Brian Coddington, Communications Director, 509.625.6740
Thursday, April 22, 2021 at 2:41 p.m.
The City, at the direction of Mayor Nadine Woodward, has begun recruiting candidates to serve as the point of contact for civil rights inquires.
The position, operating under the job title of Civil Rights and Housing Policy Program Coordinator, will be part of the Neighborhoods, Housing, and Human Services (NHHS) division. The position will perform a variety of specialized professional responsibilities related to human rights education and housing programs. The role administers and manages discrimination complaint processes, performs public outreach, makes presentations, acts as the technical program expert, and provides customer service to client or partner participants of programs. This capability also strengthens current and future equity initiatives in the City.
“This is an important resource and safeguard for those with discrimination concerns and complaint needs,” Woodward said. “The selected candidate will also be a conduit for information, connectivity to community resources, and policy considerations.”
Recruitment started today and will close on May 23. A job description and application materials are posted to the City’s website. The salary range begins at $56,856.
Spokane Human Rights Commission is supportive of the new focused role within the City.
"This is an important step in the City's commitment toward ensuring our community is a safe and welcoming place for everyone,” Commission Chair Lance Kissler said. “I'm looking forward to working with city leadership and this position to deliberately and intentionally advance the work of the Human Rights Commission and our Office of Civil Rights Exploratory Task Force."
City Council President Breean Beggs adds his appreciation for the position.
“I am thrilled that we will soon be achieving a long-time Council and personal goal of hiring a full-time City employee to respond to civil rights complaints of community members in the City of Spokane,” Beggs said. “This is another step in pursuing equity in Spokane and the important principle that we all belong.”
Kurtis Robinson, vice president of the Spokane NAACP and member of the Human Rights Commission Task Force, applauded this next step.
“This has been a long time coming, far overdue and we certainly appreciate this beginning process,” Robinson said. “We are looking forward to participating in establishing the foundation of what will hopefully, meaningfully and finally begin to address the myriad manifestations of systemic racism, hate, and bias occurring in Spokane and Eastern Washington.”
NHHS serves citizens and builds healthy neighborhoods, through community engagement, by delivering information, securing and allocating resources, and implementing and overseeing programs designed to connect people, neighborhoods and organizations to resources and services.
