Bilingual Public Information Officer

Salary: $44,304.00 - $95,571.00 Annually
Location : Upper Marlboro, MD
Job Type: Fulltime/Permanent/Classified
Job Number: 07474
Department: Police Department
Division: OOC MRD ADMN SHFCMDR
Opening Date: 01/02/2024
Closing Date: 1/16/2024 11:59 PM Eastern
Nature and Variety of Work
Located minutes from downtown Washington, D.C.,
Prince George's County is the perfect family-friendly community to live, work, and play!
Come join our team! We are Prince George's Proud!
The Prince George's County Police Department is seeking qualified applicants to fill a Bilingual Public Information Officer I/II position, grade G18/G21 within its Media Relations Division.
About the Position:
This is an entry-level to full-performance professional journalistic and media relations work involving the collection, preparation, and dissemination of informational materials in support of programs, services, and activities within the Police Department. The primary focus of the Bilingual Public Information Officer is to gather data (research), organize details, monitor and post to social media outlets, and draft agency information reports, media, and communication activities.
Work has an impact on the public's knowledge and understanding of the organization, operations, and services provided by the Police Department. Public Information Officer I class incumbents have technical responsibility for their work and plan and carry out the work in accordance with professional journalism principles and practices, applicable laws and regulations, and established policies and procedures.
The complexity of the work is marked by stringent press deadlines and varied assignments involving a variety of processes and methods. Completed work is reviewed for accuracy, adequacy of treatment, soundness of technique, and conformance to established policies and procedures. Work is primarily sedentary and is typically performed at an office workstation with extensive periods requiring the use of computer terminals to accomplish work objectives, interspersed by periods of standing, walking, and bending. Incumbents occasionally attend agency informational events, groundbreaking ceremonies, and community events that may be held outside.
Upon the satisfactory completion of a probationary period, entry-level incumbents will be non-competitively promoted to the Public Information Officer II full performance level.
Accountability Statement: The incumbent in this position is authorized to carry out those duties and responsibilities in accordance with the established performance standards and subject to reporting justifying task outcomes to those above him/her in the Department's chain of command. The incumbent in this position treats all information, administrative or operational, as strictly confidential, not to be disseminated in any form unless expressly authorized. The incumbent in this position is deemed "essential personnel" and is subject to report during standard or non-standard hours as operations necessitate.
Examples of Work
What You'll Do:

• Serves as the bilingual (Spanish/English) spokesperson for the Department on the radio, television, in person, and through social media platforms.
• Translates official Departmental communications into Spanish for dissemination to the public.
• Assists in overseeing matters concerning the Department's relations with the news media.
• Assists in gathering and releasing information to the media, and the utilization of the news media's editorial and audio-visual techniques for achieving Departmental goals.
• Gathers information, writes, and arranges for the publication and distribution of press releases, newspaper articles, bulletins, pamphlets, and other news and promotional materials concerning the Police Department's programs, services, accomplishments, and events of public interest.
• Edits all materials to reflect professional standards for publications.
• Ensures the visual layout of materials is well designed, providing maximum visual effect for minimum cost.
• Ensures all materials are edited for release to the media and will be written according to Departmental policy.
• Ensures photographs are suitable for reproduction.
• Writes press releases on all matters requiring public relations.
• Will post on social media in Spanish and English.
• Will translate content from Spanish to English and English to Spanish as needed for posting to social media or speaking to Spanish or English media outlets.
• Be proficient at monitoring and posting on various social media platforms.
• Developing new social media strategies and campaigns.

Qualifications
What You'll Need:

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in Journalism, Communications, Public Relations, or related field, plus one (1) year of professional-level experience in Public Relations, Journalism, or a closely related field.
• An equivalent combination of education and experience will be considered. Each applicant must include information that clearly demonstrates the above qualifications for this position.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

1. Fluent in Spanish and English.
2. Can write/translate in both Spanish and English.

Additional Information
Conditions of Employment:

1. Must be fluent in Spanish and English.
2. Can write/translate in both Spanish and English.
3. Must successfully pass a thorough background investigation.
4. Must pass a medical examination and /or drug screening.
5. Must possess and maintain a valid driver's license.
6. Must be willing to adjust schedule (day/evening/nights), weekends, and holidays.
7. This is an essential position. Essential employees are expected to report during standard or non-standard hours as operations necessitate. Essential employees are expected to report or remain at work when other County employees are granted Administrative Leave.

