Chief Communications Officer Full Time

The Chief Communications Officer (CCO) unifies outreach efforts and utilizes strategies to serve as the City of Fargo’s lead communications position. The position provides both strategic and operational leadership to the Department of Communications & Governmental Affairs, which works with internal and external stakeholders in developing strategic communications to advance City programs, services, policies, events, and major initiatives. This position leads a team responsible for curating the City’s website, social media platforms, graphic design services, print materials, cable television channels, streaming services of both live and produced videography, media relations, and crisis communications. The CCO also manages internal communications efforts by developing plans in coordination with the Human Resources Department. The position reports directly to the City Administrator and routinely collaborates with several senior staff members within the organization as well as other local and state officials.

Scope of Responsibility:
The Chief Communications Officer (CCO) oversees the development, implementation and support of the City’s community engagement strategies and public communication efforts. The position is responsible for leading a team of seven full-time employees; coordinating with two full-time public safety employees; and managing the departmental operating budget. The position applies vision and technical expertise to develop, implement and maintain a comprehensive, robust and dynamic communications plan to brand Fargo as a leader in public outreach strategies.

Primary Responsibilities

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• COMMUNICATION STRATEGY – Develops and manages the City of Fargo’s media and community relations strategies.
  • Serves as the primary strategic communications advisor to the City Administrator’s Office, Department Heads, and City Commissioners;
  • Works with City departments to communicate the organization’s initiatives for delivering information to, and receiving feedback from, the community while enhancing organizational reputation;
  • Responsible for developing tactical media plans, coordinating public relations and overseeing the programming of the social medial editorial calendars;
  • Directs media campaigns for a variety of projects and programs, including messaging, ad creation and airtime/ad space purchases;
  • Provides overall unification and leadership to departmental public information officer (PIO)s;
  • Assists in the coordination of strategic public information and community engagement efforts for the Fargo Police Department;
  • Manages and oversees special projects, as assigned by the City Administrator.
• CITIZEN OUTREACH – Plans, develops, executes and evaluates methods to encourage citizen participation in City and/or departmental programs and projects.
  • Performs a variety of citizen outreach efforts, which include keeping content current, informative and easy to access; producing City videos, maintaining a library of current, high-quality photography, videos, templates, and content; distributing citizen surveys and reporting results to City leadership; and overseeing citizen involvement efforts;
  • Works with key internal and external constituents to develop and implement consistent and effective messages for all audiences;
  • Directly manages the Community Engagement Division of the Department and its team members;
  • Oversees the City’s public-facing citizen reporting online application, FargoOne;
  • Explores and implements new and innovative methods of communicating information;
  • Anticipates public perception of decisions and programs, proactively recommends appropriate plans and actions so citizens understand purpose and intent; executes professional plans.
• SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT – Oversees the creation and use of social media accounts for the City and its departments.
  • Serves as the lead for all City social media accounts and platforms;
  • Packages and delivers compelling stories in support of City initiatives and programs via social media and social strategizing;
  • Coordinates with City departments to ensure consistent positioning and messaging across the City’s social media platforms;
  • Monitors social media for emergent issues and responds accordingly;
  • Ensures and oversees archiving of all social media data.
• MEDIA RELATIONS – Advances organization initiatives into successful media coverage.
  • Develops and implements media and communications strategies across the City’s various departments;
  • Manages the Public Information Division of the Department and its team members;
  • Oversees dissemination efforts of news releases and media advisories;
  • Advises departments on media relations and provides media training;
  • Advises City leadership on the development of successful and positive relationships with members of the news media, providing input on areas of public or media concern or interest;
  • Proactively develops and manages relationships with key local, regional and national members of the media. This includes managing media contacts, pitching stories and responding appropriately to media inquiries;
  • Maintains awareness of current trends, technology, editorial policy and communications practices;
  • Lead and unify complex problem-solving across/among City departments and legal counsel on issues of significance that may impact the organization and its reputation.
  • Unify responses to open records requests among departments and legal counsel, including the administration of software platforms and data query efforts.
• CITY WEBSITE – Develops and maintains web content across City platforms.
  • Responsible for managing and developing all website content;
  • Advises departments on development and use of webpages and applications;
  • Ensures websites maintain a streamlined appearance including text, images and page layout;
  • Collaborates with the City’s Information Services Department on the website content management system, functionality, improvement efforts, training and troubleshooting;
  • Ensures ADA guidelines and usability standards are met;
  • Authors and maintains web-related policies.
  • Develops key performance indicators and measures the success of digital campaigns through web analytic tools.
• BROADCAST SERVICES – Oversees the programming for and dissemination of two public government access television channels.
  • Manages the Broadcast Services Division of the Department and its team members;
  • Guides implementation and usage of an on-site television production studio and corresponding equipment;
  • Oversees program acquisition/scheduling, community billboards and crawls;
  • Directs educational programming efforts for the government access channels, including concepts, scripting and interview selection;
  • Crafts the strategic direction of upcoming innovation incorporations and efforts;
  • Plans for broadcast capital equipment purchases and maintenance agreements.
• ORGANIZATION BRAND MANAGEMENT – Leads the management and execution of brand standards for the City across all platforms.
  • Manages the Creative Services Division of the Department and its team members;
  • Prepares, develops, and produces a variety of public information materials, including brochures, presentations, newsletters, exhibits, reports, online publications, videos, advertising, etc. Also oversees operation of dynamic video display walls in City Hall;
  • Coordinates production activities with contracted vendors;
  • Solicits bids for consultant services, advises in the selection of consultants and monitors consultant contracts for public information-related services;
  • Manages the use of all forms of communication including social media, the City’s website, the City’s media channels, public forums, print materials, surveys and other communication methods that are available or might become available in the future;
  • Oversees internal communication efforts including content planning, writing, editing and graphic design for high quality communications for all internal audiences that successfully communicate organizational goals and employee experiences;
  • Manages consultants and professional service agreements partners for brand management.
• EMERGENCY RESPONSE – Maintains the City’s crisis communication plan and directs communications efforts across departments during City emergencies.
  • Provides leadership, direction and guidance to the event/incident PIO team;
  • Serves as a member of the City Leadership team during crisis management when responding to emergencies, including coordinating communications efforts with key external stakeholders;
  • Develops messaging and outreach plans for consumption by the public and members of the media;
  • Schedules briefings and monitors messaging.
• DEPARTMENT LEADERSHIP – Provides supervision and leadership to department personnel under the span of control.
  • Makes decisions on matters of hiring, transfer, suspension, layoff, recall, promotion, discharge, assignment, reward, adjusting grievances or disciplining employees under the span of control;
  • Sets goals and objectives for others to work towards and monitors performance;
  • Coordinates with public safety leadership and communications staff assigned to the Police Department;
  • Conducts ongoing feedback, coaching, mentoring, and timely formal reviews of performance for assigned employees;
  • Provides training and work direction, ensuring the employee knows and follows department and City rules as well as sound work and safety practices in order to accomplish the job objectives and avoid injury or loss; ensures that each employee:
    • Knows and follows department and City rules as well as sound work and safety practices in order to accomplish the job objectives and avoid injury or loss;
    • Wears proper protective equipment when policy requires or conditions indicate a need exists and utilizes proper body mechanics and ergonomics while performing work;
    • When potentially unsafe conditions are observed, makes efforts to avoid or correct them if they are controllable and draws them to the attention of the responsible supervisor or safety representative in a timely manner;
  • Plans work schedule to meet department demands and to limit overtime costs to reasonable and necessary levels;
  • Assesses staff development needs and directs the provision of staff training;
  • Participates in decisions regarding the content of jobs and the number of staff within the functional areas under the span of control.
• BUDGET – Responsible for the department’s budget preparation, management and reporting. Recommends and administers policies and procedures, while making recommendations for improvement.
  • Using independent judgment develops department operating budget for the next cycle;
  • Analyzes past expenditures, expected needs, future cost projections and sources of funding in order to develop detailed budgets;
  • Reviews year-to-date spending reports and monitors performance against plan during the entire budget cycle, making or recommending adjustments as necessary to achieve a desired balance at the end of the cycle;
  • Approves expenditures for purposes and amounts that are within the budget and within the authorized approval limits of the job.
• Communicates courteously and professionally and maintains working relationships with others in carrying out job functions.
  • Communications include responsibility for maintaining relationships that are key to the function of the city;
  • Plans and carries out communications at a level that can impact the morale and performance of a major work unit;
  • Serves a principal role in guiding or executing communications and establishing working relationships that affect the overall city work environment.
  • Performs other duties and activities as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

