Reston Association has officially filled two key leadership positions, the organization announced last week. 

Ed Vroom, a former finance director at a Florida-based technology company, took over as the organization’s Chief Financial Officer last week. Vroom worked as the finance director and controller for L3Harris, a company that offers services for federal, civilian, defense and intelligence customers. 

Here’s more from RA on Vroom’s background: 

Ed managed a team of 25 personnel supporting the Division with offices in Dulles, VA; Columbia, MD; Nashua, NH; Mount Prospect, IL; State College, PA and Melbourne FL. Before L3Harris, Ed was with CACI for 24 years in roles including Program Management, Business Operations and Finance. Earlier in his career, Vroom served in the Navy as the Weapons Control Officer on the USS KIDD (DDG 993), including in the Persian Gulf during Desert Shield/Desert Storm.  

RA also hired its first director of environmental resources and education last week. Michael Reynolds, who worked with the National Park Service for nearly 40 years, will take over the newly created position.

Here’s more from RA on his background: 

Reynolds brings nearly 40 years of experience with the National Park Service, where he most recently served as the Deputy Director of External and Congressional Affairs for the NPS based in Washington D.C. He previously held leadership positions throughout the US with the NPS, including Yosemite National Park, Cape Cod, Fire Island and Olympic National Parks with regional office leadership assignments in Denver, Philadelphia and Omaha. 

RA created the position in order to implement environmental policy established by the Board of Directors and create goals for the association’s environmental resource education and watershed divisions. Other roles include managing services that impact the environment in Reston and organizing educational opportunities and activities for staff and visitors.

Hiring is officially underway for The Water Mine Family Swimmin’ Hole at Lake Fairfax in Reston.

The Fairfax County Park Authority is seeking to fill more than 200 seasonal positions, including lifeguards, park attendances and security staff.

Pay begins at $16.87 per hour for lifeguards, $13.50 per hour for park attendants, $18.87 per hour for security and $17.87 for leadership staff.

Lifegaurds must be 15 years or older to apply, although no prior experience or certifications are required to apply. FCPA offers lifegaurd training and uniforms.

The park authority will hold interview-only hiring events at the Water Mine (1400 Lake Fairfax Drive) on the following dates:

• Wednesday, April 10, from 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
• Saturday, April 13, from noon-3 p.m.
• Wednesday, April 24, from 2-5 p.m.
• Sunday, April 28, from noon-3 p.m.

FCPA is also hosting events that will require a swim test and interviews:

• Saturday, March 9, from 1-4 p.m. at the Spring Hill Rec Center in McLean
• Saturday, March 23, from 1-4 p.m. at Cub Run Rec Center in Chantilly
• Wednesday, March 27, from 4-7 p.m. at Oakmont Rec Center in Oakton

This year, the park authority is offering $500 signing bonuses and free use of its rec centers to summer employees. Applications are now being accepted through the Water Mine’s website.

The Water Mine will reopen for the 2024 summer season on May 25. Attractions include slides, an interactive playground, a lazy river and a log-walk obstacle course.

Screenshot via Fairfax County Park Authority/YouTube

Amid a docket of new policy proposals, a Virginia Senate panel heard a familiar one Monday when Sen. Jennifer Boysko again presented legislation to require employers to list a wage or salary range in all job postings and prohibit them from asking prospective employees for a salary history.

“This is the eighth time I have introduced this legislation,” Boysko told the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee before vowing to keep reintroducing the measure until it reaches the governor’s desk.

Boysko has pitched Senate Bill 370 as a way to help remedy gender pay gaps by deterring employers from relying on prior salaries to craft future compensation. The idea is that because women in Virginia as a group still make less than men, basing salary offers on past wages could perpetuate those disparities.

“Salary history is often a reflection of past discrimination,” Emily Yen, a lobbyist for the Virginia Education Association, told lawmakers.

Last April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that in Virginia, the median usual weekly earnings of women who worked full-time were 80% of what their male counterparts received. Full-time workers were considered people who usually worked 35 or more hours per week at their sole or principal job.

Women’s labor advocates have also argued requiring employers to disclose wage or salary ranges provides needed transparency that can dampen inequalities by putting male and female applicants on more equal footing in compensation negotiations.

“When employers negotiate without giving salary range information to job applicants, applicants are more likely to rely on their past pay as a negotiation reference point, which perpetuates existing pay gaps,” wrote the National Women’s Law Center in a brief.

