Public Affairs Associate – Community Engagement

The Strategic Communications and Engagement department within Public Affairs is hiring a Public Affairs Associate! In this role, you will support the Customer Impacts pillar of Community Engagement through assessing, planning, and implementing construction and operational communications to impacted customers and communities.

How Will You Make an Impact?

Working with construction and operations teams to schedule, track and notify customers of projects and emergency repairs in their area
Providing community organizations and customers with a single point of contact for organization resources and solutions
Communicating the needs and interests of community organizations and customers to influence and provide input for internal decision-making and planning activities
Providing solutions within the organization's resources to meet the needs, requests, and questions of community partners and customers
Coordinating the design, development, and implementation of community engagement campaigns
Analyzing Utilities projects and initiatives for political and public sensitivity to determine stakeholder and public engagement needs
Developing stakeholder and public process strategies and plans that protect and enhance reputational risks to Colorado Springs Utilities and ensuring successful project execution
Building and managing relationships with internal and external parties on behalf of Colorado Springs Utilities
Determining and using appropriate tools and tactics for public outreach, including Utilities public meetings, in-person and electronic town halls and surveys
Assessing potential risk to public safety and implementing appropriate hazard awareness communications for impacted communities
Coordinating outreach programs to inform affected communities of planned or emergency construction/operations, including service outages, road closures and detours, and property access

Who You Are:

Relevant and progressively responsible experience in a public relations, community outreach, community engagement, and/or public affairs capacity
Bachelor's degree in Public Relations, Communications, or a related field is valued
Ability to navigate an occasionally large volume of requests and tasks within the same timeline
Strong writing skills
Detail focused and a commitment to meeting deadlines
Familiarity with customer information systems and geographic information systems (GIS)
Ability to build and maintain relationships with internal teams of varied discipline
Comfort with traveling to construction job sites and direct customer interactions
A valid, unrestricted driver’s license is required for this role

Who We Are:

One of the largest four-service public utilities in the nation (over 500,000 customers)
A national leader in reliability (power on an average of 99.991% of the time)
Diamond Designation recipient from the American Public Power Association – a utility sector leader in reliability, safety, workforce development, and system improvements
Located at the base of the Rocky Mountains in one of the most desiredcities to live in the United States (U.S. News & World Report)

Our Commitment to Our Employees…
Our people are the heart and soul of Colorado Springs Utilities. They keep the lights on, gas flowing, water coming in, and wastewater leaving. We do not just say people are important – we prove it! That’s why we are honored to invest in protecting the health and financial security of our employees and their families through our rich benefits program.

Time Off – Because everybody needs time off to recharge
- Vacation – New employees accrue 13 days of paid time off to start, while our more tenured employees accrue 24 days per year
- Personal Leave –3 days per year of personal leave
- Paid Holidays –12 paid holidays per year
- Sick Leave – Accrue 12 days of sick leave annually for those days when you or a family member is feeling under the weather
- Vacation Buy – Purchase up to 40 hours of additional vacation time
Pension Plan – Looking forward to a comfortable lifestyle once you’re done working? The Colorado Public Employees’ Retirement Association (PERA) provides you with retirement benefits and peace of mind when you retire
Medical – Select from three comprehensive medical plans, starting at $0 per month. Employees also enjoy access to a Health Savings Account (HSA) and Flexible Spending Account (FSA). (effective the 1st of the month following your start date)
Wellness Program – Voluntary wellness program that allows you and your spouse to each earn up to $500 to use towards healthcare expenses, $100 in Visa gift cards, and up to $400 in gym membership reimbursements
Dental – Select from two dental plans, with in-network PPO preventive care covered at 100% and access to orthodontia coverage (effective the 1st of the month following your start date)
Vision – Voluntary plan that covers full vision care services and discounts on LASIK eye surgery (effective the 1st of the month following your start date)
Retirement Saving Programs – Supplement your pension plan with voluntary retirement programs such as the PERAPlus 401(k) and MissionSquare’s Roth IRA and 457 plans
Disability Coverage – Short-Term (STD) and Long-Term Disability (LTD) insurance available for purchase (effective the 1st of the month following your start date)
Employee Assistance Program (EAP) – Makes the going a little easier by aiding with mental health, stress management, work-life balance, financial and legal matters, and much more
Long-Term Care Insurance (LTC) – Whether it's due to an accident or a serious illness, LTC insurance is available for purchase to help you and your loved ones (effective the 1st of the month following your start date)
Life Insurance – Company-paid life insurance and supplemental coverage available (effective the 1st of the month following your start date)
Tuition Reimbursement – Employees are eligible to receive up to $5,250 annually for Tuition Reimbursement
Qualifying Public Service Employer – Payments made towards student loans may qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program