City Council Legislative Assistant

The City Council Legislative Assistant serves as a trusted liaison and strategic support resource to the City Council, providing a blend of high-level administrative, professional, and policy-related assistance. 

The Legislative Assistant is expected to work proactively with limited supervision, manage complex scheduling and communication needs, and support council members in their service to the City of Boca Raton through research, public engagement, and project oversight. The Assistant also exhibits a high degree of awareness of political sensitivities when responding to inquiries and assisting with constituent concerns and communications.

This dynamic role operates under the general supervision of the City Manager or designee and supports the needs and priorities of council members. The Legislative Assistant is relied upon to exercise analytical thinking, discretion, judgment, and initiative as they work to conduct research and policy analysis, preparing reports on a wide range of topics and data sources, including statistical analysis, as well as to draft correspondence and talking points on behalf of council members.

In addition, the Assistant provides legislative support and manages scheduling, correspondence, and expenses, including travel arrangements for the members of the City Council, excluding the Mayor and Deputy Mayor. The ideal candidate will be a proactive problem-solver with excellent communication skills, sound judgement, and experience in a fast-paced government or political environment. 

This position requires scheduling flexibility, occasional evening or weekend availability for community events or meetings is required. Work is performed under the direction of a higher-level supervisor and is reviewed through conferences, reports, and observation of results obtained. 

Essential Functions

Legislative Research and Strategic Support:

• Provide research, policy analysis, and support for legislative initiatives and community issues.
• Gathers, analyzes and summarizes data and information requested by council members.
• Monitor local, regional and state legislative activity relevant to the city’s priorities and as identified by council members.
• Draft review and edit correspondence, reports and talking points.
• Assist in preparing officials for public meetings, speaking engagements and community events.  Includes writing background reports, briefing council members and developing and organizing talking points.
• Handles special projects and tracks special initiatives as requested by council members; compiles and analyzes data.

Communications and Constituent Services:

• Serve as the primary point of contact for constituent inquiries; ensure prompt, professional responses.
• Receives scheduled visitors and screens telephone calls from residents, customers, business owners, as well as other governmental officials, professional staff, and public. 
• Reads and prioritizes incoming and outgoing mail and email.
• Draft and manage official correspondence, email on behalf of council members.
• Coordinate with city departments to respond to constituent inquiries.

Communications Support:

• Assist in drafting or reviewing newsletter articles, talking points for presentations or constituent correspondence on behalf of the council members.
• Track media coverage relevant to the city and flag important developments.

Public Engagement and Event Coordination:

• Attend public events, community meetings, and advisory boards to gather information for elected officials when they are unavailable and provide oral or written reports.
• Collaborate with Communications to coordinate logistics for town halls, press conferences and community forums.
• Manage and anticipate logistical requirements on behalf of the council members.
• Liaise with community organizations, neighborhood associations and civic groups and communicate with points of contact on behalf of the council members.

Confidentiality and Ethics:

• Handle sensitive matters with discretion and professionalism.
• Adhere to all city ethics rules and guidelines related to lobbying, campaigning and use of public resources.
• Council members may request that the Legislative Assistant directly interact and communicate with Department Directors. However, any such interaction/communication shall be solely for the purpose of providing information to the Director, and in no event shall the interaction or communication involve an attempt to influence, direct, compel or require the Director to take/perform any actions/decisions, modify any commenced or planned actions/decisions, or prioritize or re-prioritize any action/decision.
• All interactions, tasks or requests by a council member to the Legislative Assistant shall be solely related to the official functions and duties of an elected official and shall serve a public purpose.

Calendar and Meeting Management:

• Manage complex calendars for Council members, including scheduling meetings, events and appointments.  
• Coordinate meetings without conflicting with personal calendars and considering logistical needs (travel, presentation preparation, etc).
• Coordinate meeting logistics, materials, and briefings as needed.  
• Proactively identify council member needs for meetings (logistics, talking points, meal orders, etc).
• Track deadlines, key dates, and ensure timely follow up on commitments.  
• Provide council members with reminders of upcoming meeting schedules and reporting requirements (such as gift disclosures).

Records and Document Management:

• Maintain organized, accurate and up to date digital and physical records of meetings, constituent correspondence, travel and legislative activity, and contact databases.
• Ensure compliance with public records laws and city policies regarding document retention.

Operational and Travel Coordination:

• Facilitates and coordinates travel, community events, and other engagements on behalf of the council members in accordance with city travel and event policies. 
• Coordinate travel arrangements including transportation, accommodations and itineraries.
• Prepare and submit expense reports in compliance with city policies.
• Track and reconcile travel and office expenditures for elected officials.