Community Relations Officer

The Community Relations Officer is responsible for developing and managing the Bank's Corporate Giving Program for all communities the Bank serves, ensuring the Bank's vision and mission are being accurately represented. This individual creates, plans, and implements programs and events designed to represent the Bank favorably - making positive contributions to the community, while promoting the Bank's image in a positive and community-focused way. The Community Relations Officer also supports the Bank's efforts to elevate brand awareness and to enrich community partnerships resulting in the cultivation of new client relationships and increased profitability.

Duties & Responsibilities:

• Administers the overall management, execution and coordination of Bank-sponsored community events, volunteer efforts, and corporate giving program, including recording all participation in these efforts using selected management and reporting software.
• Identifies and maintains an excellent rapport with key industry and market influencers within the communities the Bank serves, including community-based, charitable, and non-profit organizations.
• Develops relationships with nonprofit partners to create win-win solutions for the Bank and the communities it supports.
• Manages the Bank's Corporate Giving Program, preparing materials for and running the Bank's Sponsorship Committee on a monthly basis.
• Creates, leads, directs, and supports all volunteer programs and initiatives, such as the Bank's financial literacy efforts, including participation in national programs such as Teach Children to Save and Lights, Camera, Save.
• Creates opportunities for employee recognition for volunteer efforts, including utilizing tickets, passes, and other perks that comes as benefits from sponsorships and partnerships in the community, as well as intranet posts, the "Volunteer of the Month" program and the Larry Koppelman award.
• Communicates volunteer opportunities regularly to all staff and business development opportunities to appropriate business development staff to maximize outreach effectiveness while also promoting participation equity.
• Represents the Bank at community events to cultivate and maintain positive relationships with community members, nonprofit organizations, and fellow employees.
• Ensures appropriate attendance by Bank employees to maximize visibility and promote top-of-mind awareness. Promotes business development reporting to increase profitability of Bank-sponsored events.
• Maintains a calendar of outreach activities, including community events and other opportunities.
• Collects and records information on community partners which may be useful to the Bank in identifying potential business development opportunities and/or opportunities for external recognition.
• Assists with Bank CRA efforts by building partnerships with CRA-eligible nonprofits, identifying CRA investment opportunities through donations and sponsorships, community development and volunteer efforts, including providing evidence of CRA activities for reporting purposes as needed.
• Facilitates collaboration between clients and external contacts, such as the Federal Home Loan Bank, and other governmental agencies, to identify and assist with grant opportunities for clients.
• Works with the Marketing Department to ensure all sponsorship benefits are utilized by and ensuring deadlines are met for creative and logo requests and to expand reciprocal social media exposure with community partners and targeted media placement.
• Works with public relations firm to provide potential opportunities for press releases around community involvement.
• Manages sponsorship and business development general ledger accounts, ensuring entries are posted correctly and are in balance with reporting from selected management and reporting software.
• Maintains an appropriate and consistent professional social media presence as an industry expert and uses posts to showcase the Bank as the premier business bank on the Central Coast.
• Performs research pertaining to specific assignments, projects, etc. for internal departments, as needed.
• Prioritizes conflicting needs; handles matters expeditiously, proactively, and follows-through on projects to successful completion, often with deadline pressures.

General:

• Treats people with respect; keeps commitments; inspires the trust of others; works ethically and with integrity; upholds organizational values; accepts responsibility for own actions.
• Completes administrative tasks correctly and on time; supports the Bank's goals and values; benefits the Bank through outside activities.
• Comply with all applicable OSHA safety standards, including:
• Read the workplace safety and health poster at the jobsite.
• Report hazardous conditions to your supervisor and/or HR
• Report any job-related injury or illness to your supervisor and/or HR, and seek treatment promptly.

Compliance

• Supports the Bank's compliance with the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA).
• Complies with Bank policies and procedures relating to the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), and Anti Money Laundering (AML) and Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) guidance. Report suspicious activity to the BSA Department through a Suspicious Incident Report (SIR).
• Adheres to privacy and information security policies, and ensure all sensitive internal and external customer information is properly secured and safeguarded. Use secure methods delivering client and/or confidential data by email.
• Demonstrates knowledge of and adherence to Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) policy; shows respect and sensitivity for cultural differences; educates others on the value of diversity; promotes working environment free of harassment of any type; and maintains a diverse workforce.

Qualifications:

• Requires 5+ years of professional fundraising, volunteerism or non-profit support and/or marketing and events planning, preferably in a financial setting; or the equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Bachelor's degree in business or communication preferred.
• Strong organizational and time management skills that reflect the ability to perform and prioritize multiple tasks seamlessly with excellent attention to detail and the ability to maintain a realistic balance between multiple priorities.
• Very strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build external relationships with stakeholders, including internal and external clients, non-profit organizations, and vendors.
• Solid negotiation skills while working to align community support and activities to the Bank's strategic initiatives.
• Exceptional verbal, written and interpersonal communication skills with the ability to apply common sense to provide instruction to others, prepare and write reports, correspondence, and procedures, speak professionally and clearly to internal and external customers.
• Emotional maturity with proven ability to handle confidential information with discretion and exercise good judgment in a variety of situations.
• Highly resourceful with the ability to also be extremely effective independently and meet deadlines in fast paced environment.
• Ability to adapt to various competing demands, and demonstrate the highest level of internal/external customer service responsiveness.
• Advanced skills in computer terminal and personal computer operation; Microsoft Office, Adobe Acrobat, and word processing, spreadsheet and specialty software programs.
• Intermediate typing skills to meet production needs of the position.
• Intermediate math skills; ability to calculate interest, commissions, proportions, and percentages; balance accounts; add, subtract, multiply and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions and decimals; locate routine mathematical errors; compute rate, ratio and percent, including the drafting and interpretation of bar graphs.
• Thorough understanding of management procedures; ability to plan department or Bank activities (setting objectives, developing strategies, budgeting, and developing project plans and proposals), takes initiative to organize various functions necessary to accomplish department or Bank activities. Effectively plans and coordinates functions and events to meet desired objectives.
• Ability to deal with complex problems involving multiple facets and variables in non-standardized situations.
• Current driver's license and a vehicle with appropriate insurance coverage if required to drive in the course of performing assigned duties and responsibilities.

Working Conditions & Physical Requirements:

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.

The employee will be situated in an office type setting in which they are free to move about at will. It may include some minor annoyances such as noise, odors, drafts, etc.

The employee in the course of performing this position spends time writing, typing, speaking, listening, lifting (up to 20 pounds), driving, carrying, sitting, pulling, walking, standing, squatting, kneeling and reaching.

The employee for this position may operate any or all of the following: telephone, cell phone, copy and fax machines, adding machine (calculator), scanner and image systems, personal computer and related printers, or other equipment as directed.

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.

Reasonable accommodations will be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Direct Reports:

No Direct Reports