevant staff member to provide further assistance. Appropriate and thoughtful responses must reflect the Council members’ wishes, position, or legislative record on various public policy issues.
Interdepartmental Coordination:
- Collaborate with County departments to resolve issues and identify solutions using available county resources. This includes consultation with Council member(s) and other County Council staff as appropriate, to process constituent requests relating to County services, including but not limited to those provided by the Parks Department, Department of Public Works, Department of Human Services, and Office of Property Assessments.
Database Management:
- Maintain a constituent contact database and relevant spreadsheet files as required by the Council members.
Community and Government Relations:
- Cultivate and maintain relationships with public agencies, local businesses, community organizations, and government officials to facilitate case resolution and improve service delivery. Coordinate and attend activities with other governmental entities or elected officials and constituent groups wishing to meet or converse with Council members. Upon request, represent the Council members at events in their respective districts when the member is unavailable.
Meeting Attendance and Representation:
- Attend Council’s regular and committee meetings as requested by Council members. Attend meetings of other governmental and quasi-governmental entities as requested by Council members, and provide written or verbal reports summarizing these meetings as requested by Council members.
Community Issue Identification:
- Track patterns in constituent inquiries to identify emerging issues, service gaps, or policy concerns, and brief county leadership accordingly.
General Office Duties:
- Receive, sort, and route mail; maintain and direct publications. Perform clerical duties as needed, such as typing, faxing, filing, photocopying, collating, and bulk mailing preparation. Manage Council members’ calendar/scheduling in conjunction. Interact with other County Council staff; coordinating workload accordingly.
Perform any other constituent work-related duties as assigned.
Knowledge
Constituent case management practices and procedures, including tracking, follow-up, and documentation. Intergovernmental processes and how county departments coordinate to resolve public service issues. Principles of community engagement and effective public-facing service delivery. Meeting procedures, legislative processes, and government briefings relevant to County Council operations.
Skills
Computers and Software Applications:
Ability to complete tasks in MS Office Suite (Word, Excel, Access, Outlook, PowerPoint), GovQA (constituent tracking system), and Legistar (legislative tracking system) software applications on a desktop computer system. Prior knowledge of GovQA and Legistar systems is not required.
Communication and Teamwork:
Strong communication and interpersonal skills are required. Ability to read, analyze, interpret, and compose general business correspondence. Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from constituents and the general public. Ability to get along with others and work effectively as a team player. Ability to converse fluently in a secondary language is a plus, but not required.
Abilities
Reasoning Effectively:
Ability to exercise independent judgment and discretion. Ability to manage confidential information. Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form. Ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations. Ability to concentrate for extended periods of time.
Physical Demands:
The physical demands described herein 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.
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit; use hands to handle or feel; reach with hands and arms; and talk or hear. The employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; and stoop, kneel, or crouch. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, the ability to adjust focus, and the ability to read and interpret documents on a computer screen.
Work Environment:
The work environment characteristics described herein are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet. The employee is occasionally exposed to the moving mechanical parts of office equipment.
Minimum Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration, Political Science, Social Work, or related field is preferred.
- Minimum of two (2) years of related experience is preferred.
An equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered.
Occasional evening and weekend hours may be required, as described below.
Preferred Qualifications Include:
- Experience working in county or local government.
- Familiarity with community resources and public agencies.
- Experience managing a high-volume public-facing office.
Residency
Allegheny County within 1 year.
Veterans' Preference
Will be awarded to eligible candidates.
How to Apply
Applications are submitted online until the position is filled and/or the posting is closed. After reviewing this job announcement, please click on the link at the bottom of the page to apply online. A resume is required with the application. Further instructions on submission of documents are available in the online application. A resume may not be substituted for an application.