Public Communications Manager

A career with Johnson County Government is more than just a job, it is an opportunity to serve a diverse and expanding community in meaningful ways. We challenge ourselves to be a different kind of government because we care deeply about our community and each other. Committed to our shared values, we provide excellent public service, seeking always to improve ourselves and our organization. We offer wonderful benefits, retirement plans, wellness incentives, a great organizational culture, and much more! If you’re searching for something more than just a job, something akin to a calling, then consider the challenge and opportunity of being a member of Johnson County Government!

Essential Duties:

• Strategic Direction and Oversight to include: Leads the creation and regular updating of Sheriff’s Office wide crisis communications plans; establishes internal communication policies, brand standards and approval workflows, sets annual communication goals, KPI's and benchmarks for reporting and improvement; coordinates Sheriff’s Office wide messaging efforts to ensure consistency, accuracy and alignment with Sheriff’s Office priorities.
• Leadership and collaboration to include: supervises communications staff and assigns projects; provides feedback ensuring content aligns with brand, tone and accessibility standards; assists divisions in communication strategies for projects, programs, or changes impacting the public; represents the Sheriff’s Office in multi-agency communications collaborations; collaborates with emergency management, utility providers, and public safety agencies on urgent or high-stakes communications.
• Planning and Project Management to include: overseeing branding, potential fundraising and marketing components or initiatives; leads the creation and rollout of special campaigns, educational outreach and issue-specific messaging; manages and plans special events for the Sheriff's Office; maintains and expands the library of templates, SOP's, style guides and brand assets for internal use; coordinates the design, launch and promotion of major platforms such as websites or digital services; facilitates internal training related to communication tools, accessibility standards or messaging strategy  
• Emergency and Crisis Communications to include: Initiates strategy and external messaging; serves as the primary PIO for all emergency and crisis situations; initiates and leads the Sheriff’s Office communication response at the onset of an incident; drafts and approves all initial public messaging, including press releases, social media statements, and website banners; serves as the Sheriff’s Office spokesperson for media interviews, briefings, and public statements; determines when and how to transition tactical execution to the public information officer based on the situation's severity, scope and progress; remains available for oversight, approvals and strategic direction throughout the incident; leads post-incident debriefings and update communication protocols based on outcomes.
• Supports and assists with writing, editing or designing materials including speeches, presentations, newsletters, graphic or social media posts; serves as backup for website updates, media responses, social media postings during high-volume periods; attends public events for media coordination, photography, or video coverage; steps in for crisis/emergency communications when availability or complexity requires manager-level response

Duties and responsibilities, as required by business need may be added, deleted, or changed at any time at the discretion of management, formally or informally, either verbally or in writing. Scheduling, shift assignments and work location may be changed at any time, as required by business need.

This position exists to provide services through public funding. Regular, reliable, predictable, and punctual attendance is an essential function of every position with the County.

All County employees are expected to demonstrate our behavioral and operational values. All employees are expected to collaborate with coworkers and leadership; participate constructively in conversations with department, agency, office, or organizational leadership; receive constructive feedback and adjust or improve to support our values of professionalism, respect, humility, teamwork, and continuous improvement.

Required: 

• Bachelor's degree in journalism, communications, marketing, public relations, or related field
• Five years of progressively responsible experience in journalism, public or organizational marketing, communications or public relations including experience using software to create graphic elements for social media and experience creating videos for social media or other platforms

Preferred: 

• Familiarity with FEMA and emergency management
• Experience in the public sector preferred. The ideal candidate demonstrates the ability to exercise creativity with minimal oversight which aligns with the priorities of the Sheriff's Office. The ability to coordinate and organize, accomplish multiple tasks in a timely fashion.
• Experience in project management and setting strategies for communication initiatives. The ideal candidate identifies risks, trends and proactively creates and implements strategies to navigate those risks.

Experience may be substituted for degree. Education my be substituted for experience.