About The Position
Please Note : The anticipated hiring range for this position will be $62,328 to $86,922, based on the candidate’s qualifications and experience.
Who We Are
The County Council is the legislative body for Montgomery County. The Council’s synergy of talent, resources, and support makes the Council an ideal employer for individuals who are looking to innovate, work on a diverse range of issues, and create blueprints for bold thinking. Council staffers work with elected leaders, community groups, subject-matter experts, and residents on a wide range of issues such as budgeting, legislation, and land use decisions.
Who We Are Looking For
A Montgomery County Councilmember is seeking a highly qualified and exceptionally experienced Legislative Senior Aide I to serve as a key policy and legislative expert. We are looking for a proven professional with an extensive legislative support background who can immediately contribute at a high level. This is a non-merit term position.
What You'll Be Doing
Specific job responsibilities include:
- Providing research and analysis on all issues of your assigned committee portfolio.
- Drafting legislative memos, talking points, newsletter articles, letters, legislation, and amendments for the Councilmember.
- Representing and staffing the Councilmember at events and in stakeholder meetings.
- Researching and responding to inquiries from constituents, businesses, and organizations.
- Developing and implementing the Councilmember’s external communications strategy, including preparing press releases, media advisories, and managing digital content.
- Cultivating and maintaining high-level relationships with intergovernmental officials, community leaders, and advocacy groups.
- Supporting special projects, such as the office’sinternprogram and ceremonial documents (e.g., proclamations and letters of support).
- Serving as the primary legislative liaison to Council central staff, other Councilmember offices, and executive branch liaisons for all policy and budgetary matters related to assigned portfolios.
The above is not an exhaustive list of duties. This position requires the ability to attend meetings or perform work at locations outside the office, including some evenings and weekends .
Minimum Qualifications
Experience : One (1) year of progressively responsible experience in legislative/policy research or communications and/or professional level experience in a subject area relevant to local government administration.?
Education : Graduation from an accredited college or university with a Bachelor’s Degree .
Equivalency : An equivalent combination of education and experience may be substituted.
Qualified candidates should submit their information as a single PDF document to include a cover letter, resume, and references.
Preferred Criteria, Interview Preferences
The applications of those individuals meeting the minimum qualifications will be reviewed to determine the extent, relevance of training, and experience in the following areas:
- Two (2) to (5) years of full-time, progressively responsible experience in a legislative support role
- Expertise in drafting and finalizing complex legislative memos, letters, legislation, and amendments.
- Advanced research and comprehensive analysis of complex policy items, including budgetary implications.
- Extensive experience and proven success in a legislative support role, preferably with a strong focus on issues about Transportation, Environment, Public Health, Education, Budget, Nonprofits, Public Safety, Zoning, Housing, Recreation, or Planning.
- Demonstrated ability to represent and staff the Councilmember in high-level stakeholder meetings and events.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
The Office of Human Resources (OHR) reviews the minimum qualifications of all applicants, irrespective of whether the candidate has previously been found to have met the minimum requirements for the job or been temporarily promoted to the same position. This evaluation is based solely on the information contained in the application/resume submitted for this specific position.
Montgomery County Government(MCG) is an equal opportunity employer, committed to workforce diversity. Accordingly, as it relates to employment opportunities, the County will provide reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, in accordance with the law. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should email OHR at Hiring@montgomerycountymd.gov . Individual determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made in accordance with all applicable laws.
MCG also provides hiring preference to certain categories of veterans and veterans/persons with a disability. For more information and to claim employment preference, refer to the Careers webpage on Hiring Preference .
All applicants will respond to a series of questions related to their education, relevant experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities required to minimally perform the job. The applicant's responses in conjunction with their resume and all other information provided in the employment application process will be evaluated to determine the minimum qualifications and preferred criteria or interview preference status. Based on the results, the highest qualified applicants will be placed on an Eligible List and may be considered for an interview. Employees meeting minimum qualifications who are the same grade will be placed on the Eligible List as a "Lateral Transfer" candidate and may be considered for an interview.
This will establish an Eligible List that may be used to fill both current and future vacancies.
If selected for consideration for this position, you may be required to provide evidence that you possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities indicated on your resume.
Montgomery County Ethics Law : Except as provided by law or regulation, the County's "Public Employees" (which does not include employees of the Sheriff's office) are subject to the County's ethics law including the requirements to obtain advanced approval of any outside employment and the prohibitions on certain outside employment. The outside employment requirements of the ethics law can be found at 19A-12 of the County Code . Additional information about outside employment can be obtained from the Ethics Commission website.
