City of Austin, Texas a Great American City-On the Move City of Austin, Texas – Seeks a Chief Equity Officer

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. DemographicsDemographics All AustinAll Community Austin Community vs Municipal vsOrganization Municipal Organization Austin Municipal Ethnicity Community* Organization** White 47.1% 55% Hispanic 36.5% 28% Black 7.0% 13% Asian 6.8% 3% Other 2.6% 1% Gender Male 50.1% 70% Female 49.9% 30% *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 DRAFT DRAFT DRAFT 1 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, Huston- Tillotson 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 Specific responsibilities include: 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 1. Work collaboratively with all stakeholders to develop the Equity Municipal Court Clerk. framework which includes: The Mayor, Council and City Manager of Austin are committed to their • Assessment tools that help departments identify disparities in mission of delivering the highest quality services in the most cost-effective services and programs; 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 • Analytic tools that help identify disparities in resource allocation; city in the country. For more information, visit www.austintexas.gov • Recruit and develop equity champions within departments. 2. Work closely with community representatives, stakeholders and A Progressive and Transformative the Quality of Life commissions to create best approaches for Leadership Opportunity 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 3. Provide leadership, guidance, and support to internal and external will operationalize a newly approved city office charged with creating a partners in the delivery of equity policy and programs. comprehensive equity framework to be adopted by all city department entities. This unprecedented effort is symbolic of Austin’s continued 4. Develop and recommend performance indicators and progress commitment to be a best in class city in supporting all residents. The Chief benchmarks to ensure accountability and to achieve fair and Equity Officer will join an executive leadership team committed to providing equitable delivery of city services. Collect, analyze, and present excellent services to the entire Austin community. Below is the enabling data measuring equity program efforts. legislation that establishes the office and creates the position of Chief Equity Officer. 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 Equity Office activities to influence legislation and regulatory change consistent with the city’s interests and needs. Resolution number 20150507-027 (5/7/2015) directed the City Manager’s Office to evaluate the impact that existing City policies 6. Develop and manage the office budget, ensuring implementation and practices have on equity, evaluate the best practices in other cities of sound fiscal and personnel management, including proper and develop recommendations on how to address current race and internal controls for the Equity Office. socioeconomic-based inequities throughout the City. Council approved funding in the FY2016 budget to hire an equity officer to start in the summer 7. Promote understanding of equity and inclusion among council of 2016. The recently approved Office of Equity is a deliberate step toward members, city departments and community members. 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 Top Priorities opportunities necessary to satisfy their essential needs, advance their well- being, and achieve their full potential. • In partnership with the city manager and other key stakeholders, develop and establish the mission, goals, strategies and peformance measures of the Equity Office. Chief Equity Officer • Conduct an environmental scan of service delivery in the city to The Chief Equity Officer is an at-will executive-level position reporting identify disparities and gaps in service and programs. through the city manager with day-to-day reporting to an assistant city manager. The Chief Equity Officer is responsible for working with city • Create a city-wide equity action plan based on data driven analysis leadership and the community to create an equity framework to be adopted that encompasses equity tools and provides a blueprint of systems by all departments and offices of Austin city government. and structures for each department. • Explore and recommend vehicles/approaches for ongoing • Sensitive to the interests of a wide-range of stakeholder groups, community and employee input relative to the city-wide equity strategic partners, elected officials, and administrative colleagues; plan, initiaves and/or programs. • Organizational and fiscal management skills noted for transparency • Operationalize an equity lens into city wide policy, programs and and clarity; budget decisionsto

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