*Departmental Promotional Only* Public Information Manager - County Administrative Office

Please note:
This is a departmental promotional recruitment. Departmental promotional recruitments are only open to permanent status County employees that are currently employed within the vacant positions department.

Under administrative direction, plans, organizes, directs, manages, supervises, and coordinates public information, community engagement, media relations, tourism operations, and other strategic initiatives for the County, including tourism marketing and events promotion; develops and implements strategic outreach initiatives to strengthen public awareness, community partnerships and engagement; manages public information activities such as press releases, social media postings, tourism promotion, branding and community public education campaigns; supports the Board of Supervisors Travel and Tourism Marketing Strategy; serves as the county’s principal communications resource; performs related duties as assigned.

SUPERVISION RECEIVED AND EXERCISED
Exercises direct supervision over supervisory, professional, technical, and administrative support staff through subordinate levels of supervision. Receives administrative direction from assigned management staff.

CLASS CHARACTERISTICS
This is a management classification responsible for directing, planning, organizing, reviewing, and evaluating multiple complex community engagement and public information programs.   Incumbents are responsible for performing diverse, specialized and complex work involving significant accountability and decision-making responsibilities, which include developing and implementing policies and procedures for assigned programs, reporting, and program evaluation.  Incumbents serve as a professional-level resource for organizational, managerial, and operational analyses and studies.  Performance of the work requires the use of considerable independence, initiative, and discretion within broad guidelines. This classification is distinguished from the Economic Development Director in that the latter has reasonability for overall management and administration of all Economic Development functions, programs, and activities.Management reserves the right to add, modify, change, or rescind the work assignment of different positions.

• Oversees assigned Public Information Services programs, which may include communications, media relations, digital engagement, branding, public education, tourism promotion, community outreach, special events, legislative communications, and other strategic initiatives as assigned.
• Develops countywide communication strategies and establishes consistent branding and messaging standards for use across all County departments.
• Provides strategic communications support to elected officials and department heads.
• Manages contracts related to communications, marketing, advertising, graphic design, and media services.
• Evaluates effectiveness of communications through performance metrics and analytics.
• Oversees the administration of all Public Records Act (PRA) requests, including reviewing, coordinating, and responding to requests for public information; ensures compliance with applicable laws, deadlines, and County policies, and provides guidance to departments on PRA procedures and requirements.
• Plans, coordinates, and oversees County-hosted conferences, town halls, workshops, and other public engagement events; ensures all activities comply with applicable public meeting laws and County policies, including noticing, accessibility, documentation, and communication requirements.
• Provides staff support to assigned County Boards and Commissions, including preparing agenda materials, coordinating communications, assisting with meeting logistics, ensuring compliance with public meeting requirements, and responding to inquiries from members and the public.
• Ensures that all public-facing communications, materials, and engagement activities comply with ADA requirements, including accessibility of digital content, publications, public meetings, and outreach tools.
• Plans, manages, and oversees the daily functions, operations, and activities of multiple assigned programs, including community engagement, public information, travel and tourism marketing, and related programs.
• Participates in the development of goals, objectives, policies, and procedures for assigned programs.
• Participates in developing, administering, and standardizing procedures and methods to improve and continuously monitor the efficiency and effectiveness of assigned programs, service delivery methods, and policies and procedures; identifies opportunities for improvement and recommends to the Economic Development Director and/or County Administrative Officer.
• Supervises the planning, development, administration, and staff of assigned personnel programs.
• Develops, drafts, and updates countywide policies, procedures, and standards related to communications, media relations, public information, and digital outreach to ensure consistency, compliance, and effective public engagement.
• Represents the county and/or departments before the news media and public and private sector officials on a variety of issues; advises employees on media communications.
• Manages, develops, and directs highly complex marketing, advertising, public information, media relations, and promotions programs and activities.
• Develop, implement, and evaluate countywide tourism strategies, programs, and initiatives to promote economic development and enhance the county’s visitor experience.
• Research and analyze tourism trends, visitor data, and market conditions to inform promotional activities and policy recommendations.
• Plan, coordinate, and execute tourism marketing campaigns, including digital media, print advertising, partnerships, and public outreach.
• Build and maintain collaborative relationships with local businesses, chambers of commerce, cultural institutions, and community organizations to promote tourism opportunities and county events.
• Coordinates media inquiries, press conferences, and other media interactions.
• Drafts press releases, talking points, and proposed responses for review and approval.
• Coordinates the development of branding, messaging, and communications standards and coordinates their consistent application across websites, publications, presentations, advertisements, and other public-facing materials.
• Provides staff assistance to the Economic Development Director and/or County Administrative Officer; researches, analyzes, summarizes, and interprets data from various sources; prepares and presents reports, correspondence, memoranda, Board of Supervisors agenda items, and other documents.
• Supervises the organization and maintenance of accurate and detailed databases, files, and records; verifies accuracy of information, researches discrepancies, and records information; coordinates and ensures compliance with established records retention schedules.
• Attends meetings, conferences, workshops, and training sessions and reviews publications to remain current on principles, practices, technologies, regulations, and new developments in the fields of economic development, community engagement, and public information.
• Monitors changes in laws, regulations, and technology that may affect assigned programs; implements policy and procedural changes after approval.
• Assists with developing and administering program budgets, including monitoring and controlling expenditures; forecasting personnel, equipment, and other resources needs; assisting in the allocation of limited resources.
• Coordinates with the County Counsel regarding legal aspects of relevant matters; maintains liaison with County departments; and provides consultation on relevant matters. 
• Participates in the hiring of staff; trains staff in department procedures; evaluates employee performance, counsels employees, and effectively recommends disciplinary and other personnel actions.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge and ability required. 

