Director of Communications 1

State of Connecticut•Hartford, CT

5d•Onsite

About The Position

The State of Connecticut, Office of Early Childhood (OEC), is accepting applications for a Director of Communications 1 role. This position is responsible for establishing and leading a centralized communications function for the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood (OEC), with particular emphasis on producing clear, accessible, and high-quality communications products. This role will strengthen internal alignment, improve external transparency, and support effective engagement during major agency initiatives and system changes. This position supports the OEC Commissioner and leadership teams by utilizing strong technical writing, editing, information design, and content development skills, along with the judgment to strategically tailor communications for staff, providers, families, community partners, and policymakers. The OEC is a unique state agency in CT that helps families with young children achieve better life outcomes. As a relatively new state agency, OEC is mandated in its enabling statutes to be data-driven, human-centered, and results-focused. We touch the lives of over 200,000 young children, parents, and caregivers annually through our integrated focus on early care and education programs and safety supports, our home visiting programs, and other critical early childhood services. By scale of funding, OEC is one of the largest departments of CT state government, deploying and leveraging approximately half a billion dollars each year in service of vulnerable families and communities. CT is a leader in the coordination of early childhood programs throughout the country. Whereas early childhood programming in most states is fragmented across multiple programs families must navigate, only a handful of states have created agencies dedicated to integrating support families with young children require and only CT has a clear data-driven mandate. New parenthood and early childhood are extremely important moments in a person's life and experiences during this time can have significant and long-lasting impacts. OEC acts on the overwhelming evidence that intervention early in life is the most promising way to break the cycle of poverty.

Requirements

Experience in communications, public affairs, and content development.
Experience developing and editing materials for diverse audiences.
Experience translating complex policy, program, data, or operational content into plain language communication.
Experience producing communication materials across multiple formats, including reports, digital content, newsletters, and presentations.
Experience supporting executive or leadership.
Experience communicating and coordinating cross teamwork.
Experience working in early childhood, government, or the public sector.

Responsibilities

Develop and lead an agency-wide communications plan aligned with the OEC’s mission, guiding principles, and major initiatives.
Consult on strategic communications internally and externally regarding program and policy changes.
Improve internal communication processes to strengthen alignment, coordination, and clarity across divisions and staff.
Establish communications protocols and standards for consistent messaging.
Produce and oversee high-quality deliverables, including memos, newsletters, website and social media content, presentations, FAQs, guidance documents, one-pagers, talking points, and stakeholder updates ensuring clarity and accessibility.
Translate complex policy, operational, data, and systems information into clear, accurate, actionable materials.
Apply strong editing, formatting, visual design, and information organization skills to improve the quality and usability of OEC communications.
Provide tools and coaching to improve communication quality across OEC.
Prepare talking points and briefing materials; assist with public-facing issues or media coordination as needed.
Lead communications during sensitive or high-impact events or announcements.
Ensure plain language, ADA compliance and translation processes.
Use feedback and metrics to assess and improve communications.
Maintain and strengthen OEC’s visual and narrative identity.