The job requires a bachelor’s degree in communications, public relations, journalism, marketing, public administration, business administration or a closely related field with 7 years of experience in public and/or media relations. A valid driver’s license is also required.

Knowledge, skills and abilities should include:

• Strong skills in interpersonal communication to facilitate high-level discussions with co-workers, supervisors, the general public and others to exchange or convey information, resolve disputes and receive work direction;
• Excellent visual and conceptual modern graphic design skills for both print & electronic media;
• Knowledge of governmental administrative practices including budgeting, purchasing and policy formulation;
• Knowledge of human resource management practices such as training, discipline, delegation;
• Ability to supervise personnel in a manner conducive to efficient performance and high morale;
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with others.
• Ability to communicate effectively in both verbal and written forms, and have strong public relations and media relations best practice skills;
• Ability to select competent personnel and to train them to perform their duties in an effective and efficient manner;
• The ability to multitask, with adherence to deadlines, under stressful or difficult situations;
• Skills in developing and interpreting data with precise accuracy and attention to detail;
• Project management experience;
• Strong troubleshooting and problem resolution capabilities;
• Fluency in computer applications used by the department, including the Adobe Creative Suite, Microsoft Office Suite and Content Management Systems (CMS).

Physical Demands

Physical Demands & Working Conditions:
Most work is performed in a normal office environment. Work is generally light with considerable variety. Daily work often involves moving between buildings and rooms. Occasional driving is required to attend meetings. The job may involve dealing with and calming individuals who are emotionally charged over an issue. There is regular attention to detail and deadlines.

Digital Dexterity, grasping, talking, hearing/listening, seeing/observing, repetitive motions.

Sedentary Work: Exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally and/or a negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects, including the human body. Sedentary work involves sitting most of the time. Jobs are sedentary if walking and standing are required only occasionally and all other sedentary criteria are met.

Some requirements in this job description may exclude individuals who pose a direct threat or significant risk to the health and safety of themselves or other employees. All requirements are subject to modification to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities.

Requirements are representative of minimum levels of knowledge, skills, and experience required. To perform this job successfully, the worker must possess the abilities and aptitudes to perform each duty proficiently.

This document does not create an employment contract, implied or otherwise, other than an “at will” employment relationship. The City Administrator retains the discretion to add duties or change the duties of this position at any time.

C1CO