Summary
Description
The City of Fort Collins is a bias-conscious employer. We ask that you please avoid the use of photos when submitting a resume and/or an application for employment. You will receive an email acknowledgment when you have successfully submitted an application. Your completed application will be forwarded to the hiring manager. You will be notified if you are selected for further testing or interviews. Please keep your contact information up-to-date. The status of your application will be updated in your applicant profile. Post-offer background check required.
Why Work For the City of Fort Collins?
- Medical, dental, vision (for self, spouse, children) – eligible on the 1st of the month following date of hire
- Paid vacation, paid holidays, sick leave, and additional one-time bank of 40 PTO hours for new, full-time, Classified and Unclassified Management hires
- Retirement + company contributions – after 6 month probation period and immediate vesting
- Flexible spending: Medical expenses FSA, dependent FSA or both
- Employee Assistance Program: counseling, legal, financial assistance
- Life insurance, short-term and long-term disability
- Wellness program, workout facilities
- Employee/family onsite health clinic
- Learning and development opportunities at all levels in the organization with opportunities for career mobility
- Collaborative work environment
Job Summary
The City of Fort Collins is hiring for a Communications Specialist to join the team supporting our Parks & Recreation Departments in a fast-paced and rewarding hybrid work environment. The Communications Specialist will work closely with internal and external partners to support strategic communication and marketing initiatives for parks and recreation, public outreach, special events, and targeted engagement with the community.
Key responsibilities of this position include the development and implementation of communication and marketing plans, ability to build and maintain relationships with internal and external partners, timely coordination of projects and deliverables, support of special events, and coordination of public engagement and outreach. This position also manages content development for social media accounts, and the production of digital and print marketing materials.
Ideal candidates will bring a demonstrated understanding of communication and marketing tactics, experience in digital content creation, excellent writing skills, as well as a strong ability to manage multiple projects at one time. Understanding of public government and experience with special events is beneficial.
This is an exciting opportunity to join a growing team in a community that values parks and recreation!
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
The following duties and responsibilities are illustrative of the primary functions of this position and are not intended to be all inclusive.
- Contributes to development and implementation of departmental communications, public relations and marketing plans, policies, and procedures
- Advises and assists department staff with information dissemination, such as: internal communications, media relations, advertising, web page development and maintenance, social media, and marketing
- Advises management on internal communications and/or community relations projects and activities
- Contributes to tracking and support of media coverage and processes
- Makes decisions concerning outsourcing of projects and coordinates production with external vendors including mail houses, printers, media, and independent contractors
- Coordinates with others and produces a wide variety of projects including posters, fliers, web-based applications, brochures, instruction manuals, newsletters, speaking notes, surveys, invitations, calendars, ads, presentations, press releases, feature stories, etc., using a variety of communications and social media platforms
- May create, coordinate, and assist with production of videos and cable television broadcasts
- May develop advertising/promotional campaigns and contracts for print, radio, digital and television broadcast media
- Coordinates with others to develop and update social media, video, cable, web, intranet, and photography projects
- Contributes to the creation and management of web pages and City intranet pages, including routine maintenance, navigation analysis and improvements and metric tracking
- Supports press relations including preparation of news releases and feature articles
- Contributes to coordination of quality control procedures for producing high quality publicity materials that will be distributed to the public
- Contributes to the research and planning of public outreach and engagement activities
- Supports special events through interdepartmental coordination, development of sponsorships and advertiser relationships, and management and logistics
Management Responsibilities
No
City Competencies
- Demonstrated cultural competence to effectively interact, work, and develop meaningful relationships with people of diverse identities, perspectives, and cultural backgrounds.
- Strong learning orientation. Leverages all resources and is creative in ways of learning for self to continue adapting to changing issues and trends.
- A desire and ability to understand the diverse needs of internal and external customers, and to create experiences and deliver services that exceed their expectations.
- A desire and ability to utilize digital tools for organizational information, individual, and teamwork.
Required Knowledge Skills and Abilities
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills
- Ability to establish and implement cohesive communication and marketing strategies and plans.
- Ability to interact effectively with City staff, vendors and the general public
- Proficient in use of personal computer and a variety of software packages, including Adobe Creative Suite, Power Point, Excel and Microsoft programs.
- Experience with web content design and development, SharePoint preferred. Ability to learn internal website CMS.
- Familiarity with all aspects of social media
- Organizational and technical skills to schedule and manage website updates and design
- Ability to conceptualize and analyze solutions for communications / public information assignments, develop communications plans, and collaborate with stakeholders to ensure communication success
- Ability to research, write, and edit information to develop a final product that is customer-friendly.
- Ability to compose project layouts and use computer graphic software
- Ability to make effective written and oral presentations
- Photography and video skills desired
- Ability to train staff in applications and website updates as needed
- Ability to manage multiple work assignments and meet strict deadlines
- Familiarity with environmental issues, utilities industry, local municipal government policies, trends and best practices desired
Required Qualifications
MINIMUM
PREFERRED
College degree or equivalent work experience. Some positions may require functionally related certification or advanced degrees
Bachelor's degree in Journalism, Public Relations, Marketing or Communications or related field.
Experience Requirements
- Five (5) or more years related experience or equivalent combination of education and experience. Proficiency with AP style writing required.
Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply for jobs unless they believe they can perform every job description task. We are most interested in finding the best candidate for the job, and that candidate may come from a less traditional background. The City may consider an equivalent combination of knowledge, skills, education, and experience to meet minimum qualifications. If you are interested in applying, we encourage you to think broadly about your background and skill set for the role.
Specialist, Communications
The City of Fort Collins will make reasonable accommodations for access to City services, programs and activities and will make special communication arrangements for persons with disabilities. Please call (970) 221-6535 for assistance.