Boysko’s legislation would not prohibit prospective employees from “voluntarily disclosing wage or salary history, including for the purpose of negotiating wages or salary after an initial offer of employment.”

Employers who violated the new rules would be subject to civil penalties of between $1,000 and $4,000, depending on their history of violations, as well as potential damages.

The Senate committee passed Boysko’s legislation on a 9-6 party-line vote after concerns from Republicans about whether the bill offered employers a right to appeal any violation determinations by the state Commissioner of Labor and Industry.

“If you’re having a penalty, you should be able to appeal it to a court,” said Senate Minority Leader Ryan McDougle, R-Hanover.

The bill was amended in committee to outline an appeals process. It now heads to the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee for review.

Photo via Tim Gouw on Unsplash. This article was reported and written by the Virginia Mercury, and has been reprinted under a Creative Commons license.

The Town of Vienna and Fairfax City believe two cooks would be better than one when it comes to concocting a culinary workforce program to support their local restaurants.

The economic development teams from both localities have joined forces to develop a program that could provide job training or help businesses identify prospective, qualified employees.

The initiative is still in its developmental stages, the Town of Vienna Economic Development Division and Fairfax City Economic Development (FCED) told FFXnow. A survey to get input from local businesses on their biggest staffing needs and concerns is set to close today (Friday).

“We have been collaborating closely with our local restaurateurs to gain a deeper understanding of their staffing requirements and needs through a survey,” Vienna Economic Development Director Natalie Monkou and Fairfax City Economic Development Programs Manager Tara Bowery said in a joint statement. “Once these are clarified, we will have a clearer picture of the potential program’s scope and can begin to solidify the programmatic details.”

The localities started discussing the idea of a workforce development program focused on food service after observing similar challenges for their businesses during the height of the pandemic, which strained an industry where business longevity was rare and work precarious even before COVID-19.

According to CNN, there were about 72,000 fewer restaurants in the U.S. last year than in 2019, with one research firm projecting in February that another 1,000 restaurants could be gone by the end of this year.

Citing Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates, the National Restaurant Association says that, as of August, employment has nearly returned to pre-shutdown February 2020 levels, but hiring is still lagging for full-service restaurants. Earlier this year, about 62% of restaurants reported being understaffed.

Despite those nationwide trends, the FCED and Vienna Economic Development Division say their culinary scenes are “growing and exciting,” as showcased in regular Restaurant Week campaigns that they organize, respectively, in summer and winter and in the spring.

“Through these events and other economic development initiatives, our respective economic development agencies have learned more about our local restaurants and food-based businesses,” the agencies said.

Monkou and Bowery hope that, by combining resources and experiences with promoting businesses both locally and regionally, they can enhance the planned workforce development program’s impact.

“Our interest lies in forging partnerships with regional agencies, recognizing that collaboration amplifies the impact of our initiatives,” they said. “…We believe that joining forces will bolster the culinary workforce, ultimately contributing to the economic vitality of our communities.”

There’s no set timeline yet for when the program could launch, but with the survey closing today, the economic development leaders expect to refine their vision over “the coming weeks.”

“Our economic development offices will continue working together and with our respective business communities in the coming weeks to define critical aspects of the program and develop the program scope and timeline to support the needs of our local restaurant community,” Monkou and Bowery said.

Photo via Daniel Bradley/Unsplash

Handling 911 calls has never been a regular 9-to-5 job, but a national staffing shortage has increased the hours and pressure felt by call takers and dispatchers across the country.

Fairfax County’s Department of Public Safety Communications wasn’t spared from the workforce challenges that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic, dropping from close to 180 staffers before 2020 to about 160 people right now.

The gap is sizable enough that workers are required to take about two overtime shifts every four months, but it’s not as drastic as the vacancy levels reported at other sites, even though the DPSC is the biggest 911 center in Virginia and one of the largest in the U.S., Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) Officer Paul Ballerini says.

For instance, Richmond’s 911 agency, the state’s second largest center, reported earlier this year that it was 30 operators short, while D.C. had 39 call taker and dispatcher vacancies.

“Two additional mandatory shifts per person for a third of the year is not bad, especially hearing [about] other centers, reading online how some other similar-sized agencies are just doing tons of overtime,” Ballerini told FFXnow.

Initially, the pandemic didn’t have much of an impact on the 911 center. With people generally staying home and minimizing interactions with others, the volume of calls declined, according to Ballerini.

