About the Role

This entry-level position sits within PRR's Environment Division and will primarily support community engagement and communications for water and wastewater infrastructure projects in the Puget Sound region. This role will support project managers in planning and implementing communications and inclusive engagement activities for a variety of water-focused projects.

This is a hybrid position based in our downtown Seattle office. The selected candidate is expected to work from PRR's Seattle office approximately three days per week to start, with in-person community outreach work throughout the Puget Sound region as needed. Many projects involve public meetings, open houses, and community events that take place in the evenings and on weekends, so flexibility to work outside standard business hours on a regular basis is required. This role also requires travel to project sites, meetings, and events, so a valid driver's license and the ability to drive are required.

We prioritize candidates with demonstrated commitment to social and racial justice and experience supporting successful efforts to reach diverse audiences. Candidates with multilingual skills are encouraged to apply. Also desired: experience and strong interest in water infrastructure, clean water, environmental stewardship, waste management and recycling, or the built environment.

Duties and Responsibilities
Community Engagement and Communications

• Support implementation of communications and community engagement plans with strategies and tactics to reach historically underserved populations.
• Support equitable community engagement efforts to meaningfully involve historically underserved communities in decision-making, including people who are Black, people who are Indigenous, and people of color, people with disabilities, people living in poverty, and people who use languages other than English.
• Learn and convey project information and key messaging to the public at in-person events, including evening and weekend meetings, open houses, and community events.
• Maintain a working knowledge of regional and local public events in assigned project areas and coordinate reservations and logistics for participation.
• Plan and staff virtual and in-person meetings, briefings, interviews, and events, including some evening and weekend commitments.
• Coordinate and facilitate in-person door-to-door flyer distribution to property owners or businesses.
• Maintain databases to track contacts, events, and correspondence.
• Draft responses to questions and correspondence from community members.
• Create meeting agendas, take notes, and prepare meeting summaries.
• Research, write, and edit content for newsletters, press releases, fact sheets, informational materials, presentations, summary reports, online open houses, and websites.
• Help produce PowerPoint presentations.
• Coordinate with PRR's in-house specialty services, including our Creative Studio on graphic design and video needs, Language Services team on language access needs, and Research Team on demographic analyses and survey design and fielding.

Project Management

• Support a variety of project teams at once, primarily on water infrastructure projects, including participating in project team meetings and collaborating with cross-disciplinary staff.
• Complete tasks within scope, schedule, and budget for projects.
• Provide regular status updates on assigned tasks to project managers.
• Ensure work is on time, on budget, and on target with objectives.
• Proactively complete tasks and troubleshoot any issues as they arise.
• Develop and manage task or event work plans.
• Coordinate project purchasing, including vendor engagement, tracking, and timely submission of expense documentation.

Client Relations

• Establish and support effective working relationships with PRR's clients.
• Professionally represent clients to the public and key audiences.
• Work to establish trust and respect with community-based organizations and community members.
• Provide excellent customer service.
• Provide responsive and timely information to clients.
• Maintain confidentiality of client information.
• Attend client meetings.

Administrative

• Maintain or exceed a 90% billable utilization goal. This means 36 out of 40 hours per week are spent on billable client work.
• Complete timesheets and expense reports on time and with accurate information.
• Provide accurate and timely billing information to the accounting department.
• Attend all-staff meetings and participate in internal initiatives, as appropriate.

Billable Utilization

In this role, your time will largely be spent working on projects and billing your time to clients. Approximately 90% of your time in this role should be billed to clients (36 hours out of a 40-hour work week). The remainder would be billed to PRR to complete company activities, engage in business development, attend company events, and participate in professional growth and development opportunities. Staff are required to track and report their time spent on projects and company activities each week.

Experience and Education

• Bachelor's degree in communications, marketing, or journalism or equivalent experience in communications or a related discipline, or someone interested in transitioning into the community engagement profession.
• Experience working with historically underserved communities is highly desired.
• Experience working in customer or client service and/or the public sector is highly desired.

Skills Required

• Highly organized with strong attention to detail.
• Excellent verbal and written communication and community outreach skills.
• Able to write in a clear, concise, public-friendly way in a variety of client styles.
• Able to analyze complex technical information, translate it into easily understood language, and tailor messages for public audiences.
• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• Strong work ethic and ability to take initiative and work independently and efficiently.
• Ability to stay on task and meet deadlines in a deadline-driven environment.
• Superior commitment to quality control, e.g., editing for grammar and typos and attention to detail and client style guides.
• Ability to work with people from diverse backgrounds.
• Comfort working in a variety of settings, including a busy office, remote settings, meetings with elected officials, or out in the community, including evenings and weekends as needed.
• Proficient with PCs and MS software, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams.
• Ability to quickly learn new software, including content management systems.
• Ability to travel independently and reliably to project sites, public meetings, and community events, which may occur outside standard business hours or in locations not served by public transit. A valid driver's license is preferred.

Desirable, but Not Essential, Skills and Experience

• Interest in public planning, government processes, water infrastructure, water quality, and environmental sustainability.
• Social media content creation or community management experience
• Multilingual skills.
• Experience working with historically underserved communities.
• Experience working in customer or client service and/or the public sector.
• Knowledge of CRM systems like OTR, GovDelivery, or Adobe Suite programs.

Compensation

The salary range for this position is $28.85 per hour – $31.25 per hour (depending on experience), allowing for future compensation growth within the range based on aptitude in the role, context, progress, and performance against goals over time.

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. While performing the duties of this job, the employee may be expected to work extended hours, including evenings and weekends for community events; including, but not limited to, standing or sitting for extended periods. The employee may have to occasionally lift/push/pull over 30 pounds. The employee is regularly required to talk or hear and to drive to and from project sites and events. The employee will regularly operate office equipment.

PRR, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or veteran status.

PRR is committed to fostering, cultivating, and preserving a diverse and inclusive environment. We endeavor to build a team that reflects the diversity and intersectionality of the communities we serve. People of color, multilingual, LGBTQIA, and veteran candidates as well as individuals with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.