Public Information Coordinator - Water Administration

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

Under general supervision of the Director; to propose, champion, plan, organize, coordinate, schedule, monitor, and report on public communications regarding upcoming and current Water Utilities Division events, operations and programs. Manages a budget to facilitate information dissemination, public relations activities, media relations, website content development, and social media engagement. Functions as a consultant within the department on utility marketing best practices, and proactive customer engagement.

SUPERVISION EXERCISED

This position exercises no direct supervision.

IMPORTANT AND ESSENTIAL DUTIES

Communicate daily or weekly with Water Utilities division managers and Water Admin staff to stay informed of upcoming and current activities that have direct or potential impact on City of Abilene water customers.

Monitor and evaluate local public opinion regarding water utility issues expressed on social media and news outlets; report items of interest to the Director; recommend future actions and communication efforts.

Advise, develop and implement water department multimedia communication strategies, in close coordination with the City’s Communications Department, to enhance favorable public perceptions of the utility’s plans, agenda, accomplishments, and public service responsibilities.

Conceptualize, design and implement high quality graphics and content in print, online digital, and video-sharing media, on time and within budget.

Maintain a favorable relationship with news outlets while responding to inquiries; arrange interviews with journalists; prepare and distribute news releases; and make official statements as the spokesperson for the Water Utilities Department.

Manage the department’s annual advertising and promotion budget account.

Provide monthly reports on communications and media relations activity.

Support department employee recruitment efforts.

Operate a City vehicle daily to travel to various water treatment plants, pump stations, storage tanks, lakes, and vendors.

OTHER JOB RELATED DUTIES

Perform other job related duties and responsibilities as assigned.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

Knowledge of:

Current best practices involved with organizational communications, public relations, television news media production, operations and procedures, advertising, Internet and social media communications.

Applicable laws relating to public information and public input to local government processes.

Software applications such as, or similar to, Microsoft Office, Adobe and Google Suite.

Skill to:

Communicate professionally and effectively, both orally and in writing, in public forums.

Coordinate and collaborate with staff across all City departments.

Accomplish basic graphic design tasks using software applications to generate communications and documents suitable for multimedia distribution.

Ability to:

Be very attentive to detail; ensure all delivered work is accurate and complete.

Translate complex written and numerical information into concise and easy-to-understand visual formats.

Work well under pressure to meet time-sensitive deadlines.

Quickly understand essential concepts and processes associated with water and wastewater utility activities.

Establish and maintain cooperative working relationships with those contacted in the course of work, both internally and externally.

Follow and embrace the City of Abilene Core Values – Respect, Integrity, Service Above Self, and Excellence in All We Do.

Perform as a team member in a manner that accomplishes the Division’s mission and treats team members with dignity, courtesy, and respect.

Experience and Training Guidelines:

For positions with more than one level, all listed requirements at the lower levels are required at the higher levels. Any combination equivalent to experience and training to provide the required knowledge, skills, and abilities may be qualifying. Knowledge, skills, and abilities may be obtained through:

Experience:

Five (5) years of experience in public information, public relations, mass communications, news, and/or media relations is required.

Education/Training:

A Bachelor’s Degree in Organizational Communications, Public Relations, or a related field is required.

License or Certificate:

A valid Texas driver’s license; the ability to obtain one within ninety (90) days of employment, or a military waiver is required.

Current Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) certificate is preferred.

Special Requirements:

Personal mobility and physical reflexes, with or without reasonable accommodation, which permits the employee to have access to various work sites throughout the City.

Ability to work outside normal business hours, both indoors and outside.

Essential duties require the following physical skills and work environment:

With or without accommodation, the “X” indicates the overall strength demand of the position during a typical workday:

___ Sedentary – lifting of no more than 10 pounds

_X_ Light – lifting no more than 20 pounds; carrying up to 10 pounds

___ Medium – lifting no more than 50 pounds; carrying up to 25 pounds

___ Heavy – lifting no more than 100 pounds; carrying up to 50 pounds

___ Very Heavy – team lifting over 100 pounds; carrying more than 50 pounds

Physical Demand Codes: The following describes whether or not the position is expected to exert the physical demands listed during a typical workday as well as the overall frequency of the task:

Codes for how often:

N = No

E = Extensive (100 – 70% of the time)

M = Moderate (60 – 30% of the time)

I = Infrequent (20 – 10% of the time)

A = Almost Never (<10% of the time)

Code / Task

_M__ Standing

_M__ Sitting

_M__ Walking

_I__ Lifting

_I__ Carrying

_I__ Pushing/Pulling

_A__ Overhead Work

_E__ Fine Dexterity

_I__ Kneeling

_I__ Crouching

_A__ Crawling

_I__ Bending

_I__ Twisting

_A__ Climbing

_E__ Balancing

_E__ Vision

_E__ Hearing

_E__ Talking

___ Other: _____________________