Some duties, knowledge, skills, and abilities may be performed in a learning capacity for entry-level (I Level) positions.

Knowledge of:

• Principles and practices of public information, media relations, strategic communications, and community engagement.
• Emergency communications and organizational communication techniques. 
• Methods, techniques, and best practices for developing and implementing tourism programs, economic development initiatives, and visitor-oriented marketing campaigns.
• Techniques for establishing effective relationships with news media, community groups, business partners, and governmental agencies.
• Practices and trends in digital communications, including social media management, website content strategy, branding, public engagement techniques and multimedia outreach.
• Marketing and promotional principles, including audience analysis, campaign development, advertising strategies, and evaluation methods.
• Research and analytical methods, including data collection, interpretation, and reporting related to tourism trends, market conditions, and community needs.
• Principles and practices of program planning, development, evaluation, and administration.
• Administrative principles and practices, including budgeting, forecasting, resource allocation, and contract/vendor oversight.
• Supervisory principles and techniques, including employee selection, training, evaluation, counseling, and performance management.
• Current laws, regulations, standards, and practices related to media, public information, public records, digital communications, open government, and governmental transparency.
• Principles of effective writing, editing, and preparation of press releases, talking points, correspondence, and Board agenda materials.
• Records management principles, including retention schedules, database maintenance, and information accuracy.
• Current developments, trends, technologies, and best practices in economic development, public communications, and tourism promotion.
• County governmental structure, functions, and internal processes.

Ability to:

• Plan, manage, and oversee multiple complex programs simultaneously, including public information, community engagement, and tourism development.
• Develop and implement policies, procedures, operational standards, and communications strategies that support effective service delivery.
• Evaluate program effectiveness, identify opportunities for improvement, and recommend and implement changes.
• Exercise sound judgment in representing the county to media representatives, elected officials, business leaders, community organizations, and the general public.
• Develop, coordinate, and execute comprehensive marketing, advertising, branding, and tourism promotion campaigns.
• Collect, analyze, and interpret data to support decision-making, program evaluation, and recommendations to County leadership.
• Prepare clear, concise, and compelling reports, press releases, presentations, talking points, and correspondence.
• Manage media relations, respond to inquiries, organize press conferences, and support staff in appropriate communication practices.
• Establish and maintain cooperative working relationships with internal departments, external agencies, business partners, and community stakeholders.
• Supervise, train, evaluate, motivate, and manage staff performance; effectively recommend personnel actions.
• Organize and maintain accurate records and databases; ensure compliance with retention requirements and information standards.
• Monitor and interpret changes in laws, regulations, and industry practices; apply approved policy and procedural updates.
• Assist with developing and administering budgets; forecast resources; and manage expenditures responsibly.
• Communicate clearly and effectively, both orally and in writing.
• Manage multiple priorities, meet deadlines, and respond effectively to changing conditions and emerging issues.

Minimum Qualifications:
Any combination of training and experience that would provide the required knowledge, skills, and abilities is qualifying. A typical way to obtain the required qualifications would be:
Equivalent to a bachelor’s degree in communications, public information, media relations, economic development, marketing, business or public administration, tourism management, or a closely related field.
and
Five years of increasingly responsible experience in public information, media relations, communications, marketing, tourism promotion, or economic development, including two years in a supervisory or management role.

Licenses and Certifications:

• Must possess a valid US driver’s license upon date of application. Must obtain California driver’s license following hire date per California DMV regulations.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

• Mobility to work in a standard office and use standard office equipment, including a computer, and to operate a motor vehicle to visit various County and meeting sites; standing in and walking between work areas is frequently required; frequently bend, stoop, kneel, and reach to perform assigned duties, as well as push and pull drawers open and closed to retrieve and file information; ability to lift, carry, push, and pull materials and objects up to 10 pounds with the use of proper equipment.
• Vision to read printed materials and a computer screen.
• Hearing and speech to communicate in person and over the telephone.  
• Finger dexterity is needed to access, enter, and retrieve data using a computer keyboard or calculator and to operate standard office equipment. 

ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS

• Employees work in an office environment with moderate noise levels, controlled temperature conditions, and no direct exposure to hazardous physical substances.  
• Employees may interact with upset staff and/or public and private representatives in interpreting and enforcing departmental policies and procedures.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

• Some departments may require pre-employment screening measures before an offer of employment can be made (i.e. background screening, physical examination, etc.).