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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCommunications and Marketing Director Communications and Marketing Director City of Port Townsend Job Description Communications and Marketing Director Classification title: Communications and Marketing Director Working title: Communications and Marketing Director Department: Administration Union: No FLSA status: Exempt Wage Classification: 625 Hours: Full time Effective date: Nov. 2023, May 2026 Reports to: City Manager Civil Service: No JOB SUMMARY As part of the City of Port Townsend’s Executive Leadership Team and under the general direction of the City Manager, the Communications and Marketing Director is a highly responsible professional position with oversight of the City’s communications and marketing strategy. This position leads initiatives to inspire and instill a positive working environment characterized by teamwork, trust, organizational values, and accountability. The Communications and Marketing Director provides technical expertise as a conduit between internal teams and external organizations to plan, coordinate, and deliver strategic communications, marketing, and engagement with our community and beyond. The role is split between strategic City communications and strategic tourism marketing. This position works closely with department directors and teams to develop and implement a cohesive and coordinated communications strategy to support internal and external City communications and functions, delivering a compelling and nested set of narratives to build community trust and confidence in the City. The Director utilizes, improves and develops communications channels and provides and/or solicits and edits communications from all departments and City Council, including on social media, City newsletters, City websites, press releases, and other channels. In addition, the Director coordinates strategic marketing, communications, and engagement with the broader community on the local benefits of tourism, helping to link tourism-related industries and agencies, forging stronger local and regional relationships and cooperation, and gathering data and measures of success that underpin a positive and compelling narrative about Port Townsend. The Director is a resource to coordinate a community-facing and visible Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC), including its longer-term strategic planning, and amplifies and elevates the work of those represented and served by LTAC. The Director also identifies and capitalizes on important relationships between the dual objectives, like community and City priorities of climate action and sustainability, or our rich local history, which serve both as focus areas for community investment and a point of difference in the region for attracting visitors. The Director is integral in helping Port Townsend better proactively actualize and advocate for the benefits of a smart, sustainable, and appropriately scaled local tourism economy. Communications and Marketing Director ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Strategic marketing coordination • Develops and refines strategic approach to marketing Port Townsend and manages contracts and relationships with the City’s contractors who implement tourism initiatives, like visitor services, marketing, and destination development. • Creates or coordinates creation of tourism collateral materials. • Provides staffing support to the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC), including working with the City Attorney to ensure LTAC activities are compliant with Washington State Law, agenda-setting with the LTAC chair, financial and activity updates, retreats and strategic planning, budgeting and budget tracking, contracts, reporting, coordination of LTAC-funded projects, greater LTAC and grants visibility, and periodic reporting to City Council. • Develops, maintains, and leverages strategic relationships with tourism agencies and organizations, local businesses and the business community, local organizations and groups, jurisdictions in the region, and the media to ensure a coordinated approach to marketing and a tangible delivery of measurable, positive and desired tourism benefits, projects, investments, and events. • Supports the Port Townsend Arts Commission (PTAC), PT Main Street, and the Creative District, in their established roles, leveraging Port Townsend’s creative arts talents and ethos to deliver positive benefits for local artists, performers, and organizations through the visitor economy. Strategic communications • Manages the coordinated, efficient, and effective development and delivery of a cohesive and compelling City communications strategy, including public information and education, public involvement and engagement, media relations, and marketing. • Serves and represents the City as liaison to organizations and the general public as part of City initiatives, engagement events, and department activities. • Operates as an internal consultant to the City, City Manager, City Council, and City departments, advising on communications and engagement strategies, plans, content, and implementation as directed by the City Manager. • Manages, coordinates, and develops City communications and engagement channels and tools, including the City website, social media, press releases, City newsletters, the Annual Report, Cityscape magazine, How Your City Works video series, and others, to deliver a compelling and nested set of narratives that builds community trust and confidence in the City; develops and refines City communications policies. • Serves as the City’s Public Information Officer (PIO) as the main contact to and coordinator with the media, handling or advising on high profile issues and developing and facilitating strategic approaches to high-profile public policy issues; leads City’s internal and external emergency, cyber- security, natural disaster, and crisis communications in coordination, if appropriate, with and internal teams and the County’s Department of Emergency Management. • Cultivates new audiences and community member partners and ensures all audiences have access to accurate, complete and compelling information, with a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion and by using innovative approaches to storytelling and engagement, including visual storytelling, story- mapping, and development and use of images and graphics embedded in City communications and in media/advertising placements. • Develops, guides, and implements internal and external/coordinated community campaigns, Communications and Marketing Director including those that help break down barriers in understanding in the community and build social cohesion, connection, and kindness. • Develops, manages, and implements a unified, clear, positive, and visible City brand and design standards in all materials, marketing, promotions, and communications. Aligns all communication and marketing activities back to organizational goals and mission. • Advises, coordinates and/or delivers internal communications and bolsters staff engagement in coordination with