Public Relations Coordinator - Communication & Destination Services

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Summary

The Public Relations Coordinator position is a highly responsible, professional, and creative position that has direct contact with the public. The Public Relations Coordinator will work alongside the Communications & Public Relations Division Director in creating and maintaining a highly favorably image for the City of Temple by communicating programs, accomplishments, and points of view to the public and media. Duties involve responding to media inquiries and public information requests by assisting with front-end triage for the City of Temple departments and leadership. Work is performed under the direction of the Communications & Public Relations Division Director, and considerable independent judgment, discretion, and initiative are exercised in carrying out the daily operations of the department with efficiency and effectiveness.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities 

• Effectively presents information and always responds to inquiries and requests from internal and external customers within 24 hours
• Media Relations
• Assists the Communications & Public Relations Division Director in all the City's media relations efforts; supports the City's image and delivers key City messages
• Serves as the City’s deputy public information officer, on behalf of City departments, council members and others by serving as the secondary contact for media requests, presentations, and interviews
• Assists in preparing, drafting, and disseminating media releases for City departments
• Maintains regular media contacts and keeps them informed of issues and events of importance to the City and citizens. Meets regularly with all local media outlets
• Identifies, researches, and then communicates proactively with the media to help tell unique stories about city employees and initiatives
• Tracks the City media coverage and collection of news clips, as well as assisting with performance metrics reporting
• Serves as a secondary spokesperson/PIO when the EOC is activated or if the Communications & PR Division Director is unavailable
• Acts as the backup PIO for the Police Department when the PIO is unavailable
• Serves on-call for the Police Department when PD PIO is unavailable
• External Communication
• Assists the Communications & Public Relations Division Director in researching, preparing, editing and disseminating external communications materials for the City, to include annual reports, brochures, fact sheets, press kits, and other forms of written communication
• Sends Code Red public information messages for City Departments as needed
• Assists Communications & Public Relations Division Director in executing the City’s community engagement program, to include assisting in creation of presentations, handouts and meeting coordination for town halls, open houses or public meetings, and speaks at these events when needed
• Assist in writing of award entries for Communications & Marketing department.
• Web, Social Media and Multimedia
• Assists in writing of website content for major projects and initiatives within departments
• Updates City Newsroom section of website on a consistent basis with fresh stories and information, including visuals/graphics/photos
• Assists in video production/ editing for the City as needed
• Assists social media team in writing content for specific campaigns or responding to sensitive citizen inquiries
• Assists with developing and writing content for newsroom, community engagement portal and other outlets
• Assists with developing and writing monthly content for the City newsletter, quarterly City publication and any other communications channels as needed
• Follows City policy, procedures, and safety guidelines
• Performs other duties as assigned

Minimum Qualifications

• Combination of education and experience equivalent to a bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Public Relations, Journalism, Advertising, Mass Communication, or related field
• Three (3) experience in content creation, marketing, digital photography, videography, website design, social media platforms or other related fields.

Preferred Qualifications

• Graphic design experience
• Demonstrated use of Adobe Creative Suite
• Municipal Government experience
• Photography & Videography experience