Director of Communications & Marketing

Summary

Description

The City of Littleton is seeking a strategic and creative Director of Communications & Marketing to lead the external and internal communication portfolio for the city, as well as guide the special events, council outreach, brand, and marketing activities of the city. The Communications & Marketing Department connects the City of Littleton with residents, community groups, visitors, and the media. This position reports to the Deputy City Manager and will direct a dynamic and talented team of professionals.

The Director of Communications & Marketing serves as a member the city’s leadership team, collaborating with city management and departments in developing and achieving overall organization strategic objectives. In this position, you will have the opportunity to engage with both internal and external stakeholders, create and update strategic planning for the department, and create impactful programs and policies. You will play a critical role in leveraging relationships between the city and local businesses in partnering and marketing tourism and events across the city.

The ideal candidate:

• Is a key collaborator in the organization, with a passion for creative storytelling;

• Has a strong understanding of branding and visual identity, and can develop and implement consistent communications both internally and externally;
• Has change management experience and can lead change through communications strategies;

• Is a decision maker who can define roles and responsibilities, provide structure, and strike a balance with leadership and empowering others to take the lead and excel in their own professional, technical, and creative endeavors;
• Has experience contributing to a senior leadership team and demonstrated commitment to advancing positive culture change;
• Is comfortable and experienced in facilitating community dialogue and ensuring people feel heard;
• Has experience leading social media campaigns with the ability to weave media messages together  creatively and purposefully;
• Is comfortable with the media, crisis communications, and incident management systems; 
• Has a commitment to transparency with the community both internally and externally.

The City of Littleton is a vibrant community south of Denver and is consistently voted as one of America’s Best Small Cities, and a top place to raise a family. Learn more about everything Littleton has to offer at VisitLittleton.org. Home to a vibrant and historic downtown, and a variety of shopping venues, restaurants, parks and trails, there is a lot to offer to the wonderful people who live and work here. The City of Littleton offers outstanding benefits and perks to our employees. For more information, see the 2024 Benefit Guide (Download PDF reader) and 2025 Benefit Guide (Download PDF reader).

The City of Littleton believes in attracting and retaining the best talent. Our strategies include hiring in at market pay and creating career development opportunities. In addition to your application, please submit a cover letter that describes why you are the best candidate for this position with the city.

Hiring pay range $156,750 – $173,250 per year

This full-time position is exempt per FLSA and is not eligible for overtime compensation.

Work Schedule: This is a full-time position and has the option to work a hybrid schedule with some days teleworking and some days working in person at the office. 

Application Deadline: Applications will be accepted until finalists are identified or the position is filled, but preference will be given to complete applications received by November 10, 2024. Those who do not apply by this date may or may not be considered.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

• Administers and manages the daily operations of the Communications & Marketing Department. 
• Facilitates public access to information and heightens awareness of Littleton’s programs and services by operating as a full-service communication and marketing “agency” to support a dialogue with residents, businesses, and visitors.
• Creates communications strategies with an emphasis on brand management; and continues to monitor progress of these communications strategies.
• Manages the programs and staff for the city’s communications, cable television, print shop, video production, social media, city council outreach, marketing, special events, brand, and graphic design services. 

• Supports internal communications to strengthen the city’s position as an employer of choice, embracing the core values of inclusion, respect, integrity, and first-class service by serving as the communications engine for all city departments.
• Establishes short- and long-range priorities, goals, objectives, policies, budget, financial plans, and strategies for both internal and external efforts. 
• Serves as city’s public information officer (PIO); acts as media contact and key spokesperson when a subject-matter expert is not available. 
• Advises city officials on media response and crisis communications; drafts press releases and speeches. 
• Builds external relationships with constituencies including citizens, businesses, visitors, sponsors, media, civic groups, and other government agencies. 
• Provides support to executive city management on election strategies and ballot issues.
• Supports staff and provides staffing assistance for 10+ city events annually. 
• Provides direction to and supervises professional and support staff and performs additional duties as assigned. 
• May serve as an Emergency Worker. 

Supervisory Responsibilities:

• Promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies in support of broader organizational goals.
• Encourages an environment of collaboration and teamwork.
• Selects, trains, and evaluates employees.
• Completes assigned supervisory training.
• Provides guidance and assists employees in the fulfillment of responsibilities.
• Assigns and directs work; addresses and resolves issues.
• Manages employee performance through meaningful, timely feedback and appraisals.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in journalism, communications, public relations, public affairs, English or a related field; and
• Seven (7) years of progressively responsible experience in public relations, media relations, journalism or governmental public relations which includes management and supervisory experience at a division or department head level; or 
• An equivalent combination of education, training and work experience that produces the knowledge, skill, and ability to perform the essential duties and responsibilities of the position may be considered.
• Must be able to pass a pre-employment criminal background check and motor vehicle records check.

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities

• Comprehensive knowledge of media operations; municipal operations; public relations practices and procedures; digital media, civic engagement, television production, and special events best practices.
• Advanced knowledge and understanding of applicable state and federal laws; the city charter and codes; relevant areas of municipal civil liability; city personnel policies and procedures; departmental rules, regulations, and operating procedures. 
• Creative problem solver with strong communication and interpersonal skills, as well as the ability to build relationships and foster collaboration across all departments.
• Expert level skill in developing a plan for organizing and prioritizing multiple tasks, setting deadlines, and preparing for future events.  
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with senior management, employees, citizens, the media, and elected officials.
• Ability to handle sensitive situations with tact and diplomacy; ability to work effectively within a complex governmental and political environment. 
• Exceptional interpersonal and technical skills and the ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing; 
• Expertise with developing cooperative working relationships and directing others, providing feedback, evaluating work, and informing others.
• Ability to establish and fulfill goals and objectives; 
• Ability to make verbal presentations to a wide variety of audiences; 
• Effectively supervise employees; 
• Ensure strong customer service orientation by all personnel.
• Expert level skill in the functional areas of budget management and policy planning and administration. 
• Ability to critically think and produce creative solutions to marketing the city and when interacting with media.

WORKING ENVIRONMENT & PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES:

• Most of the essential duties/activities for the position are performed in a standard indoor office environment. Some outdoor work and travel include exposure to adverse weather conditions. 
• Long periods of sitting, standing and walking may be required. 
• Essential duties include lifting, carrying, pushing, and pulling objects weighing up to 30 pounds; occasional climbing, balancing, stooping, kneeling, bending, crouching, crawling, and twisting while performing various components of the job; frequent reaching and handling to place and retrieve objects; and sufficient vision, verbal, and hearing abilities to complete duties. 

Equal Employment Opportunity

The City of Littleton is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and intends to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and job applicants regardless of age, ancestry, color, disability, gender expression, genetic information, marital status, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, veteran status or any other non-job related characteristic, and to hire and retain the best-qualified individuals without regard to any of these factors. This prohibition includes unlawful harassment based on a protected class.

The City of Littleton will consider reasonable accommodations throughout the recruitment process and employment. Applicants and employees can request an accommodation by contacting Human Resources at 303-795-3857 or emailing hr@littletongov.org.

Drug- and Alcohol-Free Workplace

The City of Littleton is committed to the health and safety of all its employees. To ensure a safe and productive work environment the city prohibits the use, sale, dispensation, manufacture, distribution or possession of alcohol, drugs, controlled substances or drug paraphernalia on any city premises or worksites. No employee shall report to work or be at work with alcohol or with any detectable amount of prohibited drugs in the employee's system. A detectable amount refers to the standards generally used in workplace drug & alcohol testing. This prohibition specifically includes marijuana, and decriminalized psychedelics whether used for medical purposes or obtained legally under state law.