Richmond, an “Employer of Choice,” offers a thriving job market with an equitable cost of living. Our city is located on the heart of the James River – providing plenty of opportunities for outdoor activities like kayaking, hiking, and biking. The city is close to the Blue Ridge Mountains and Virginia Beach, offering even more opportunities for outdoor recreation. Richmond is known for its rich, cultural, and historical heritage. It is home to notable landmarks such as the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA), the American Civil War Museum, and the Virginia State Capitol.

Our unique corner of the commonwealth offers a special blend of diverse and equitable opportunities for residents and businesses. As a team member of the City of Richmond, you can enjoy access to services, support, and recreation, which make the city a world-class place to live, work, play, and raise a family. We invite you to explore our many vibrant communities and discover all that we have to offer…Are you Richmond R.E.A.D.Y?! Respect. Equity. Accountability. Diversity…you!!!

The City of Richmond Office of Strategic Communications and Civic Engagement is seeking applicants for the position of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Officer. Under general supervision, the incumbent performs advanced-level analytic and technical work in the analysis, data management, research, and policy development related to the operations and services related to FOIA administration and compliance.

Duties include but are not limited to:

Performing statutory duties of a FOIA officer, including training City officials and rendering advisory interpretations.
Independently planning, developing, and implementing comprehensive communication and education plans on programs and services specifically related to FOIA requests.
Tracking incoming FOIA requests, processes, reviews, and assembles responses, and analyzing the content of records according to applicable legal and policy requirements to make a disclosure determination under FOIA.
Planning, conducting, or overseeing studies or research activities to ensure FOIA quality/compliance, determine unmet needs, or ensure the efficacy of existing programs.
Performing complex record searches.
Serving as custodian of the City’s completed FOIA responses.
Coordinating and managing the work of administrative, para-professional, and/or professional-level staff in the day-to-day activities of FOIA-related requests, responses, and processes.
Planning, organizing, and coordinating changes to the policies, procedures, or processes related to records management and FOIA within the City government.
Performing a wide range of professional-level management work, including complex analysis and diverse records-related project management in a lead capacity.
Preparing, writing, editing, and finalizing reports and presentations, and presenting findings, analysis, and recommendations to senior management.
Providing guidance, recommendations, and advice to departmental managers and officials.
Serving on committees, task forces, and management teams to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of existing records systems, as necessary.
Obtaining opinions and assistance from the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council as necessary.
Performing other duties as assigned.

Qualifications, Special Certifications, and Licenses:

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES:

Considerable knowledge of the principles, practices, and techniques relating to the utilization of legal research.
Considerable knowledge of mission, goals, and objectives of public records keeping programs or activities.
Knowledge of the principles, practices, and techniques governing management, organization, operations, and programmatic services.
Proven ability to identify possible solutions for solving business problems.
Evaluate proposals and solutions in terms of benefits, costs, and overall impact on the project, program, or organization.
Make oral presentations to department management, other departments, or the public.
Write detailed, accurate reports, or solicitations for pertinent areas of administration.
Use word processing and presentation software to prepare documents, and to use spreadsheet and statistical analysis software packages to store, manipulate, analyze and present data.
Demonstrated ability to lead assigned employees, including delegating and reviewing work assignments, providing coaching and guidance, monitoring and evaluating performance, and supporting training and development planning.

MINIMUM TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE:

Bachelor's Degree in public relations, communications, journalism, marketing, or directly related field
Five years of Public Communications Experience with Supervisory Experience preferred
An equivalent combination of training and experience may be used to meet the minimum qualifications of the classification (as approved by the department)

PREFERRED TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE:

At least three (3) years of professional work experience in an office setting in a related functional area
Degree or certificate from an ABA-accredited paralegal education program OR a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA)
Prior experience with records management, FOIA requests, subpoenas duces tecum, or time-sensitive document processes preferred.