City of Austin, Texas
A Great American City-On The Move
City of Austin, Texas – Seeks a Chief
Equity Officer
This vibrant and dynamic city tops numerous lists for business, entertainment
and quality of life. Austin is the capital of Texas with a growing and diverse
population of 865,000. Located in Central Texas, Austin is the 11th most
populous city in the United States and the 4th most populous city in Texas.
Known as the “Best Place for Business and Careers,” Austin has many of
America’s premiere companies such as Applied Materials, Whole Foods,
BookPeople, Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, AMD, Apple, Texas Instruments,
Cisco, 3M, IBM, and Samsung. Austin strives to continue to grow and
to lead the country with its vision of being the “Most livable City in the
country”. Austin has emerged as a player on the international scene with
impressive events such as SXSW, Austin City Limits, and Formula 1. The
current slogan promotes Austin as “The Live Music Capital of the World.”
Austin has its own professional symphony, ballet and opera companies;
dozens of theaters; dance companies, vocal ensembles, and orchestras;
and art museums and galleries. Austin serves as host to numerous cultural
celebrations and festivals that reflect the City’s diversity, like Urban Music
Fest, CelebrASIA Austin, Pachanga Latino Music Festival. You can find
places that showcase the City’s heritage at the Mexican American Cultural
Center, George Washington Carver Museum, and Asian American
Resource Center. There are several areas in the city to explore that contain
a wide variety of history, including the African American Heritage District,
Texas State Capitol, French Legation Museum, and Texas State Cemetery.
Austin offers something for everyone, boasting ethnic diversity, economic
opportunity and a diverse range of neighborhoods within and around
city limits. Austin embraces and personifies cultural and ethnic diversity. Its
residents speak over 20 languages and the City’s neighborhoods echo the
cultural richness where Hispanics, African-Americans, Europeans, Asian/
Pacific Islanders and other ethnic groups blend in a truly cosmopolitan city.
Demographics
Demographics
All Austin
vs Municipal vs
Organization
AllCommunity
Austin Community
Municipal Organization
Ethnicity
Austin
Community*
Municipal
Organization**
White
47.1%
55%
Hispanic
36.5%
28%
Black
7.0%
13%
Asian
6.8%
3%
Other
2.6%
1%
Male
50.1%
70%
Female
49.9%
30%
Gender
*Austin Community data as of 2014
**Municipal Organization Data, excludes temporaries, data effective 08/26/2015
*Austin Community data as of 2014
**Municipal Organization Data,
excludes temporaries, data effective 08/26/2015
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Austin’s public school system is rated among the best in the state of Texas,
with outstanding environments, faculty and curriculums for grades K-12.
Higher education opportunities also abound in the area at such notable
institutions as the University of Texas, St. Edwards University, HustonTillotson University and Texas State University. With the high value placed
on education by residents and local industry, it is no surprise that more than
35% of the City’s population have college degrees.
City Governance Structure
The City of Austin is a progressive, dynamic, full-service municipal
organization operating under the Council-Manager form of government.
The City has 44 departments, employs approximately 13,000 employees,
and has a 2015-2016 budget of $3.5 billion. Austin’s mayor is elected from
the city at large, and ten council members are elected from single-member
districts. Terms of the mayor and council members are four years, with the
terms staggered so that a general election is held every two years with half
The Chief Equity Officer is responsible for facilitating dialogue and
organizational practices that support the development and adoption of
equity as a shared value. The position will serve as the technical expert in
addressing equity as it is applied to city wide policies, programs, practices
and budget decisions. The Officer will collaborate with city department
directors and employees to facilitate an organizational culture that
institutionalizes the use of an equity lens designed to address institutional
barriers that interfere with access and equitable service delivery. The Chief
Equity Officer will work closely with city departments to create departmental
equity assessment tools and strategies and also with the community through
a comprehensive engagement effort to determine equity concerns and
priorities.
The Chief Equity Officer will have an office budget sufficient to fund staffing
of the office and funding for program development in the first year.
of the council being elected at each election. The City Council is responsible
for appointment of the City Manager, who is the chief administrative
and executive officer of the city, the City Clerk, the City Auditor, and the
Municipal Court Clerk.
Specific responsibilities include:
1. Work collaboratively with all stakeholders to develop the Equity
framework which includes:
The Mayor, Council and City Manager of Austin are committed to their
mission of delivering the highest quality services in the most cost-effective
manner. The organization’s vision is to make Austin the most livable city in
the country and the City Manager’s resolve is to make it the best-managed
city in the country. For more information, visit www.austintexas.gov
• Assessment tools that help departments identify disparities in services and programs;
A Progressive and Transformative
Leadership Opportunity
2. Work closely with community representatives, stakeholders and
the Quality of Life commissions to create best approaches for
working collaboratively with the City of Austin through effective
communication.
The City of Austin, Texas is conducting a national search to fill the newly
created position of Chief Equity Officer. This strategic and resourceful leader
will operationalize a newly approved city office charged with creating a
comprehensive equity framework to be adopted by all city department
entities. This unprecedented effort is symbolic of Austin’s continued
commitment to be a best in class city in supporting all residents. The Chief
Equity Officer will join an executive leadership team committed to providing
excellent services to the entire Austin community. Below is the enabling
legislation that establishes the office and creates the position of Chief Equity
Officer.
