PR Specialist

Welcome to the City of Charlotte

Charlotte is America’s Queen City, opening her arms to a diverse and inclusive community of residents, businesses and visitors alike. Here you will find a safe, family-oriented city where people work together to help everyone thrive. The mission of the City of Charlotte is to deliver quality public services and promote the safety, health, and quality of life for all residents.

Our guiding principles include:

• Attracting and retaining a skilled and diverse workforce
• Valuing teamwork, openness, accountability, productivity, and employee development
• Providing all customers with courteous, responsive, accessible, and seamless quality services
• Taking initiative to identify, analyze, and solve problems
• Collaborating with stakeholders to make informed decisions

Job Summary

The Public Relations Specialist serves as a liaison between the Communication and Marketing Department and other municipal departments to ensure consistent, accurate and timely communication. This role is responsible for developing and implementing communication strategies, creating content for various channels, assisting with media relations and supporting event planning and execution. The ideal candidate is a skilled communicator with experience in public relations, media relations and content creation.

Department Liaison & Communication Strategy:

• Serve as the primary point of contact between the Communication and Marketing Department and assigned municipal departments.
• Develop and implement strategic communication plans to support departmental initiatives, projects and public engagement efforts.
• Ensure alignment of messaging and branding across all municipal communication platforms.
• Provide communication guidance and support to departmental leadership and staff.

Content Creation & Public Outreach:

• Write and edit press releases, media advisories, talking points, newsletters, website content and social media posts.
• Consult on the development of multimedia content, including graphics and videos, in collaboration with the creative team.
• Assist in maintaining and updating website content related to assigned departments.
• Ensure content is accessible, engaging and tailored to diverse audiences.

Media Relations & Crisis Communication:

• Work with the media relations team to coordinate responses to media inquiries and prepare subject matter experts for interviews.
• Draft media statements and talking points for department representatives.
• Monitor media coverage and provide reports on public perception and engagement.

Event Planning & Community Engagement:

• Assist in planning, promoting and executing public meetings, press conferences and community engagement events.
• Support logistics for departmental events, including venue coordination, materials preparation and media participation.
• Represent the municipality at public events, serving as a spokesperson when needed.

Education and Experience:

Associate’s degree with three (3) years of Communications, Public Relations, Journalism, or Marketing; OR an equivalent combination of education, training and experience providing the required skill and knowledge for successful performance.

Required Knowledge and Skills

Required Knowledge:

• Experience in content creation across various platforms, including social media, web and print.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work collaboratively with internal teams and external stakeholders.
• Proficiency in Microsoft 365 and familiarity with content management systems, social media management tools and basic graphic design software.

Required Skills:

• Strong interpersonal, communication, and customer service skills.
• Strong analytical skills and great attention to detail.
• Strong writing, editing and verbal communication skills.
• Strong problem-solving ability and critical-thinking skills.
• Able to analyze data, think outside of the box, solution oriented

Salary: $62,091.00 – $77,614.00 Commensurate with Experience

Benefits

The City of Charlotte provides a comprehensive benefits package to eligible employees. Click here to learn more about the City of Charlotte’s benefits.

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