Public Information Officer

City of Tyler•Tx 75702, TX

2d•Onsite

About The Position

The Public Information Officer serves as a frontline communicator for the City, responsible for creating, coordinating, and disseminating accurate and timely information to the public and media. This role manages media inquiries and produces compelling content across platforms to support City initiatives. Must apply a significant degree of initiative and independent judgment.

Requirements

Be available for 24-hour on-call response during emergencies.
Ability to work in a fast-paced environment, successfully managing competing priorities.
Advanced knowledge of social media, print, electronic, radio/television and other media used to distribute information.
Must have skills in planning, organizing, and directing a wide variety of activities.
Understanding of Public Information Act, its application and compliance requirements.
Understanding of website development and maintenance, website including analytics and SEO best practices.
ln-depth understanding of social media best practices and analytics.
Ability to establish and maintain professional, effective working relationships with media outlets, internal management/non-management employees, City and other government officials.
Excellent verbal/written communication and analytical skills to include but not limited to newsletters, fact sheets, news releases and other forms of publicity.
Proficient use of Microsoft Office products, including Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
Bachelor’s degree in Public or Media Relations, Communications, Marketing, or related degree
Four years of experience in related field; or equivalent combination
Certification in FEMA IS-29: Public Information Officer Awareness training within 6 months of hire.
The City will accept two years of relevant experience in place of each year of college required in the job description. Four years of relevant experience will be considered in place of an Associate’s Degree, and eight years of relevant experience will be considered in place of a Bachelor’s Degree. Any experience required in the Minimum qualifications is in addition to years of experience substituted for a degree.

Nice To Haves

Videography and photography experience or graphic design preferred.
Social media and prompt engineering certifications preferred.
Professional Certification in Public Sector Communications or similar preferred.
Bilingual in English/Spanish preferred.

Responsibilities

Acts as a liaison between the departments, the public and the news media. Respond to media inquiries and coordinate interviews and information response.
Researches, assembles, writes, edits, and produces materials and press releases about the agency’s operation, programs, and events.
Develops publicity campaigns to heighten awareness for departments’ activities, services, and programs.
Develops and expands communication resources for outreach to the City and residents using existing and new technology and media.
Manages and tracks metrics for Editorial Communications Plans for assigned departments.
Develops strategic positioning opportunities and storyline pitches associated with larger programming.
Serves as a spokesperson for the department(s) under limited circumstances.
Facilitates media training of key department spokespersons and assist City staff in media relations and public information policies and procedures.
Performs regular media monitoring for the purposes of summarizing and reporting internally on media coverage.
Onboards Junior Staff, manages vendor relationships, manages interns and contractors
Updates and keeps current information on multiple websites through the City’s content management systems.
Assists departments with special event coordination including promotions, ceremonies, annual awards, groundbreaking ceremonies, ribbon cuttings and assists with major annual events.
Develops and/or coordinates the production of collateral: brochures, flyers, newsletters, digital campaigns, and promotional/marketing materials as needed.
Develops and produces podcast episodes.
Provides oversite to social media pages and assist departments with the development of regular social media content.
Maintains reports, calendars and schedules of projects, activities, and marketing campaigns.
Assists in analyzing marketing data to help shape future marketing strategies.
Undertakes individual tasks of a marketing plan as assigned.
Builds and maintains close relationships with key influencers: journalists, editors, producers, and correspondents in the news media including local, national, trade, niche, business, and special interest outlets.
Serves as an active participant of the Crisis Communication Team. Contributes to the implementation of emergency communications and public information processes as part of crisis communications response. Participates in acting PIO rotation as needed in Emergency Operation Center (EOC) upon activation.
Assists in keeping marketing-related budget reports current, and other accounting functions including invoices, expense reports and billing reconciliation.
Attends conferences, trainings, and other meetings to stay current with successful practices in public information and learn new skills.
Performs other related duties as assigned.