Equity Office
Resolution number 20150507-027 (5/7/2015) directed the City
Manager’s Office to evaluate the impact that existing City policies
and practices have on equity, evaluate the best practices in other cities
and develop recommendations on how to address current race and
socioeconomic-based inequities throughout the City. Council approved
funding in the FY2016 budget to hire an equity officer to start in the summer
of 2016. The recently approved Office of Equity is a deliberate step toward
advancing equity in all aspects of city operations. Austin city government
can serve a unique role toward ensuring that all people have access to the
opportunities necessary to satisfy their essential needs, advance their wellbeing, and achieve their full potential.
Chief Equity Officer
The Chief Equity Officer is an at-will executive-level position reporting
through the city manager with day-to-day reporting to an assistant city
manager. The Chief Equity Officer is responsible for working with city
leadership and the community to create an equity framework to be adopted
by all departments and offices of Austin city government.
• Analytic tools that help identify disparities in resource allocation;
• Recruit and develop equity champions within departments.
3. Provide leadership, guidance, and support to internal and external
partners in the delivery of equity policy and programs.
4. Develop and recommend performance indicators and progress
benchmarks to ensure accountability and to achieve fair and
equitable delivery of city services. Collect, analyze, and present
data measuring equity program efforts.
5. Provide development and expert analysis of proposed legislation
and regulations related to equity and social justice issues on behalf
of the City of Austin. Participate in industry and governmental
activities to influence legislation and regulatory change consistent
with the city’s interests and needs.
6. Develop and manage the office budget, ensuring implementation
of sound fiscal and personnel management, including proper
internal controls for the Equity Office.
7. Promote understanding of equity and inclusion among council
members, city departments and community members.
Top Priorities
• In partnership with the city manager and other key stakeholders,
develop and establish the mission, goals, strategies and peformance
measures of the Equity Office.
• Conduct an environmental scan of service delivery in the city to
identify disparities and gaps in service and programs.
• Create a city-wide equity action plan based on data driven analysis
that encompasses equity tools and provides a blueprint of systems
and structures for each department.
• Explore and recommend vehicles/approaches for ongoing
community and employee input relative to the city-wide equity
plan, initiaves and/or programs.
• Operationalize an equity lens into city wide policy, programs and
budget decisionsto advance and support equitable service delivery
to the community.
Ideal Candidate
The ideal candidate for the Chief Equity Officer position will be a
courageous, innovative, visionary leader with outstanding people and
management skills. The ideal candidate will have direct and effective
experience in organizational transformation with a specific emphasis in
crafting and developing equity initiatives and facilitating collaborative and
inclusive working environments.
The successful candidate will have a demonstrated ‘track record’ working
closely with key community stakeholders, be community engagement
oriented, politically astute, yet apolitical, within a highly political
environment. The successful candidate will possess excellent oral and
written communication skills, and be quick to understand how the city
functions and the Equity Office’s role within the city. This individual will be
engaging and charismatic, but also a data-oriented and outcome-driven
problem solver with an explicit commitment to advancing equity and social
justice solutions.
The candidate will have:
• A passion for advancing equity and social justice solutions;
• A demonstrated commitment to community building and engagement;
• An understanding of systemic and institutional racial bias;
• Experience working with or in a public or governmental organization
serving large complex urban environments;
• Experience and a working understanding of the effective methods of
organizational and institutional change;
• Sensitive to the interests of a wide-range of stakeholder groups,
strategic partners, elected officials, and administrative colleagues;
• Organizational and fiscal management skills noted for transparency
and clarity;
• A leadership style that is decisive yet flexible and authentic;
• A set of values characterized by humility, innovation, compassion,
collaboration, service excellence, and responsive leadership; and
• High emotional intelligence, personal and professional integrity, and
a sense of humor.
Education and Experience
The following qualifications are guidelines, as the appointing authority has
broad discretion in filling positions in this classification.
Education:
A Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in sociology,
education, public administration, ethnic studies, communication or a closely
related field. A Master’s degree or other advanced degree in a related
field is highly desirable.
Experience:
At least five years of demonstrated success in the administration of community,
government, educational or social justice programs; and at least three of
which were in a managerial, supervisory or program administration capacity.
Experience working in a public agency is strongly preferred.
Compensation & Benefits
The salary for this position is $110,000 –145,000 depending on experience
and qualifications.
The City of Austin also offers an attractive benefits package. Benefit
information is available at www.austintexas.gov/department/
active-employee-benefits.
• Experience operationalizing an organization or department;
• Adept at implementing and achieving solutions that are driven by data
and leads of measurable outcomes;
• Experience with public policy development and implementation;
Application Process
To be considered, please submit your resume and cover letter with current salary information
electronically to [email protected] by Friday June 3, 2016. The position
is open until filled.
For additional information or questions, please contact Ms. Christine Boulware at 312-391-6098.
[email protected] or Ms. Brett Byers at 323-403-8279, brett@thehawkinscompany.
com
The City of Austin is an equal opportunity employer, values workforce diversity and seeks to create an environment and culture that embraces
employee differences. All qualified applicants are considered in accordance with applicable laws prohibiting discrimination on the base of race,
creed, religion, color, gender, gender identity, age, national origin, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, marital status or veteran status
or any other legally protected status.
THE HAWKINS COMPANY
8939 S, Sepulveda Blvd., #110-216
Los Angeles, CA 90045
www.thehawkinscompany.com