However, after a while, DPSC started seeing some of the same turnover that has hit other professions, from the police to trash collectors and restaurants.

“Like most other professions, people just started jumping jobs,” Ballerini said. “Not in a bad way, just people spent more time on themselves and learned about themselves and moved to other professions. So, we were hit the same as everybody else…so we started ramping up hiring and training.”

About 3,952 911 workers across 774 centers in the U.S. left the profession in 2022, often citing the stress of the job and options for better hours, pay and opportunities as their reasons for leaving, according to a study released earlier this year by the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch and National Association of State 911 Administrators.

While 27% saw no change in staffing levels over the past four years, nearly one-third of the study’s respondents reported vacancy rates of 30% or higher, including 13 that said at least 70% of their positions were unfilled.

Ballerini says Fairfax County’s current 911 staffing levels are slightly above its minimum standard after hitting maximum levels before the pandemic.

Every 12-hour shift must have at least four police dispatchers and four fire dispatchers on each of its four squads, which manage two district stations each. There are also ideally 20 call takers per day, though there can be as few as 13 people on the phones depending on the workload.

“Some people get through parts of training and realize it’s not for them and end up dropping out, but we work hard to try to stay consistent levels, not just for the public, but for morale inside the center,” Ballerini said. “I feel we’ve been pretty decent about doing that.” Read More

Fairfax County wants to bridge the gap between employers and qualified talent through a work-based learning opportunity initiative.

Talent Up will match local employers facing hiring challenges with qualified talent through paid temporary-to-permanent work-based learning internships, staff explained to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors at an economic initiatives committee meeting last week.

According to the presentation, Talent Up will offer a variety of solutions to employers facing hiring challenges:

• Targets hard-to-fill, entry-level professional gateway jobs
• Repositions work-based learning as low-risk temporary to permanent hiring on-ramp
• Incentivizes employer participation by underwriting work-based learning wages
• Advises employers on revising job descriptions to focus on skills-based hiring, increasing the pool of qualified applicants by up to 50%
• Easy access to hundreds of candidates via talent development partners

“There’s a lot of movement going on in the workforce space right now — movement towards skills-based hiring, and we believe that this can dramatically accelerate that movement,” Bill Browning, workforce innovation manager at the Fairfax County Department of Family Services, said of the initiative.

The focus will be on gateway jobs such as information technology specialists, accounting clerks, sales representatives, and office administrative support.

“These are entry-level professional jobs, where there’s reams of data showing that they’re great springboards for future advancement and career advancement for candidates,” Browning added.

According to his presentation, Fairfax County had more than 67,000 job openings in May of this year, and 71% of employers in Northern Virginia reported it being more difficult to fill jobs now than last year, or even just a few months ago.

The initiative will also address what Browning called the “missing middle.”

“We’re looking at middle-skilled jobs that require some skills beyond high school, but perhaps not a college degree,” he said. “And we’re also looking at some of those midsize employers that don’t have some of the advantages large employers have.”

How it works:

• Business outreach: Initial focus on small to medium-sized employers
• Advise: Address hard to fill occupations and sponsor new temporary-to-permanent internships
• Match: Talent partners’ referrals to generate qualified candidates to interview
• Choose: Employers select interns
• Support: Coaching and training support during internship to increase success rates
• Success: Convert internships into full-time offers or place interns into new jobs

Theresa Benincasa, manager of economic mobility with the Fairfax County Department of Economic Initiatives, said the plan is to get started right away with the board’s approval.

“We’re going to just go ahead and do a launch event in the fall with board approval. We’ll start doing events with workers to communicate, we’ll do some one-to-one engagement,” she continued.

To be eligible for Talent Up, employers must have a physical presence in Fairfax County and be ready to establish a work-based learning internship.

Job seekers must be county residents, meet the skills requirements of an open internship and be impacted by pandemic-related unemployment, underemployed or seeking greater economic mobility.

Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay voiced support for the initiative, saying it builds resilience.

“If you can help some folks move into these jobs, not only do we help our employers, we help those individuals. But it’s a resilience thing where their lives can change dramatically for the better,” he said.

The program will seek the board’s approval at the July 11 meeting.

Photo via Eric Prouzet/Unsplash

We are opening a brand new salon! Come join our team, play a critical role in establishing a fun, high-energy, family-friendly salon in the beautiful and bustling South Lakes Village Center.

