The Washington State Gambling Commission is seeking a highly skilled and qualified candidate to fill our Public Information Officer (PIO) position. This full-time position is located at our Headquarters in Lacey, Washington.

This position coordinates and provides professional and strategic marketing, public relations, and communication services to convey the agency’s mission, vision, goals, and policies as well as to help the agency maintain a positive image to internal and external audiences.

What is the Gambling Commission?

Established by the Legislature in 1973, the Washington State Gambling Commission is an accredited, limited-jurisdiction law enforcement, licensing and regulatory agency whose mission is to protect the public by ensuring that gambling is legal and honest. We are the second oldest gambling regulatory agency in the country and the only statewide agency that licenses and regulates an estimated $3.5 billion gambling industry comprised of Tribal, commercial, and nonprofit businesses.

The Commission has approximately 119 FTE’s, and a biennial budget of approximately $26.5 million.

Why Join Our Team?

When asked to provide a few words to describe our agency, our employees used these:

* Flexible * Supportive * Family Oriented * Variety * Teamwork
* Fun * Unique * Collaborative * Professional * Work-life Balance
* Strong Sense of Community * People First * Opportunities to learn

Our core values of Integrity, Professionalism, Respect and Diversity are integrated in all aspects of every position. If you are interested in working in an environment where employees matter, we may be the Agency for you!

Of course, we also have EXCELLENT employment benefits including medical and dental, life insurance, paid leave, and several retirement options.

WHY THIS POSITION?

As the PIO, you will provide essential support in the timely development, administration, and dissemination of public and internal operational information regarding a wide range of agency programs and services. You will work in collaboration with various teams within our agency, the media, and other organizations to tell the story of our agency and the work we do.

This position requires a candid and open communicator, who is politically astute but operates in an apolitical and objective fashion. As such, you will play a key role in the agency’s communications, and must have the ability to act with diplomacy and be highly adaptable to rapidly changing priorities in a dynamic environment.

Required Education:

Bachelor’s degree in communications, public relations/affairs, marketing, journalism, public administration or related field, AND four (4) years of progressively responsible experience performing professional level duties in information, journalism, media relations and public relations, including interacting with reporters and other media;

OR an equivalent combination of education and experience.

AND

Required Experience:

• Experience writing and editing communications, press releases, social media platforms, and website content for public/private sector organizations
• Depth and breadth of experience to be recognized as a subject matter expert in public relations or communications
• Experience developing and implementing communications plans for major strategic initiatives, as well a project-level communications plans.
• Experience using desktop publishing software to create visually compelling reports and other media
• Experience with photography and/or videography production
• Fluency in the digital space, including managing web site and social media content (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, blogs, podcasts, RSS feeds and YouTube) to promote and inform
• Fluency in Microsoft Office Suite (Access, Excel, Word, and Outlook) and other software, and ability to quickly learn and apply other software.

Competencies

The ideal candidate will have excellent verbal and written communication skills; the ability to problem-solve and make sound decisions; the ability to work in a fast-paced environment; and the ability to make complex information understandable to the general public using plain language.

The ideal candidate will also possess the highest level of ethics and integrity, be non-bureaucratic, and have a record of performance that demonstrates vision, innovation and creativity.

They will also possess the following:

• Ability to remain calm and professional under stress and adapt to new situations quickly
• Practical knowledge and experience using current marketing and public/media relations principles, best practices and technology
• Excellent organizational and project management skills
• Strong customer service skills
• Ability to work under tight deadlines and be adaptable to changing assignments, as well as manage multiple assignments
• Analytical thinking, research skills, and problem solving

Special Requirements/Conditions of Employment

The WSGC is a licensing, regulatory and law enforcement agency. Therefore, applicants must be willing to undergo and be able to pass an extensive background investigation, which includes a criminal history check, credit check and fingerprinting. Applicants will be required to sign a release authorizing the background investigation.

Information obtained from background checks will not necessarily preclude employment.

In addition, you must:

• Be eligible to work in the United States.
• Maintain a Driver’s License valid in Washington State.
• Not serve as an officer or manager of any corporation or organization that conducts a lottery or gambling activity, including tribal gaming activities.
• Refrain from gambling in tribal gaming activities and all gambling licensed activities.

How to Apply:
To be considered for this opportunity, you must submit:

• A completed online application which includes current phone numbers and email addresses for at least three professional references. You can create an application profile on www.careers.wa.gov by clicking the “Apply Now” button at the top of this page.

• A completed Supplemental Questionnaire where all questions are fully answered. Provide detailed responses to each question. “See resume” or similar answer is not acceptable and will result in an incomplete application and disqualification from consideration for this position.

Other Important Information:

• 
  A first review of applications received will begin on February 5th. While application review will be ongoing, it is in your best interest to apply for this position sooner rather than later as the hiring manager may close this job posting at any time once there is a sufficient candidate pool.
• We recommend you carefully review your application before submitting it to ensure your application is complete. All required materials must be submitted in the requested format. Incomplete application packets may not be accepted.

Selection Process:

The initial screening will be solely based on the contents and completeness of:

• Your application packet;
• The “duties summary” section of your application in Careers.wa.gov;
• Your responses to the supplemental questionnaire;

The Washington State Gambling Commission is an equal opportunity employer. Individuals with disabilities needing assistance in the application process or needing this job announcement in an alternative format should provide contact information via email to recruitment@wsgc.wa.gov. Applicants who are deaf or hard of hearing may call the Washington Relay Service by dialing 7-1-1 or
1-(800) 833-6388.

For questions regarding this announcement, email us at recruitment@wsgc.wa.gov or call (360) 486-3459