the City Manager, the People and Performance Director and other department Directors. Aligns internal and external communications for coordinated benefit and impact. • Community engagement event planning and coordination. • Attends regular day and evening meetings as required, including public events and City Council meetings. KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES • Knowledge of principles and practices of communications, marketing, and public engagement, at and beyond the municipal realm; an active innovator and calculated risk-taker who is pragmatic, creative, and visionary. • Knowledge of public opinion research techniques and various methods of application in governmental issues. • Knowledge of public communication strategy and plan development and production of support materials. • Knowledge of public engagement and involvement strategies, including open houses, town hall events, online workshops, tourism and destination marketing, graphic/advertising design, website design and content development, video editing and production, social media, press release writing, media and public relations. • Knowledge of and ability to employ crisis and de-escalation tactics and tools, both responding to official emergencies and crises as well as helping to anticipate, correct, and shift misinformation and public relations problems with clear and compelling information. • Knowledge of current and emerging communications channels, tools, and techniques, with an emphasis on building greater access, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in audience, engagement, and participation. • Knowledge of or willingness to learn about emergency management and natural disaster communications and procedures like the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and all- hazards Public Information Officer resources. • Outstanding written, oral and interpersonal communication skills, including concise and accurate business writing and editing to a variety of audiences, active listening, modeling courageous conversations, facilitation, and reflecting without judgement; approachable with an executive presence; inspiring and compelling presentation skills and abilities. • Deep ethical foundations, honesty, and integrity; a positive attitude; a collaborative spirit; an interest in helping to maintain a positive and fun work culture. • High level of political and professional acumen, including effective engagement with elected officials, strategic collaboration with department directors, building rapport and partnerships with external agencies, and deft use of tact and diplomacy. • Flexibility to adapt to changing circumstances, such as shifting priorities, unexpected challenges, or variations in the workload, while maintaining composure and effectiveness. Communications and Marketing Director • Ability to interact with diverse groups of people. • Ability to maintain cooperative and effective working relationships with co-workers, peers, elected officials, community groups, other agencies, volunteers, customers, and the general public. • Ability to effectively and efficiently communicate with team members, the general public, and other departments, both verbally and in writing, using tact, patience and courtesy to convey instructions, provide feedback, receive feedback, and resolve issues. • Ability to hire, inspire, lead and manage an effective team and/or contractors, including all elements of supervision, professional development, performance management and evaluation; exceptional emotional intelligence, confidence and willingness to take on challenging conversations to nurture a great, trusting working environment and to get the best out of staff. • Ability to be decisive and operate to the full extent of positional authority while also amicably building consensus and bringing along and motivating colleagues, staff, and partners to make tangible progress on a range of initiatives. • Proven skills in persuasive writing, speaking, copy-editing, design, storytelling. • Proven ability to organize complex initiatives and effectively prioritize multiple dependencies, timelines and deadlines. • Ability to work effectively with minimal supervision in a rapidly changing and dynamic politically sensitive environment of high ambiguity. • Ability to effectively prepare, coordinate, and manage budgets and contracts. • Ability to maintain strict confidentiality and work on confidential and sensitive matters. • Ability to lead, organize, and manage multi-departmental activities, initiatives, and projects. • Ability to follow all City policies and procedures, including but not limited to OPMA, PRA, Social Media Policy, and AI Policy. QUALIFICATIONS • Graduation from a four-year college or university with a degree in Communications, Marketing, Journalism, Public Relations, or other closely related field. • At least five years of increasingly responsible experience in communications, public engagement, tourism, public relations, and/or destination marketing experience. • Three years of experience in a supervisory or management role. • Demonstrated experience and proficiency in managing a communications function in a sophisticated government or business environment. • Possess a Washington Driver’s License and maintain a driving record acceptable to the City’s insurance carrier. WORKING CONDITIONS Duties are performed primarily in an office environment with sitting for long periods of time, using standard office equipment and a personal computer. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderately quiet. May be required to interact with upset community members. This position typically requires movement around the office, reaching, pushing, grasping, finger dexterity, hearing, seeing and repetitive motions. Exerting up to 20 pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 10 pounds of force frequently, and/or a negligible amount of force constantly to move objects. Communications and Marketing Director The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. The City of Port Townsend is an equal employment opportunity employer. The City employs, retains, promotes, disciplines and otherwise treats all employees and job applicants strictly on the basis of job- related qualifications and competence. These policies and all employment practices shall be applied without regard to any individual's sex, race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sexual orientation (including gender identity), pregnancy, age, marital status, military status, disability, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law. This job description in no way implies that these are the only duties to be performed. The employee occupying the position will be required to follow any other job-related instructions and to perform any other job-related duties requested by their supervisors. All employees must comply with all City policies and procedures relevant to their position as a condition of City employment. This job description does not constitute an employment agreement between the City and the employee and is subject to change as the needs of the City and requirements of the job change.