Communications Officer

An Overview
Do you have a passion for communications and storytelling? Are you ready for a career move to work with a great team that’s progressive and strategic in the way we approach our work, manage people, and service our community? If so, you are highly encouraged to apply for the Communications Officer position with the Department of Transportation & Environmental Services (T&ES) to support public engagement/outreach and communications efforts in the Infrastructure and Environmental Quality (IEQ) Branch (which includes the Stormwater Management Division, Sanitary Sewer Division, and the Office of Environmental Quality).

This position will work with the T&ES Communications Team to convey complex information in a clear, simple, and creative manner under the supervision of T&ES’ Senior Communications Officer.

The Opportunity

• Designs and produces creative social media and website content;
• Performs public engagement and communications for T&ES and the IEQ Branch;
• Communicates essential information about stormwater management, sanitary sewer, and Eco-City Alexandria environmental programs, projects, events, initiatives, services, and issues to the residents, employees of Alexandria, and the media;
• Creates webpages, social media posts, newsletters, eNews, and other content, and leads public engagement for stormwater flooding issues, water quality issues, capital projects, sanitary sewer programs, climate change, and other environmental programs;
• Works with the team to plan, organize, and coordinate the production of eNews, webpage updates, community outreach efforts, and event planning logistics;
• Researches, writes, copy-edits, and proofs a variety of multi-media content and assists with multi-platform delivery of the content;
• Collaborates with other staff and consultants, as applicable, to develop and create content from conception to implementation for multiple projects under tight deadlines;
• Assists with media requests and proactively identifies opportunities to engage reporters for news stories;
• Tracks and reports on metrics such as newsletter subscribers, website traffic, and media coverage; and
• Performs related work as required.

About the Department
T&ES strives to improve the overall quality of life within the City of Alexandria through the development of a superior infrastructure. In order to contribute to the physical, social, and economic growth of the City of Alexandria, the T&ES employee team provides services of the highest quality in the areas of engineering, environmental quality, traffic control, transit, construction and inspection, surveying, street, sewer and fire hydrant maintenance, and resource and recovery collection.

Minimum & Additional Requirements

Bachelor's degree in related field and three years of experience in communications, public relations, public information and graphic production or publications editing work, desk top graphic publishing and experience with writing and editing information for wide distribution under deadlines; and completion of college-level courses in journalism, communications, multimedia production, public administration, government, or a related field; or any equivalent combination of experience and training which provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities. The employee must possess a valid driver's license issued by the state of their residence.

Preferred Qualifications

Possess a bachelor's degree in public information, journalism, social media management, content creation, and graphic design, with experience in writing and editing.
Excellent communication skills, highly motivated, results-driven, creative problem solver. possessing a working knowledge of social media platforms and software (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram), design software (Adobe Creative Suite, Canva, or similar), Microsoft Office Suite, and website content management systems (WordPress, Drupla, or similar), email marketing tools and platforms (Mailchimp, BEE, or similar), and web analytics tools (Google Analytics or similar).

Notes

This position requires the successful completion of a pre-employment criminal background check.