Recruitment Number

The County of Kaua’i announces FREE HEALTH CARE PREMIUM COVERAGE for employees and their families including medical, prescription drug, vision and dental plans!

Recruitment No.:2425-129 Open Competitive
Open: Includes all interested individuals including members of the general public.

Salary rate is determined by collective bargaining agreements or Pay Administration Policy as applicable.

Duties Summary

Assists in performing moderately complex public relations and informational activities relating to governmental functions and programs for a department and/or agency; assists in maintaining effective working relationships with the members of the media, community groups and key individuals in the public and private sectors; and performs other related duties as required.

Qualification Requirements

MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

Training and Experience: A combination of education and experience substantially equivalent to graduation from an accredited college or university with a baccalaureate degree in communications, journalism, public relations, or a related field; and

one (1) year of professional work experience in public relations or communications.

Note: See section below for allowable training and experience substitutions.

License Requirement: At the time of appointment, the candidate selected for hire will need to possess a valid motor vehicle operator’s license.

Knowledge of: Principles and techniques used in writing informational material; local government organization, functions, and operations; pertinent functions of State and federal agencies.

Ability to: Write and speak effectively; secure, evaluate and present facts accurately and concisely; work well with people; communicate effectively with various segments of the public; understand and explain written material; assist in planning and administering programs.

Tests: Applicants may be required to qualify on an appropriate examination.

Health and Physical Condition Requirements: Persons seeking appointment to positions in this class must meet the health and physical condition standards deemed necessary and proper to perform the essential functions of the position with or without reasonable accommodations.

Required Forms and Documentation:

Evidence of education (degree or transcript). A legible photocopy of an official transcript will be accepted. DHR reserves the right to request for an official copy.

Note: Copy of your education degree or transcripts must be submitted in order to be given credit. Copies will not be returned. Supporting documents must be attached to the application postmarked or dropped off to: Department of Human Resources, 4444 Rice Street, Suite 140, Lihue, HI 96766 or emailed: hrrecruitment@kauai.gov within 10 calendar days from filing the application. Office hours are Monday through Friday (except holidays) from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Additional Job Information

You must meet all the requirements for the position you are seeking as of the filing date of your application, unless otherwise specified. If you do NOT meet the minimum qualification requirements your application will be rejected. Therefore, please provide a complete application of all the information you would want considered in our review. You may request an administrative review to provide clarifying information only on the information that you have provided; subsequent submittal of missing documents or new information that was not part of the information submitted will not be considered in the administrative review.

Please note that unless specifically indicated, internships that are required for graduation may not be credited for experience. Your possession of the required amount of experience will not in itself be accepted as proof of qualification for the position. Overall paid or unpaid experience must be of such scope and responsibility as to conclusively demonstrate that you have the ability to perform the duties of the position.

Note: Calculation of experience is based on full-time, 40-hour work weeks. Part-time experience will be pro-rated. Example: Twelve months of experience at 20 hours per week is equivalent to six months of experience. In addition, hours worked in excess of 40 hours per week will not be credited. Example: Twelve months of experience at 60 hours per week is equivalent to one year, not one and one-half years.

Eligible lists may be used for temporary and permanent vacancies for the class of work during the life of the eligible list. Temporary appointments may lead to conversion to permanent employment.

Minimum Qualification Substitutions Allowed:
The following may be substituted for education:

General professional work experience or education credits can be substituted for up to two (2) years of the Bachelor’s degree such as:

Full time progressively responsible professional, technical, or substantive work experience demonstrating the scope, level, and quality of work comparable to a curriculum leading to an associate’s, bachelor’s, or master’s degree.
Successful completion of semester credits in a curriculum leading to a degree or diploma at an accredited community college, trades school, college, or university (15 semester credits = 6 months).

Specialized professional work experience in communications, journalism, public relations or a related field or education credits in communications, journalism, public relations, or a related field can be substituted for up to four (4) years of the bachelor’s degree such as:

Full time progressively responsible professional, technical, or substantive work experience demonstrating the scope, level, and quality of work comparable to a curriculum leading to an associate’s, bachelor’s, or master’s degree.
Successful completion of semester credits specific to communications, journalism, public relations, or a related field leading to a degree or diploma from an accredited community college, trades school, college, or university (15 semester credits = 6 months).

A master’s degree or PhD in communications, journalism, public relations, or a related field may be substituted for the education requirement.

The following may be substituted for experience:

Successful completion of semester credits specific in communications, journalism, public relations, or a related field leading towards a Bachelor’s/Master’s/PhD degree from an accredited college or university, may be substituted up to one (1) year of the work experience in public relations or communications (15 semester credits = 6 months).
A Master’s degree in communications, journalism, public relations or a related field from an accredited college or university may be substituted for one (1) year of the work experience in public relations or communications.
A Doctorate’s degree in communications, journalism, public relations or a related field from an accredited college or university may be substituted for one (1) year of the work experience in public relations or communications.

If a degree is used to substitute for the education requirement, it may not be used again towards the experience requirement. If work experience is used to substitute for education, it may not be used again to meet the experience requirement. If the applicant holds more than one degree, transcripts must be provided, and a thorough review will be conducted by the human resources staff in order for more than one degree to be credited towards the minimum qualification requirements. Additional degrees can be considered if obtained independently through mutually exclusive classes from another degree being considered. Substitutions will be used to the advantage of the applicant.

For further information about Equal Employment Opportunity, the Merit Civil Service System, Citizenship and other requirements, Reasonable Accommodation, Veterans Preference, Examination Requirements, and the Internal Complaint and Merit Appeals Board Processes please visit our website at www.kauai.gov.

