Absentee Voting Manager (Management Analyst I)

This is a great opportunity for an individual who succeeds in a collaborative environment where teamwork is leveraged to meet demanding deadlines and overcome unexpected challenges. This position will lead a committed, professional team that ensures an effective absentee by mail voting process for Fairfax County residents.

Under the supervision of the deputy general registrar, manages all aspects of the absentee voting process including issuing and processing domestic, military, and overseas mail and email ballots; emergency absentee voting; mailed ballot tracking; absentee voter services; ballot tabulation; and the Central Absentee Precinct. Oversees merit and seasonal absentee staff recruitment, hiring, and training. Manages absentee voting division workflow in support of efficient and effective program delivery. Develops divisional policies and operational procedures and documents. Directs and supervises professional election staff, providing real-time expertise and long-term development.

Coordinates with the office's third-party absentee ballot printer/mailer vendor to ensure effective ballot preparation and accurate absentee voter packet production and assembly, serving as the primary point of contact. Interfaces with the United States Postal Service to address customer issues and coordinate ballot transfers. Represents the office in conversations with absentee voting stakeholders. For each election, leads preparations for pre-election ballot processing and ensures successful operations that meet all statutory requirements. Provides for the effective operation of the high-speed ballot scanners. Oversees absentee voter statement curing program. Supervises the planning, set-up, and operation of the Central Absentee Precinct, including training, overall administrative support, and provisioning of election officers.

Ensures compliance with federal and state election laws and deadlines and State Board of Elections regulations and directives. Gathers, analyzes, and reports data regarding absentee voting and resource management.

Serves as a deputy registrar as per Virginia Code 24.2-112.

Job duties include:

• Manages and directs staff performing absentee voting functions including absentee voting by mail, emergency absentee voting, ballot envelope curing, and ballot tabulation.
• Selects and assigns part- time staff to ensure appropriate staffing for absentee operations and manages absentee voting section workflow to ensure appropriate use of human capital and financial resources.
• Ensures compliance with federal and state election laws and deadlines and state Board of Elections' regulations and directives.
• Develops strategies, timelines, and workflow to issue, manage, secure, process and store incoming absentee ballots.
• Documents policies and procedures for processing absentee ballots.
• Develops operations manuals in collaboration with absentee operations supervisors.
• Develops training modules to ensure that merit and part-time non-merit staff and CAP election officers are effectively trained in a timely manner.
• Gathers, analyzes, and reports data regarding absentee voting and resources.
• Prepares data for submission to the State Board of Elections and federal agencies regarding compliance with the requirements of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizen's Absentee Voting Act, the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act, and other federal and state required reports.
• Serves as the primary point of contact for the office's third-party absentee printer/mailer vendor, USPS, and other absentee voting stakeholders.
• Collaborates with other county agencies to ensure smooth absentee ballot operations.
• Oversees the pre-election processing of absentee ballots returned prior to election day, serving as the representative of the general registrar to determine questions of voter eligibility during pre-election processing.
• Plans and directs absentee voter services, including staffing for direct communications and administering absentee voter statement curing.
• Manages the establishment and operation of the Central Absentee Precinct (CAP) including recruiting and training part-time staff, serving as the representative of the general registrar in the CAP on election day to determine questions of voter eligibility.
• Develops and maintains written processes and procedures for CAP operations.
• Reviews current practices and incorporates legislative changes and process improvements.
• In the absence of the general and deputy registrar, performs those duties required of the registrar in Code of Virginia 24.2-112.
• Assists in the development of continuity of operations plans, internal security plans, and other related long-range planning activities as part of agency management team.
• Performs other such duties as assigned by the general registrar, deputy general registrar, or in cooperation with other division managers as approved by the general registrar, in accordance with the provisions of title 24.2 of the Code of Virginia.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
Any combination of education, experience, and training equivalent to the following: (Click on the aforementioned link to learn how Fairfax County interprets equivalencies for "Any combination, experience, and training equivalent to")
Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with a bachelor's degree in the field related to the assigned functional area.

BRIDGE CLASS EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS:
Four years of increasingly complex technical experience in the assigned functional area, comparable to experience at the Admin Assistant IV, or higher, level. This class can serve as a bridge class enabling individuals who do not meet the educational or professional experience standards listed above to qualify for this class by possessing four years of increasingly complex technical experience in the assigned functional area, comparable to experience at the Admin Assistant IV, or higher, level.

The purpose of this bridge class is to promote upward mobility within the Fairfax County workforce. However, persons qualifying for this class on the basis of their technical experience may not substitute this technical experience for education, or for professional experience, in order to qualify for other employment opportunities.

CERTIFICATES AND LICENSES REQUIRED:
Registered voter in the state of Virginia or ability to become one within 30 days of employment.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Three (3) years of experience in an elections office, particularly with absentee voting in Virginia
• Strong organizational and coordination skills
• Proven customer service and communication skills
• Experience coordinating complex, concurrent operational activities
• Experience managing staff conducting multifaceted tasks
• Basic math skills
• Attention to detail in maintaining records and updating databases
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and be sensitive to voter issues
• Proven ability to succeed in a deadline-driven environment
• Thorough knowledge of the elections work area and of county administration and organization
• Intermediate Microsoft Office skills to draft correspondence, send emails, and create/edit documents and spreadsheets
• Intermediate skills in the use of VERIS or other locality-specific voter software
• Ability to gather, integrate, and analyze data
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with external partners and internal colleagues