Community Affairs Manager

City of Westerville•Westerville OH 43081, OH

9h•Onsite

About The Position

The City of Westerville, Ohio, is a thriving, forward-thinking community of over 40,000 residents, named by Money Magazine one of America's “Best Places to Live.” Often revered as “a city within a park,” Westerville is consistently recognized for its award-winning municipal services, nationally acclaimed parks system, high levels of civic engagement, robust economic development that actively supports its diverse business base, thriving Uptown and high quality of life, which are supported by a progressive Council/Manager form of government. The City distinguishes itself by providing pioneering, unified customer service, functioning as a single, efficient point of contact to resolve every citizen request. Under the direction of the Community Affairs Director, the Community Affairs Manager is responsible for development, outreach, and strategic planning involved in public relations, media relations, and a range of community engagement initiatives, programs, and services.

Requirements

Possession of a bachelor’s degree in Public Relations, Journalism, Public Affairs, or a related field of study.
Over five (5) years in public relations/strategic communication planning, including social media management.
Must possess and maintain a valid State of Ohio driver’s license and must remain insurable under the City’s vehicle insurance policy.
Any combination of education, training, and/or experience equivalent to the minimum qualifications stated above.
Demonstrate professionalism; build and maintain a high level of trust and credibility with the media, community members, and district staff.

Nice To Haves

Knowledge of safety practices and procedures; office practices and procedures; marketing; desktop publication applications; graphic design; e-communication; multi-media productions; website design; radio/television communication.
Skill in word processing; basic computer operation; writing; editing; public speaking; presenting; written and verbal communication; public relations; marketing; problem solving.

Responsibilities

Acts as a daily manager for the Community Affairs Department (e.g., schedule and assign tasks; train employees; receive employee complaints; attend or participate in meetings in which policy questions are reviewed or discussed; etc.).
Work with the Community Affairs Director to promote a positive, proactive relationship with the media and serve as a secondary Public Information Officer when needed; assist in monitoring of and adherence to the City brand among all City departments and among external entities when and as necessary; support City departments and divisions, their functions, operations and services in communication activities including but not limited to graphic design, writing and editing and marketing and electronic communication (website, social media and new and emerging technologies).
Lead the City’s storytelling and story-mining initiatives to uncover and elevate compelling community narratives that strengthen and authentic-ate the City's brand.
Support communication and marketing needs of the City Manager’s Office; directly manage strategic and tactical implementation of communication objectives for municipal utilities (electric, water, fiber, etc.), planning and development (roads, construction, infrastructure, etc.) and public service (green initiatives, recycling, etc.).
Assist in the development and management of special events; act as one staff manager and editor of a bi-monthly magazine.
Assist in monitoring of and adherence to the City brand among all City departments and among external entities when and as necessary.
Create various graphic design, writing and editing and marking and electronic communication products for the City’s departments and divisions.
Assist in the management of customer service aspects of the City’s operations; update the online events calendars; support internal communication initiatives; assist in the development and execution of advertising both print and electronic media; perform primary and secondary research as needed to determine communications and broad customer service benchmarks citywide.
Meet all job safety requirements and all applicable safety standards that pertain to essential functions; must demonstrate regular and predictable attendance; maintain required licenses and/or certifications.
Perform other duties as assigned.