Communications & Engagement Manager - City of Greeley
Greeley, CO 80631
About the Job
Salary Range: $90,900 - $127,300 annually
Hiring Range: $90,900 - $102,300 annually
Job Summary:
As part of the department’s leadership team, the Communication Manager is responsible for managing and coordinating the day-to-day communication management and workflow of communications with the public and for acting as the city’s public information officer. This role is responsible for enhancing city-wide strategic communication targeting various audiences, using strong organizational, communication and project management skills. The Communication Manager oversees the information gathering and sharing functions of the department and applies strategic direction to produce easy to understand, timely and effective communication with the community. Also serving as the city's PIO, this position works in tandem with the Communication & Engagement Director and City Leadership to strategize, direct, guide and coordinate communication with the media on department programs, services, special projects, and general information, including planning, coordinating, and executing press conferences that effectively communicate the city’s messages to the media and the public. This position also serves on the city's Incident Response Team and as essential personnel during times of crisis. The Communication Manager supervises, coaches, and trains the department’s communication specialists.
Experience, Knowledge, Skills:
Minimum Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in communication, engagement, marketing or a related field from an accredited college or university.
- A minimum of 5 years in a communications field.
- Three to five (3-5 years) in a supervisory role.
OR
- Any combination of related education, experience, certifications and licenses that will result in a candidate successfully performing the essential functions of the job.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
- Three (3) years experience as a public information officer, preferred.
- Strong interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills.
- Ability to communicate effectively both in writing and in oral communication; organizes ideas clearly and speaks logically so others can follow the reasoning; uses appropriate grammar and vocabulary that do not detract from credibility.
- Ability to build successful, collaborative, genial, and trusting relationships that contribute to personal effectiveness and the effectiveness of the work team.
- Ability to handle multiple and parallel projects and to follow through on assignments.
- Establish and fulfill goals and objectives.
- Proficient in Microsoft 365 including Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive; project management, and general office equipment.
Essential Functions:
- Serves as the department's communication lead by reviewing outgoing work for accuracy and details and coordinating the completion of work across core functions and skill sets; sets project and campaign deadlines and monitors project execution; analyzes and improves communication processes for increased efficacy and effectiveness.
- Responsible for creating, implementing, and reviewing communication programs that effectively describe and promote the city and its strategic priorities; collaborates as needed with internal and external stakeholders to understand requirements and shape deliverables.
- Serves as a strategic advisor on assigned major city-wide initiatives helping monitor project timelines and execution of campaign/project goals.
- Works internally to help identify a project’s scope of work and set agreeable timelines for stakeholders and C&E staff.
- Continually improves ongoing city communication and strategic communication plans for city priorities.
- Ensures organizational and departmental-level brand standards are consistently maintained in communication plans while focusing on media relations and general news release and press conference development, supports key communication initiatives, annual report releases, website content, and other public relations activities; plays a key role in the creation and delivery of content.
- Provides general operational support, i.e copy creation, proofreading, brand consistency, project coordination; maintaining various organizational systems, compiling reports, overseeing service contracts. Managing editor of key communication channels with a focus on owned channels.
- Supports organizational communication with council and Mayor as directed by department Director.
- Serves as a conduit of information for the department by proposing, planning, designing, and drafting communications, presentations, newsletters, and other city-wide announcements as directed by the Director.
- Communicate with city directors, division managers and staff to understand stakeholder needs and requests; determine support strategies, synthesize, and coordinate those needs within the C&E core functions.
- Establish vendor relationships that foster strong bargaining power for comprehensive production needs.
- Discuss/coordinate billing, manage staff in production and quality assurance of departmental collateral, i.e., print, promotion, and other needs.
- Understand and navigate the complexities of communication and engagement work. Working with a variety of stakeholders this role must seek to understand needs, distill that information, and help facilitate the completion of that work via many C&E content experts.
- Adhere to standard operating procedures while also using a tremendous degree of personal judgment to adhere to those standards while being flexible to meet the desired outcomes. Exercise judgment in making commitments and obligations on behalf of the city.
- Public Information Officer (PIO): Advises and consults with Communication & Engagement (C&E) Director and City Manager's Office (CMO) regarding assigned programs and services and uses local, state, and sometimes national media to strategically advance city priorities and messages; acts as media and informational spokesperson on request; responds to media inquiries and coordinates interviews as requested by the C&E Director; writes various press releases and prepares media communications; provides input and assists with development of web content; assists in establishing measurable criteria for monitoring customer engagement and satisfaction and/or concerns; coordinates special projects as requested; prepares reports, speeches, and talking points about various subjects and projects. Additionally, the PIO will assist in coordinating emergency and crisis communication protocols, develop and publish crisis public information requests in collaboration with the C&E Director and JIC team and staff the Emergency Operations Center.
Supervisory Responsibilities:
- Hiring, training, motivating and coaching employees.
- Evaluate employee performance and goal setting.
- Hold employees accountable for assigned task and goals.
- Provide timely and constructive feedback and training opportunities.
- Provide training opportunities with a focus on employee development.
- Resolve conflicts and complaints.
Work Environment and Physical Requirements:
- Work is primarily performed in an office environment.
- The City of Greeley has established a formal telework policy that allows eligible positions, in coordination with their Departments' management team, an opportunity to incorporate a component of remote work into their working schedule. This position will be eligible for consideration under the City's telework policy.
- While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; and talk or hear.
- The employee is occasionally required to stand.
- The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 10 pounds.
- Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.
- Vision enough to read computer keyboards, reference books and other written documents.
- Communication skills sufficient to convey information to the public via telephone and in person.
- Manual dexterity sufficient to accurately input, retrieve and verify work assignments.
EOE Statement: The City of Greeley provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.
This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.
ADA Statement: We are committed to an inclusive and barrier-free search process. We provide accommodations for applicants requesting accommodation through the search process such as alternative formats of this posting. Individuals with disabilities in need of accommodations throughout the search process should contact the ADA Coordinator at: HR@Greeleygov.com .
Conditions of Employment: Candidates must successfully complete all pre-employment screenings and employment eligibility verification. Pre-employment screenings include a drug test, a background and national sex offender search, a motor vehicle record search, and for some positions, a physical demands evaluation. For more information about City policies and practices during the recruitment process, including but not limited to EOE, Reasonable Accommodation, and pre-employment screenings, please visit our career page HERE.