General Plan Information:
The Prince George's County benefits plan year is from January 1 to December 31.
A spouse (to include a same sex spouse) can be added to the health benefit plans. A marriage certificate and social security number is required to add a spouse.
Children under the age of 26 are eligible for coverage under the health benefit plans. This includes stepchildren and children of the same-sex spouse. A birth certificate(s) and social security number(s) is required to add a child(ren). If you are only adding the stepchildren or child(ren) of a same-sex spouse, you will need to submit a marriage certificate. You will also need to submit the birth certificate of the child(ren) and your spouse must be listed as a parent.
The premiums for health benefits are deducted on a pre-tax basis with the exception of Long-Term Disability, Extra Life Insurance and Voluntary Benefits (Short-Term Disability, Whole Life Insurance, Critical Illness, Accident Insurance, Cancer Indemnity, Hospital Indemnity Protection, Accident Indemnity Plan, Supplemental Dental and Group Legal Services).
New employees must enroll in the County's health benefit plans within thirty (30) days of the hire date.
The effective date of the health benefits coverage is the beginning of the month following a waiting period of forty-five (45) days from the date of hire.
After enrolling in the County's benefit plans, employees may only make changes to the plans either during the open enrollment period, which occurs annually (usually each October), and/or during the year, due to a family status change (i.e., marriage, births, divorce and adoption).
Employee Benefits
Prince George's County is proud to offer employees an attractive and comprehensive benefits program, including the following:

• Medical/Prescription/Dental/Vision Insurance Coverage (part time employees are eligible for medical insurance if they work 15 + hours, per week)
• Group Term Life Insurance
• Long & Short-Term Disability
• Flexible Spending Accounts
  • Dependent Care Assistance Program
  • Health Care Flexible Spending Account

Paid Leave (Annual, Personal, & Sick)

13 Paid Holidays

Retirement Benefits

• Defined Benefit Pension Plan
  • Employer Contribution Rate-11.71%
• Supplemental Pension Plan
  • Employee Contribution Rate (Pre-Tax)-3.48%
• 457(b)
• 403(b)

Employee Discounts

Employee Assistance Program

Voluntary Benefits

• Critical Illness
• Whole Life Insurance
• Accident Insurance
• Legal Services

For additional details, please visit:
01
I acknowledge and understand that the responses to the supplemental questions must reflect the information provided under the "Work Experience" section of the application. My responses will be used to determine whether or not I possess the minimum qualifications for the position.

• Yes
• No

02
Select the response that best represents your highest level of completed education.

• H.S. Diploma/G.E.D.
• Associate's Degree
• Bachelor's Degree
• Master's Degree
• Juris Doctor degree (J.D. or JD)

03
If you possess a Bachelor's degree or higher, please check the appropriate field of study.

• Journalism
• Communications
• Public Relations
• Other

04
If you checked "Other" in question #3, please name field of study.
05
How many years of professional-level experience in Public Relations, Journalism, or a closely related field do you have?

• One to Two years
• Two to Four years
• Four to Six years
• Over Seven years
• None

06
In question #5, please provide the field and a detail of your experience acquired. Do not indicate "see resume".
07
I acknowledge that this position requires possible schedule changes.

• Yes
• No

08
Do you possess one (1) or more years of professional-level work experience in the following areas? If "Yes", check all that apply.

• Writing, editing, and producing press releases, speeches, brochures, briefings/fact sheets, and other promotional materials.
• Communicating verbally and in writing effectively for targeted audiences.
• Developing guidelines for disseminating information and defining procedures to follow in an emergency.
• Responding to requests for information from the media/spokesperson.
• Conducting research to provide complete and accurate information.
• Establishing, communicating, and maintaining productive working relationships with internal/external customers, media, and public interest groups.
• Using logic and reasoning to identify solutions, conclusions, or approaches to questions.
• Understanding of County government concerns, programs, and activities.
• Drafting, editing, and posting scripts for social media, blogs, and websites.

09
If you selected any of the areas in question #8, describe in detail your experience performing the duties, including dates and places where you obtained the experience. Please elaborate on the application and do not respond with "See Resume".
10
Are you fluent in Spanish and English?

• Yes
• No

11
Can you write/translate in both Spanish and English?

• Yes
• No

12
Are you willing to participate as an essential employee? Essential employees are expected to report to work or remain at work during standard and non-standard hours when other County employees are granted Administrative Leave.

• Yes
• No

Required Question