Government Affairs Manager jobs in Carson, CA

GENERAL STATEMENT

The Assistant Director, Government Affairs and Initiatives provides leadership, strategic planning, and operational oversite to Government Affairs. Incumbent performs complex student advisement, leadership training, and program and event supervision in order to maximize opportunities for co-curricular student involvement within student government with a focus on promoting social justice, advocacy, civic engagement, and experiential learning. Designs and implements a leadership development curriculum that fosters the development of student leaders in all branches of Associated Students Government (Executive Team, Senate, Cabinet, Judiciary, USU Board of Trustees, etc.). Identifies desired learning outcomes attributable to involvement in student government, assesses the program’s contributions to student learning, and modifies the curriculum as needed. Administers and authorizes payment of scholarships awarded through ASl’s scholarship program.

“This position has been identified as a mandated reporter required to report the observed or suspected abuse or neglect of children, dependent adults, or elders to designated law enforcement or social service agencies. We reserve the right to make employment contingent upon completion of signed statements acknowledging the responsibilities of a mandated reporter.”

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

1. Oversees, advises and monitors student government elections. Creates and implements voter information and education campaigns, and enforces campaigning rules and regulations. Supports the Government Elections Officer and Judiciary in the implementation of policies, regulations, and programmatic efforts. Advises candidates on the rules and procedures of elections. Develops outreach strategies for students to run for elected positions.

2. Coordinates and conducts orientation and training programs for incoming student government officials. Explains government bylaws, regulations, policies and procedures, and the need for compliance. Consults and coordinates with the Office of the Dean of Students, Student Life and Development, Student Conduct and Ethical Development, and other appropriate offices to provide training and orientation in campus, system-wide, and government rules and regulations.

3. Engages and connects student leaders to a wide variety of other programs and services to enhance the knowledge, understanding, and skills essential for their personal development and their exercise of leadership in a university setting. Designs and implements leadership and professional development curriculum utilizing a social justice framework to assist student leaders in gaining the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform leadership functions. Utilizes technology to enhance the accessibility and evaluation of learning experiences.

4. Provides advising and leadership development to the student leaders and boards in all branches of Associated Students Government, including the Executive Team, Business and Finance Committee, Cabinet, Judiciary, Isabel Patterson Child Development Center Advisory Committee, Lobby Corps, Senate, and University Student Union Board of Trustees. Identifies the varying needs, goals, and initiatives of each board, addresses complex student concerns, and provides guidance on ASI and University policies and procedures.

5. Advises students on goal setting, establishing timelines for complex programs, budgeting, and volunteer recruitment and development. Assists students with the interpretation of ASI and University policies and procedures, risk management issues, and creating platforms to advocate for and represent student issues and concerns with the intention of enhancing student support and the quality of campus life. Uses innovative and progressive procedures to meet student needs and requirements.

6. Develops outreach programs to attract student applicants to fill vacant government job openings in an effort to build a diverse student government that is representative of the student body. Oversees the solicitation, collection, and control of student applications for the Government Affairs office. Trains student leaders in appropriate techniques for interviewing, evaluating, and selecting students for open positions.

7. Ensures that the eligibility of students to run for and hold office is routinely monitored and verified. Forwards requests for verification of eligibility to the Dean of Students and Office of Student Conduct and Ethical Development. Notifies students who are declared ineligible and advises them on the appeal process. Represents ASI Government Affairs on the Eligibility Appeals Committee.

8. Advises and monitors the progress and development of student leaders. Helps students navigate multifaceted individual and group experiences for effective participation in student self-governance. Reviews and observes work activities to evaluate work performance. Identifies intervention strategies and solutions to address current and potential needs or problem areas. Refers students who are having difficulty with academic, personal, or financial issues to the appropriate campus resources and organizations. Maintains confidential student files and records. Documents information, decisions, recommendations, and observations.

9. Confers with individual students and student government groups when problems occur to determine nature of group dysfunction. Analyzes group interaction to identify problems related to factors such as group organization, authority relationships, and role conflicts. Develops intervention procedures to facilitate resolution of group problems, utilizing techniques such as interviews, consultations, role-playing, and participant observation of group interaction.

10. Coordinates with Beach Pride Events, Office of Multicultural Affairs, Student Life and Development, and other campus departments to develop co-curricular programs that address issues of social justice.

11. Develops and implements assessment protocol for student government trainings, programs, and initiatives. Assesses quality and effectiveness of leadership development programs and initiatives, using discretion to implement strategic solutions or recommend changes to the Executive Director.

12. Establishes guidelines for the development of critical documents and databases needed for managing Government Affairs (student government) information and works with administrative support staff to achieve implementation and distribution.

