Assistant Director, Illinois Office of Broadband ( Senior Public Administrator Opt. 1)

Position Overview

The Dept. of Commerce & Economic Opportunity is seeking to fill the Assistant Director position within the Illinois Office of Broadband to support the bureau’s lead administrator and manage a current annual operating budget of $1 million, a current capital budget of $400 million, and anticipated federal funding of a least $1 billion to supplement existing investment in broadband infrastructure deployment, community and regional planning and engagement, and digital equity and inclusion programming. The ideal candidate will be able to help lead and support a growing office staff in grants management, mapping and technical assistance, and community and stakeholder engagement. The Illinois Office of Broadband has forged strong cross-sector collaborations with external stakeholders in the public, nonprofit, and philanthropic sectors, leveraging these cooperative professional relationships for work in broadband data, mapping, research and publication, as well as program delivery, outreach and engagement. The unique Office of Broadband approach and working environment offers its employees a strong sense of shared mission, meaningful work toward recognized state and federal goals, and exceptional benefits including health, paid time off, and pension. We welcome interested applicants to join us in setting a new standard for state-driven broadband infrastructure investment and related programming to apply.

Job Responsibilities

1. Formulates, develops, implements and controls Division operations.

2. Establishes policy regarding program methodology and fiscal and personnel management.

3. Represents the agency before various private and public groups on a state and local level concerning the mission, goals and program resources available through the Division.

4. Plans and develops all program objectives for Division programming, including Eliminate the Digital Divide.

5. Supervises staff.

6.  Performs other duties as required or assigned which are reasonably within the scope of the duties enumerated above.

Minimum Qualifications

1. Requires knowledge, skill, and critical thinking development equivalent to completion of four years of college, preferably with courses in public administration, political science, or business,
2. Requires prior experience equivalent to three years of progressively responsible administrative experience in a public or business organization.
3. Requires one year experience in broadband or digital equity policy, programming, or service provision.

Preferred Qualifications

1. Prefer one or more years of experience working with the telecommunications industry (e.g. public-sector, private-sector, or nonprofit roles) or working with policy relevant to the telecommunications industry, such as planning, community engagement, policymaking or programming.
2. Prefer one or more years’ direct experience administering, participating in, or advocating for one or more state broadband grant programs similar to the Connect Illinois Broadband Grant Program.
3. Prefer one or more years’ professional experience communicating with broadband providers, local government, and state legislators, as well as ability to engage with and speak before audiences of various size, broadband knowledge, and composition.
4. Prefer one or more years’ professional experience working with the legislative branch at the state or federal level, ideally with an understanding of key issues, alliances, and tactics shared by main broadband stakeholders and special interests.
5. Prefer one or more years’ experience working with federal agencies with authority over broadband, such as Federal Communications Commission, National Telecommunications and Information Administration, and Rural Utility Service, etc. – ideally with familiarity of primary federal broadband programs, such as Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF), Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, ReConnect program, etc.
6. Prefer one or more years’ working knowledge of approaches to digital equity and inclusion engagement and programming. For instance, awareness of three pillars of digital inclusion (internet connectivity; connected devices(s); and digital literacy skills), digital navigators, or direct digital literacy engagement and programming – and ideally of digital equity and inclusion stakeholder organizations, such as National Digital Inclusion Alliance, Rural LISC, PCs for People, etc.
7. Prefer one year experience working with components of federal Digital Equity Act and general approach by which states can leverage federal funding for digital equity and inclusion.
8. Prefer one year experience with program design, implementation, and administration – ideally in collaboration with various internal and external collaborators, such as grantees, vendors, aligned agencies or units of government, higher education, nonprofits, or philanthropies, etc.
9. Prefer four years administrative and supervisory level experience working with a major program, preferably affiliated with broadband or technology deployment in public, private, or nonprofit sector(s).

Conditions of Employment

1. Requires ability to pass a background check.

2. Requires possession of a valid driver’s license.

3. Requires ability to travel with some overnight stays.