The City of Richmond is seeking a highly qualified and experienced Deputy Director of Communications to join its Office of Strategic Communications and Civic Engagement team. The Deputy Director of Communications will play a key role in developing and implementing the City's communications strategy, working closely with the Communications Director and other leaders to elevate the City's profile and promote its amazing work.

Responsibilities

• Work closely with the Communications Director and other leaders to develop a long-term organizational communications vision and strategy
• Work with the City's program areas to develop and implement strategic communications plans for specific campaigns
• Identify rapid response opportunities daily and work with staff to implement them
• Help oversee the City's daily press outreach, editing press releases, statements, and op-eds as needed
• Help manage departmental public information officers
• Help manage outside media consultants
• Build relationships with top national reporters, producers, correspondents, and editors
• Work to ensure consistent branding of materials across all platforms
• Other duties as assigned

Qualifications

• A passion for promoting local stories and people
• A passion for local government
• Knowledge of how local government works
• The ability to think proactively and creatively, and to develop cutting-edge communications strategies
• Strong organizational and management skills, including the ability to motivate a team
• The ability to thrive in a newsroom-like environment, juggling a lot of projects at once
• A thorough understanding of social media and how it is used to promote programs, campaigns, and an organization's goals
• The ability to work with a wide range of personalities
• Superb attention to detail
• Excellent editing and writing skills
• An upbeat outlook
• The ability to work quickly and efficiently

Education and Experience

• A bachelor's degree is required.
• At least 10 years in local government communications and at least five years of management experience.
• The ideal candidate will have a proven track record of designing and implementing strategic communications plans.
• Well-versed in pitching national reporters, bloggers, and broadcast media; and in writing press releases, statements, and op-eds.