Communications & Engagement Manager

County Of Albemarle•Charlottesville, VA

1d•$86,615 - $95,733•Hybrid

About The Position

The Communications & Engagement Manager leads the Communications & Engagement Section while serving as an active communications strategist and department liaison. The position provides day-to-day leadership for the section and is responsible for implementing the County's strategic communications and community engagement programs in coordination with the CAPE Director. In addition to supervising staff, the manager leads communications planning for assigned departments, oversees countywide editorial planning and engagement initiatives, develops content and marketing campaigns, and provides communications counsel to County leadership and departments.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree in Public Relations, Communications, Marketing, Journalism, Sociology, Public Administration, Urban Planning, or a related field
A minimum of 5 years’ experience in public relations, communications, and/or public engagement.
Strong oral, written communication, and facilitation skills.
Knowledge of public relations, mass communications, and marketing principles.
Experience in data analysis and data visualization.
Knowledge of various media production; including print, photography, video, graphics and web design principles.
Ability to work under pressure.
Ability to make effective presentations to diverse internal and external audiences, along with communications and engagement planning.
Must be able to assume "on call" responsibility and participate in 24-hour on-call rotation as assigned.

Nice To Haves

Working knowledge of local government operations.
Supervisory experience

Responsibilities

Supervises and develops staff by establishing priorities, assigning work, managing workloads, and evaluating performance within the Communications & Engagement Section.
Leads section operations and strategic planning by developing work plans, operational priorities, performance measures, policies, procedures, and staff development initiatives in coordination with the Director.
Serves as a communications strategist and department liaison, providing strategic communications support to assigned departments, including communications planning, public awareness campaigns, marketing, messaging, and multimedia storytelling.
Oversees countywide content and communications across digital, print, web, video, podcast, social media, email, and other communication channels, including management of the editorial content calendar and major recurring communications initiatives.
Leads the County’s community engagement efforts, including advisory committees, community outreach, online engagement platforms, public participation programs, and other initiatives designed to facilitate meaningful community input.
Provides strategic guidance and training to County departments and leadership on communications, public engagement, messaging, branding, outreach, marketing, and related practices.
Evaluates communications and engagement effectiveness using performance measures, participation data, digital analytics, community feedback, and other metrics, and recommends improvements based on results.
Oversees digital communications and web governance initiatives, ensuring coordination and consistency across County communications platforms and related projects.
Collaborates across the organization and with external partners by representing the Communications & Public Engagement Office on cross-functional teams, committees, and intergovernmental initiatives.
Supports emergency and incident communications, including assigned Emergency Operations Center and Joint Information Center activations and backup Public Information Officer on-call responsibilities.