Join a locally owned Great Clips® salon, the world’s largest salon brand, and be one of the GREATS! Whether you’re new to the industry or have years behind the chair… great opportunities await!

Guaranteed hourly wage, abundant tips from high customer traffic and lucrative product sales commissions. Incredible professional training and development resources provided at no cost to you. Invest in YOUR Future.

STYLISTS Apply Here

MANAGER Apply Here

RECEPTIONIST Apply Here

• A steady flow of customers — no current clientele required.
• Guaranteed hourly wages and tips.
• Flexible scheduling that fits your needs (full-time and part-time shifts may be available).
• Opportunities to sharpen your shears… err we mean skills, with award-winning technical training and ongoing education.
• Potential career advancement opportunities to help you achieve your unique career goals. Want to be a salon manager, trainer, or part of an artistic design team? You can make that happen.
• The ability for you to make an impact in your community.
• The recognition you deserve for a job well done.

Hair Stylist/Barber Qualifications:

• Cosmetology and/or Barber License (licensing requirements vary by state/province).
• The passion to build genuine connections with customers and provide GREAT haircuts.
• The desire to deliver a consistent Great Clips® brand experience (don’t worry, training is provided).
• The ability to work with teammates to develop a supportive and positive salon vibe.

Put your passion and skills to use in a rewarding position with a Great Clips® salon team. Join The Team Today!

Job Types: Full-time, Part-time
Salary: $15.00-$25.00 per hour

Benefits:
Flexible schedule
Free Parking
Private restroom for stylists only (customers have a separate restroom)
Opportunities for advancement
Paid time off
Paid training

Schedule:
Monday to Friday
Weekend availability

Supplemental pay types:
Tips
Ability to commute/relocate:

Reston, VA 20191: Reliably commute or planning to relocate before starting work (Required)

License/Certification:
Barbering License (Preferred)
Cosmetology License (Preferred)

Shift availability:
Day Shift (Preferred)
Night Shift (Preferred)

Work Location: One location

Job details

Employer: Meliorist Inc DBA Great Clips
Position: High-Energy, Talented, Fun Stylists and Barbers Needed (Great Clips at South Lakes Village Center)
Employment type: Full-time
Workplace type: Fully in-person (in 11130 South Lakes Drive Unit E Reston, VA 20191)
Compensation: $15-$25 (Hourly)
Application deadline: November 10, 2022 — 10 p.m.
Contact for application questions: sean.carroll@greatclips.net

 

[Apply via web] | [Apply via email]

 

A second round of hiring is underway for more 250 part-time positions at the future Wegmans Food Markets in Reston.

The 85,000-square-foot store is located at the Halley Rise mixed-use development at the intersection of Reston Parkway and Sunrise Valley Drive. Marcie Rivera, a spokesperson for Wegmans, tells FFXnow that an opening date has not yet been determined.

“But we plan to open sometime in early 2023,” Rivera says. Early 2023 has been the target for the project since it began.

An in-person hiring event for all positions is slated to take place tomorrow (Wednesday) from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Reston YMCA (12196 Sunset Hills Road). Applicants should complete an online application in advance of the event.

“We’re looking for applicants who have a passion for food and are eager to make a difference for our customers and the community,” said Reston Store Manager Katie Sullivan. “The ideal candidate also shares our core values of respect, caring, and high standards. If you match these criteria, we can teach you all the other skills you need to thrive in our company.”

The Reston location is the company’s 15th store in the state. It will employ more than 400 people, most of whom are new hires and will be hired locally.

Job openings range from culinary roles to customer service representatives. Hiring for full-time jobs began this spring and continues.

Driver in Fatal Franconia Crash Charged With Manslaughter — Sara Flores, 20, of Lorton was charged with involuntary vehicular manslaughter yesterday morning (Thursday) for a May 12 crash in Franconia where she allegedly drove into a telephone pole, killing a passenger. Police had already obtained a warrant charging Flores with driving under the influence. [FCPD]

Developer Pleads Guilty in Teen’s Death — “The owner of a Virginia construction company that specializes in luxury homes pleaded guilty Wednesday to involuntary manslaughter in the death of a 16-year-old boy who was killed while working for his company in 2019. Thomas Digges, of Digges Development Corporation, operated the Fairfax County job site where a trench gave way and buried Spencer Lunde, of McLean, on July 23, 2019.” [NBC4]