NOTE: Persons selected for employment will be required to pass a suitability background investigation which may include, but not limited to, an oral interview, reference check, drug screening, pre-employment medical exam, psychological assessment, polygraph test, as applicable to the position to their employment.

ELECTRONIC MAIL (EMAIL) NOTIFICATIONS: The Department of Human Resources will use ONLY electronic mail (email) to notify applicants of important information relating to the status, processing of their applications, and examination notices.
Please ensure that the email address and contact information you provide is current, secure, and readily accessible to you. We will not be responsible in any way if you do not receive our emails or fail to check your emails in a timely manner. In addition, please be aware that you may no longer receive notification about applications submitted if you choose to disable the Job Application Emails feature.

Benefits: As a civil service, full-time position, this position comes with the following

BENEFITS and associated deductions:

Pay Raises: Pay raises are negotiated by the respective union for this position. This position is part of bargaining unit 13, Hawaii Government Employees Association (HGEA).
Paid Vacation Time: Employees start accruing paid vacation time immediately upon hire! 14 hours are earned after a full month of service which means 21 days per year!
Paid Sick Leave Time: Employees start accruing paid sick leave time immediately upon hire! 14 hours are earned after a full month of service which means 21 days per year!
Paid Holidays: The County recognizes 13 holidays per year as well as General Election Day every other year.
Retirement: This position is eligible to participate in the State sponsored defined benefits retirement plan. The State of Hawaii Employees' Retirement System (ERS) is the current retirement plan which requires employees to contribute a portion of their earnings to the retirement plan. Currently, most employees must contribute 8% of their pay to the retirement system. However, there are exceptions, for example Police Officers and Fire Fighters contribute 12.2 to 14.2%. Please see the ERS website at https://ers.ehawaii.gov/members/active for more information.
Health Insurance: The County now covers the full premium and administrative costs for employees enrolled in the Kaiser Standard HMO or HMSA 75/25 PPO health plans, whether single, two-party, or family coverage. For enrollment in any other State-sponsored Medical, Drug, Vision, and Adult Dental Plans, the County will contribute a portion of the premiums. These benefits are managed through the Hawaii Employer-Union Health Benefits Trust Fund (EUTF). For current employee contribution rates, please visit the EUTF website at https://eutf.hawaii.gov/.
Flexible Spending Accounts: Employees can increase their take-home pay by having the County deduct the cost of health care premiums, medical and dependent care expenses before payroll taxes are withheld.
Group Life Insurance: The County provides a free life insurance policy (currently worth $38,505) for active employees for those employees who pass away while employed. For more information, go to the EUTF website https://eutf.hawaii.gov/health-life-insurance-providers/securian/active-benefits/ for more information. Age reductions apply and coverage decreases beginning at age 65.
Deferred Compensation (IRC Section 457 Plan): Employees are eligible to join the State of Hawaii Island Savings Deferred Compensation Plan and defer portions of their income taxation on retirement savings into future years. Please refer to the Island Savings website at https://islandsavings.preparewithpru.com/index.html for more information.

PLEASE NOTE: Benefits are subject to legislative and negotiated changes.

What are the County benefits and mandatory deductions associated with this job being posted?

As a civil service, full-time position, this position comes with the following BENEFITS and associated deductions:

Pay Raises: Pay raises are negotiated by the respective union for this position. This position is part of bargaining unit 13, Hawaii Government Employees Association (HGEA) Professional and Scientific Employees.
Paid Vacation Time: Employees start accruing paid vacation time immediately upon hire! 14 hours are earned after a full month of service which means 21 days per year!
Paid Sick Leave Time: Employees start accruing paid sick leave time immediately upon hire! 14 hours are earned after a full month of service which means 21 days per year!
Paid Holidays: The County recognizes 13 holidays per year as well as General Election Day every other year.
Retirement: This position is eligible to participate in the State sponsored defined benefits retirement plan. The State of Hawaii Employees' Retirement System (ERS) is the current retirement plan which requires employees to contribute a portion of their earnings to the retirement plan. Currently, most employees must contribute 8% of their pay to the retirement system. However there are exceptions, for example Police Officers and Fire Fighters contribute 12.2 to 14.2%. Please see the ERS website at https://ers.ehawaii.gov/members/active for more information.
Health Insurance: Effective September 1, 2024, the County will cover the full premium and administrative costs for employees enrolled in the Kaiser Standard HMO or HMSA 75/25 PPO health plans, whether single, two-party, or family coverage. For enrollment in any other State-sponsored Medical, Drug, Vision, and Adult Dental Plans, the County will contribute a portion of the premiums. These benefits are managed through the Hawaii Employer-Union Health Benefits Trust Fund (EUTF). For current employee contribution rates, please visit the EUTF website at https://eutf.hawaii.gov/.
Flexible Spending Accounts: Employees can increase their take-home pay by having the County deduct the cost of health care premiums, medical and dependent care expenses before payroll taxes are withheld.
Group Life Insurance: The County provides a free life insurance policy (currently worth $38,505) for active employees for those employees who pass away while employed. For more information, go to the EUTF website https://eutf.hawaii.gov/health-life-insurance-providers/securian/active-benefits/ for more information. Age reductions apply and coverage decreases beginning at age 65.
Deferred Compensation (IRC Section 457 Plan): Employees are eligible to join the State of Hawaii Island Savings Deferred Compensation Plan and defer portions of their income taxation on retirement savings into future years. Please refer to the Island Savings website at https://islandsavings.preparewithpru.com/index.html for more information.

PLEASE NOTE: Benefits are subject to legislative and negotiated changes.

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