13. Manages the operations of the Government Affairs office. Manages Government affairs staff and assigns and evaluates their work products. Oversees office operations and procedures. Prepares and monitors budgets and authorizes expenditures for Government Affairs budget areas. Uses discretion to implement procedures to streamline the effectiveness of the department. Ensures that the office maintains a high level of customer service and provides a professional work environment. Intervenes with clients in highly difficult situations based on observation of individuals or referral by support staff or executive officers, providing timely assistance with complex problem solving and refer ongoing problems that may affect the function of programs and services to the Executive Director.

14. Serves as the administrator and payment approver for all ASI scholarships. Prepares scholarship paperwork and maintains accurate records of ASI scholarships and award recipients. Facilitates the creation of new scholarships as needed and works closely with the Development Associate for donor based scholarships.

15. Serves as a liaison with the Division of Student Affairs, Financial Aid Office, and Center for Scholarship Information by maintaining an accurate list of all ASI scholarship review committees, processing paperwork for scholarship information and student awards, and working with the 49er Foundation regarding account information. Coordinates specific scholarships with campus partners such as Study Abroad and Educational Opportunity Program (EOP). Verifies scholarship recipients and award amounts with the ASI Business Office.

16. Recruits students and staff to serve on scholarship review committees. Provides guidance and support to the Business and Finance Committee related to scholarship information. Coordinates all ASI scholarship review committees, maintains communication with members, and coordinates the scholarship application reading and scoring. Assesses scholarship rubrics for clarity and consistency, and provides recommendations.

17. In coordination with the ASI Executive Director, ensures that scholarship funds are allocated during the annual budgeting process.

18. Maintains a communication network with various departments (e.g. Student Life and Development, Office of Multicultural Affairs, Financial Aid Office, Office of the Dean of Students, Office of Student Conduct & Ethical Development, Division of Student Affairs, etc.) and campus wide support services offices. Serves as primary contact for inquiries and the dissemination of Government Affairs and ASI scholarship information.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES

Directly supervises up to two full-time, and multiple part-time , employees in the Government Affairs department. Carries out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the organization’s policies and applicable laws. Responsibilities include interviewing, hiring, and training employees; planning, assigning, and directing work; appraising performance; rewarding and disciplining employees; addressing complaints and resolving problems.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education and/or Experience

Bachelor’s degree (B. A.) or equivalent from four-year college or university in educational psychology, student personnel, or a related field; two to four years post-baccalaureate training or experience in students or student personnel administration; and four to ten years related professional experience. A Master’s degree is preferred in a job-related field may be substituted for up to two years of professional experience.

Knowledge and Abilities

Thorough knowledge of the policies, practices, procedures and activities of student government/student activity programs, auxiliary and non-profit organizations; thorough knowledge of counseling and interviewing techniques, thorough knowledge of the principles of individual and group behavior; thorough knowledge of the methods and problems of organizational and program management; general knowledge of research techniques; general knowledge of the principles of personnel and fiscal management.

Ability to read, analyze, and interpret professional journals, financial reports, and legal documents. Ability to respond to common inquiries or complaints from students, faculty and staff members of the campus community. Ability to write presentations and articles for publication. Ability to effectively present information to faculty and staff, student groups, and public organizations. Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals. Ability to compute rate, ratio, and percent and to draw and interpret bar graphs. Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions. Ability to interpret and present an extensive variety of instructions in verbal and diagram form. Ability to deal with several abstract and concrete variables. Ability to analyze and solve organizational and operational problems.

Certificates, Licenses and Registrations

Must possess a valid California driver’s license .

Other Requirements

Ability to occasionally work nights and weekends when required by nature of programs and activities being supervised. Regular, reliable, and non-disruptive attendance is an essential job function of this job, as is the ability to create and maintain collegial, harmonious working relationships with others requiring a high degree of emotional intelligence and maturity.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands described here 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 talk or hear. The employee is frequently required to sit and is occasionally required to stand and walk. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 10 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, and ability to adjust focus.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

The work environment characteristics described here 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 moderate.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

ASI is committed to creating a community in which a diverse population can learn, live, and work in an atmosphere of tolerance, civility and respect for the rights and sensibilities of each individual, without regard to race, color, national origin, ancestry, religious creed, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, medical condition, age, Vietnam era veteran status, or any other veteran’s status. ASI is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

GENERAL INFORMATION

A background check (including a criminal records check) must be completed satisfactorily before any candidate can be offered a position with ASI. Failure to satisfactorily complete the background check may affect the application status of applicants or continued employment of current ASI employees who apply for the position. Associated Students expects respectful, professional behavior from its employees in all situations. Acts of harassment or abusive conduct are prohibited. Demonstrated appropriate professional behavior, treating others with civility and respect, and refusing to tolerate abusive conduct is expected of all employees.