Two Displaced by Fair Oaks Townhouse Fire — A fire at a three-story townhouse in the 12000 block of Dorforth Drive on Wednesday (Aug. 10) was caused by improperly discarded smoking materials, the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department says. The fire displaced two residents and resulted in approximately $175,000 in damages. [FCFRD]

One Rescued From Annandale House Fire — “8/11/22 at 1:08 a.m., in 3800 block of Gallows Road. One occupant trapped on 2nd floor was rescued by #FCFRD crews via ladder. Fire contained to basement. No injuries. NO smoke alarms found in home! Cause: improperly discarded smoking material. Damages $16K.” [FCFRD/Twitter]

County Names New Planning and Development Director — Fairfax County has appointed Tracy Strunk as director of its Department of Planning and Development, where she succeeds Barbara Byron, who retired earlier this year. Strunk’s career for the county goes back to 1998 and includes work as a planner and a member of the team that helped develop the Tysons Comprehensive Plan. [Fairfax County Government]

Fairfax County Public Schools Creates Program to Help Hire Teachers — “[Catherine] Coulter is entering her first year teaching in Virginia’s largest school system as a teaching resident, a newly-created position aimed at placing qualified teachers in classrooms while they take the final steps toward receiving a specific certification.” [WTOP]

Expansions and Renovations in Progress at FCPS — “Most students and teachers have taken the summer off, but Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) has been busy with its usual tall order of school renovations and additions. Improvements now are in progress at these schools in the Sun Gazette’s readership area” [Sun Gazette]

Falls Church Development Nears Movie Theater Lease — “Developers of the new Founder’s Row mixed use development…announced through a new filing with the City that it is ‘in the final stages of securing a lease with Paragon Theaters,’ noting that ‘Paragon will operate a seven-screen movie theater, including an IMAX-similar screen with a total capacity of approximately 600 seats.'” [Falls Church News-Press]

Fairfax Shopping Center Gets New Mural — “If you’ve been by the Giant at Scout on the Circle recently you might have noticed some color appearing on the walls! The Abstract Expressionist painting on the corner of the building is by Steven Johnson. Johnson is a Indiana biased artist, who recently made his art available in the public domain.” [City of Fairfax/Facebook]

It’s Friday — Partly cloudy throughout the day. High of 81 and low of 68. Sunrise at 6:21 am and sunset at 8:09 pm. [Weather.gov]

The Fairfax County Police Department is under a personnel emergency amid a staffing shortage that has continued for several months. 

In a temporary shift, police officers are transitioning to two 12.5-hour shifts and working mandatory overtime, according to the FCPD. That departs from the standard staffing model of three 11.5-hour shifts.

Additionally, patrol officers “may be required” to help other squads to maintain safe staffing levels, FCPD told FFXnow.

So far, the police department has 194 operational vacancies, but that does not account for 50 recruits currently in the police academy. That leaves 144 total vacancies.

“We have launched a multi-media recruiting campaign this summer with updates videos on our new JoinFCPD.org website,” a spokesperson said.

Some say the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has failed to provide adequate salary increases and other incentives to attract and retain the county’s police force.

While officers saw an average pay increase of nearly 8% in this fiscal year, beginning July 1, pay scale steps were frozen between fiscal years 2019 and 2021.

“The salary increases that some officers received this fiscal year doesn’t make up for what was previously promised to them,” Steve Manohan, president of the county’s chapter of the Southern States Police Benevolent Association said. “Keep in mind, there were hundreds of officers who only received a 4% cost of living increase in fiscal year 2022.”

Board Chairman Jeff McKay says the board is working with FCPD to recruit and retain officers, noting that Chief Kevin Davis has a plan to reach out across the county, region and nationwide — including non-traditional means like advertisements at movie theaters. The department has also reduced the length of its application and background information requirements in an effort to streamline the process.

“All of this is done to position FCPD as an exciting and meaningful career choice for those who may have a calling for public service,” McKay wrote in a statement.

McKay says the county is looking at different ways to support officers as staffing adjustments continue.

“The Fairfax County Police Department is a top destination for anyone who wants to serve their community, and we will continue to get that message out while also exploring ways to maintain our regional competitiveness in compensation and job satisfaction,” he said. “Like with all municipalities during this pandemic era there is much work to be done, but our team–and especially our officers–are up to the task, and we are here to support them 100%.” Read More