Principal Community Relations Officer

Zuirail; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 91,000 - 114,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision

401(k) with company match

Paid time off

Paid holidays

Educational assistance and licensure

Performance-based bonuses

Flexible/hybrid work arrangements

Job summary

Zephyr Rail in Orange, CA is seeking a seasoned Community Relations Specialist to serve as the bridge between the Client, local communities, and stakeholders. You’ll conduct complex outreach, prepare informational materials, trainings, and rapid response communications across multiple project areas.

This role drives outreach, manages stakeholder relationships, develops communications plans, tracks program metrics, and supports board and public meetings.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in communications, journalism, English, marketing, or related field.
• At least five years in community relations or similar roles.
• Ability to work weekends/evenings and travel to LA-area projects.
• Experience managing stakeholder relationships across diverse Los Angeles communities.

Responsibilities

• Provide high-level liaison between external stakeholders and Client's transit services.
• Lead planning and management of community mitigation program efforts.
• Plan outreach to promote construction mitigation to businesses and the public.
• Meet with client staff and contractors to resolve conflicts.
• Research incidents and coordinate with management to resolve issues.
• Prepare presentations for management, officials, and community groups.
• Support outreach and construction mitigations across projects.
• Develop data on construction milestones and program metrics.

Skills

Stakeholder outreach

Public engagement

Project management

Interpersonal communication

Presentation skills

Bilingual English/Spanish

Marketing communications

Education

Bachelor's degree in communications/related field

Tools

Salesforce

Microsoft 365

Google Workspace

Canva

PowerPoint

Job description

About Zephyr Rail

Zephyr Rail is an engineering design and construction management firm based in Orange, CA. We specialize in providing comprehensive solutions in railroad design, construction management, and UAV solutions. We are proud to have earned Zweig Group's recognition as a "Best Firms to Work For" for three consecutive years, demonstrating our commitment to our team and our industry.

Job Summary

This position serves as the positive link between the Client, the community, and various stakeholders to create trust and an enduring relationship for the Client; conducts the more complex staff work in connection with business development and engagement in multiple project areas and corridors, preparation and dissemination of informational materials, training, mitigation, and rapid response resolution.

Job Responsibilities

• Provides high-level liaison work between external stakeholders, such as elected officials, businesses, and community and special interest groups regarding the Client's transit services, systems, and programs.
• Serves as the lead staff in planning, implementing, and managing assigned construction project business mitigation program efforts and other special projects designed to meet community needs.
• Plans and implements outreach promoting construction mitigation programs to prospective business participants and consumer audiences in the project area.
• Meets and confers with Client staff, external stakeholders, and project contractors to resolve conflicting or divergent opinions and to reach mutually acceptable solutions.
• Researches incidents, complaints, and concerns, including difficult and sensitive problems, and interfaces with contractors and management to resolve issues.
• Recommends strategies to promote the Client's strategic goals and objectives.
• Prepares and makes presentations to management, public officials, community groups, schools, and other stakeholders.
• Supports project management, the department, and inter-department management in Board presentations, community outreach, and coordinating construction activities and mitigations.
• Provides input and leads ideation and/or development of useful communication tools, methods, and traditional and non-traditional marketing tactics to support additional visibility strategies for businesses impacted during construction.
• Develops and coordinates data related to construction milestones, program metrics, business interactions, and content for project updates on the program webpage, agency Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, and internal business stakeholder project maps.
• Keeps the community and elected officials informed of construction impacts and business engagement efforts related to construction projects.
• Remains up to date on current and proposed activities and programs, and applicable regulations by attending Board, project, and community meetings.
• Prepares correspondence, reports, newsletters, and talking materials, as requested, by management or public officials.
• Tracks current and proposed construction activities that may impact businesses and applicable regulations by attending project coordination meetings, Board, council, or community meetings in the project area.
• Tracks and maintains program collateral, promotional items, and inventory of program materials at the project offices and storage facilities.
• Prepares Request for Proposals (RFPs) for promotional and/or professional services; negotiates and monitors contracts to ensure compliance with project goals.
• Evening and weekend work may be required due to participation in community meetings and events.
• Contributes to ensuring that the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) policies and programs of the Client are carried out.
• Additional duties as assigned.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience conducting grassroots, targeted, and culturally responsive marketing or stakeholder outreach and engagement in diverse communities in Los Angeles County.
• Experience managing community, Client, and stakeholder relationships concurrently in multiple areas in Los Angeles.
• Experience developing and managing communications plans.
• Experience coordinating and tracking program budgets and expenses.
• Experience leading and facilitating public presentations for in-person and virtual events.
• Experience coordinating and managing events and/or pop-up booths for large-scale and community events.
• Experience coordinating production for marketing and brand campaigns.
• Experience crafting messaging/talking points for company announcements.
• Experience writing reports for executive staff and public-facing communications channels.
• Experience engaging customers or clients in a sales or networking capacity.
• Knowledge of the neighborhoods from Sunset Boulevard to 120th Street, including their communities, community organizations, and transportation needs.
• Ability to speak, write, and present in English and Spanish.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in communications, Journalism, English, Marketing, Media Studies, or a related field.
• Five years of relevant experience performing community relations work or similar work; some positions in this class may require specialized experience in assignment.
• Ability to work weekends, early mornings, and evenings.
• Must be able to drive to any business or Client project office in the project area and other Client facilities in Los Angeles.

Knowledge

• Knowledge of traditional and digital marketing, content marketing, and social media marketing.
• Proficient in Microsoft 365 (Word, Excel, Teams, Outlook, and PowerPoint).
• Proficient in Google Workspace (Maps, Sheets).

Skills

• Proficient at developing presentation decks on Canva, PowerPoint, etc.
• Experience using Salesforce or other Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems and/or other programs or applications to track community interactions, outreach activities, program participation, and/or performance metrics and team activity, generate reports, and coordinate marketing, web, or branding deliverables.
• Attention to detail with an ability to execute plans and logistics in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong interpersonal communication skills.
• Strong ability to synthesize technical information and deliver easy-to-understand messages to a general audience and/or diverse communities.
• Strong project management skills.
• Strong presentation and public engagement skills.
• Strong writing skills for high-level reports, newsletters, and/or email marketing campaigns and other communications collateral.
• Ability to speak or write in English, Spanish, Armenian, Tagalog, and/or experience coordinating bilingual presentations.
• Basic design skills.

Salary Range

$91,353.60–$114,192.00/annually

Benefits

Paid Medical, Dental, and Vision, 401(k) Plan (with company match), Paid Time Off (PTO), Paid Holidays, Disability Insurance, Educational Assistance and Licensure Support, Performance-based Bonuses, Service Awards, Flexible/Hybrid Work Arrangements (role-dependent).

At Zephyr Rail, we're an equal opportunity employer dedicated to fostering diversity and inclusion.