Job Announcement

Based in Fairfax County, Virginia you will work with all our Public Affairs Bureau (PAB) teams and stakeholders to craft and deliver strategic communications, engaging and relevant content, and tracking reports on behalf of the department and with the direction of department senior executives. You will help build, edit, and refine messaging and documents on issues that are central to FCPD’s initiatives, brand, and reputation. You will engage directly with the department’s Director of Public Affairs, Chief, and executive staff in the development of inspiring content that engages audiences and helps to reinforce FCPD’s purpose of keeping Fairfax County safe. The role also entails working with the PAB teams and other department employees to plan, evaluate, consider, and manage internal and external communications. You are not only an outstanding writer, but you also possess high emotional intelligence; understand how to interact effectively with senior executives; grasp how strong working relationships are as essential to the written product as writing skill; are focused on collaborating towards a common goal over individual gain; have a keen sense of how our department’s actions will be perceived by external observers; understand both the social contribution and the reputational challenges of the law enforcement career field; and stay current with social media trends and news.

Illustrative Duties

(The illustrative duties listed in this specification are representative of the class but are not an all-inclusive list. A complete list of position duties and unique physical requirements can be found in the position job description.)

• Serves on 24-hour call, with responsibility for notifying County officials of significant incidents;
• Makes decisions under pressure and deadlines regarding information that may be released to the media;
• Coordinates and provides information regarding emergency incidents and other sensitive matters to the news media;
• Acts as official County spokesperson before representatives of print and/or broadcast media, handling the more sensitive and/or controversial issues;
• Plans, directs, and executes publicity campaigns designed to inform citizens about various county programs, events, or legislation;
• Supervises the work of subordinates engaged, in public information activities;
• Establishes and maintains effective working relationships with members of the media;
• Responds to requests for information regarding agency/County programs;
• Provides assistance to agency/County staff as to the most effective means of communicating information to the general public, government employees, and other target groups;
• Supervises the office administration function that includes purchasing, personnel, and
• administrative reporting and budget preparation;
• May interact directly with the Board of Supervisors and County Executive's Office on behalf of the department.

Required Knowledge Skills and Abilities

(The knowledge, skills and abilities listed in this specification are representative of the class but are not an all-inclusive list.)

• Knowledge of public safety area of expertise:
• fire and safety, police, public health, emergency management;
• Detailed knowledge of the requirements of the media regarding content, format, and timing of official releases;
• Broad knowledge of the principles of public administration and public relations as applied to public safety issues and local government operations;
• Knowledge of new media and its applications;
• Knowledge of the department and operation of the County government and its departments and agencies;
• Ability to plan and execute photographic coverage of complex events;
• Ability to adapt broadly defined policy guidance to specific situations with a minimal amount of supervision;
• Ability to work under pressure;
• Ability to participate in meaningful interchange of views on matters of critical importance to the County;
• Ability to plan and review the work of others;
• Ability to establish and maintain effective relationships with the public, the press, and County employees;
• Ability to speak extemporaneously on a broad variety of County-related issues and occurrences;
• Ability to develop and maintain effective working relationships with County government officials and representatives of the media.

Employment Standards

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
Any combination of education, experience, and training equivalent to the following: (Click on the aforementioned link to learn how Fairfax County interprets equivalencies for “Any combination, experience, and training equivalent to”)
Bachelor's degree in communication, journalism, public relations or related field or field of public safety specialization (fire, police, health, safety), plus at least 6 years of progressively responsible experience in supervision which includes 3 years as a media or communications professional or first responder communicator to include two years of social media experience.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
Ability to expertly craft, edit and refine messaging and documents for a law enforcement agency.

CERTIFICATES AND LICENSES REQUIRED:
Driver's license (required)

NECESSARY SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:
The appointee to this position will be required to complete a criminal background check, credit check and driving record check to the satisfaction of the employer.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:
Work requires the ability to operate keyboard driven equipment, to operate devices with tablet technologies, and to sit for long periods of time . All duties may be performed with or without reasonable accommodations.

SELECTION PROCEDURE:
Panel interview; may include exercise.

The population of Fairfax County is very diverse where 39.8% of residents speak a language other than English at home ( Spanish, Asian/Pacific Islander, Indo-European, and others ) and we encourage candidates bilingual in English and a foreign language to apply to this opportunity.

Fairfax County Government prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetics, political affiliation, or military status in the recruitment, selection, and hiring of its workforce.

Reasonable accommodations are available to persons with disabilities during application and/or interview processes per the Americans with Disabilities Act. Contact 703-324-4900 for assistance. TTY 703-222-7314. DHREmployment@fairfaxcounty.gov . EEO/AA/TTY.