1. Three years of full-time paid professional experience with the City of Los Angeles as a Public Information Director; or
   
2. Graduation from a recognized four-year college or university and eight years of full-time paid professional experience (of which, at least three years of supervising staff) in directing or managing two or more of the following areas: speech writing, journalism/news writing, media relations, community relations, community or media focused events, advertising, and sponsorships.
   
3. In addition to the regular City application form, each candidate is required to submit a Harbor Public and Community Relations Director Application Supplement at the time of filing. Candidates who fail to submit both the City application and the Application Supplement together will not be considered candidates in this examination and their applications will not be processed.
   

NOTES:

1. Candidates who lack six months or less of the required experience may file for this examination. However, they cannot be appointed until the full experience requirement is met.
   
2. For qualifying work experience gained outside of the City of Los Angeles, the term "professional experience" applies to a position that required possession of a degree from a recognized four-year college or university in order to obtain that position. Therefore, to be considered "professional", non-City qualifying experience must be gained in positions after obtaining a four-year degree.
   
3. A valid California driver's license is required prior to appointment. Applicants will be disqualified and not eligible for hire, if within the past 36 months, they were convicted of a major moving violation, such as driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, and may be disqualified if there are three or more moving violations and/or at-fault accidents within the past 36 months.
   
4. The supplements will not be separately scored, but will be considered by the interview board in evaluating each candidate's qualifications.
   
5. Application supplements submitted by the candidate on the day of the interview will not be accepted for presentation to the interview board.
   

NOTES:

1. You will need to have Internet Explorer version 5.5 or above and Acrobat Reader 6.0 or better.
   
2. Applicants are urged to apply early to ensure you have time to resolve any technical issues you may encounter.
   

The instructions to candidates regarding completing the Application Supplement on-line are at the following location: http://www.lacity.org/per/exams/SuppInst.pdf

We recommend that you preview the Application Supplement at http://www.lacity.org/per/exams/9480Sup.pdf prior to completing your on-line application to ensure you provide yourself with sufficient time to complete both the on-line application and Application Supplement.

Once you submit your on-line application and it appears it meets the bulletin requirements, you will be immediately directed to the on-line Application Supplement for Harbor Public and Community Relations Director. At that time, you must follow the prompts and save the Supplement. You must complete the Supplement during that initial session and submit it with the application form. Candidates cannot be considered in the examination unless both the City application and the Application Supplement are complete and submitted together.

If you have technical problems, you will find a link in the on-line version of the bulletin, and also in the Supplement itself. This link will take you to a web page that will allow you to send us information related to your problem. Personnel Department staff will respond to your communication by e-mail.

NOTE:

Should a large number of qualified candidates file for this examination, an expert review committee may be assembled to evaluate each candidate's qualifications for the position of Harbor Public and Community Relations Director. In this evaluation, the expert review committee will assess each candidate's training and experience based upon the information in the candidate's City employment application and their Application Supplements. Those candidates considered by the expert review committee as possessing the greatest likelihood of successfully performing the job of Harbor Public and Community Relations Director, based solely on the information presented to the committee, will be invited to participate in the interview.

The examination will consist entirely of an evaluation of the candidate's personal and professional qualifications by interview. In the interview, emphasis will be placed on the candidates background, work experience, and personal qualifications as they have prepared the candidate to perform the duties of a Harbor Public and Community Relations Director, including knowledge of: principles and practices of gathering, preparing, and disseminating information on behalf of a large organization that serves a diverse community; promotional public relations activities and their implications; management and supervisory principles and practices including counseling, disciplining, training, planning, delegating, instructing and motivating employees, evaluating the work of subordinate employees and equal employment opportunity; the ability to translate ideas and suggestions into effective public relations presentations, materials, and campaigns; effectively advise management in response to public, business, and community concerns; interact with print and broadcast media on a daily basis and under media deadlines; work and produce public relations materials under stringent deadlines; exercise independent judgment in a variety of routine and crises situations; prepare reports, budget requests, and estimates; handle administrative details and problems; establish and maintain a work environment to enhance employee morale and productivity; communicate effectively orally and in writing; deal tactfully and effectively with employees, unions, management, representatives from inside the City and other organizations, and the public; and other necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities.

In their overall evaluation of each candidate's job qualifications, the interview board will also consider the information in the candidate's Harbor Public and Community Relations Director Application Supplement. Candidates may expect the interviewers to discuss this material with them during the interview.

It is anticipated that interviews for this examination will begin during the period of APRIL 13, 2009 through APRIL 24, 2009. Candidates will be notified later by mail of the date, time, and location of the interview, which will be held in Los Angeles.

1. Applications are accepted subject to review to ensure that minimum qualifications are met. Candidates may be disqualified at any time if it is determined that they do not possess the minimum qualifications stated on this bulletin.
   
2. A final average score of 70% is required to be placed on the eligible list.
   
3. As a covered entity under the Fair Employment and Housing Act and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City of Los Angeles does not discriminate on the basis of disability and, upon request, will provide reasonable accommodations to ensure equal access to its programs, services, and activities.
   
4. In conjunction with Civil Service rules, applicants who are current eligible City employees or are on a reserve list will be considered Promotional candidates while all other applicants will be considered Open candidates.
   
5. The promotional list will ordinarily be used ahead of the open competitive list. However, if open competitive candidates receive a higher score, without military credits, than the highest available promotional candidate, after adding seniority credit, the Civil Service Commission, upon request of the appointing authority, may approve certification of such open competitive candidates ahead of the promotional candidates.
   
6. Promotional candidates will accrue seniority credit at the rate of 0.10 of a point for each year of service in those classes that provide qualifying experience for this position. A maximum of one point will be added to the score of those candidates.
   
7. Appointment to this position is subject to a one-year probationary period as provided under the provisions of Section 1011 of the Los Angeles City Charter.
   

Class Code 9480 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 01-30-09

If you receive and accept an offer of employment to a regular position with the City of Los Angeles, your employee benefit coverage (including health and dental coverage as well as life insurance) will commence approximately six weeks after your original regular appointment.

Not all positions in the City receive benefit coverage; you should inquire regarding the availability of employee benefits prior to accepting a position.

The City of Los Angeles does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, creed, color, ancestry, medical condition (cancer), or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. Applicants or employees who believe that they have been discriminated against are encouraged to contact the Office of Discrimination Complaint Resolution at (213) 473-9123.