Public Affairs Coordinator

POSITION PURPOSE / IMPORTANT APPLICATION INFORMATION

The Public Affairs Coordinator position is responsible for managing the public information functions and strengthening transparency for the Westminster Police Department. Serving as the department’s primary spokesperson, this position will lead the department’s media relations portfolio and develop, implement, and evaluate information programming and strategies to engage and inform residents about the police department’s services and impact to the community. This is done through high-quality news releases, digital stories, videos, and other emerging digital content types. This position is also responsible for leading the Westminster Police Department Public Affairs Unit. This unit will be primarily responsible for external communications, as well as some internal communications related to official communications and notifications from the Police Department. This position is responsible for developing and implementing new communications strategies to ensure residents are aware of police services and activities.

The full salary range for this position is stated above. The starting range of pay is dependent on qualifications and experience of each individual candidate. The City of Westminster has a Multilingual Stipend Program to encourage and reward benefited employees who are conversationally fluent in languages other than English. Benefited employees have the opportunity to test their language proficiency skills and qualify for a bi-weekly stipend that will vary based on the employee’s level of proficiency and usage.

ORGANIZATIONAL COMPETENCIES AND CULTURAL VALUES/GENERAL COMPETENCIES

The City's work culture encourages passionate, positive and enthusiastic employees who, along with our City Council and City Manager, are strong supporters of our mission: Westminster’s purpose is to provide core services and foster economic resilience to give our community the opportunity to thrive. Our core values are embodied in our SPIRIT (Service – Pride – Integrity – Responsibility – Innovation – Teamwork).

This position supports the mission and values of the City of Westminster and the Westminster Police Department, which is responsible for providing timely emergency response to criminal complaints, ensuring traffic safety, ensuring the safety of personnel, citizens, and visitors to the community; educating residents and business owners on safety, crime, and crime prevention.

Every employee is accountable to:

• Demonstrate a high level of customer service; encourage others to focus on the customer; foster an environment where customer service is a priority
• Communicate with customers to ensure that, where possible, they are satisfied, and that their needs are being addressed; solicit and evaluate customer feedback
• Act as an ambassador by understanding and fostering the organization's mission and vision
• Exhibit pride in self, the department, the city, and the community; conduct self in a professional manner
• Demonstrate integrity and build trust through credibility, reliability, commitment, loyalty, and ethical behavior
• Address difficult or contentious issues in a constructive manner
• Support/promote change; demonstrate flexibility, and take calculated risks when appropriate
• Participate in personal growth opportunities, and attend trainings designed to enhance capacity to bring new skills and ideas to the job and the organization
• Work to continuously improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the service or product being delivered
• Demonstrate support for team efforts by accepting new roles and responsibilities, and helping others achieve objectives
• Value diversity; demonstrate an awareness of differences; demonstrate sensitivity, and adapt behaviors and communication to accommodate these differences

GENERAL COMPETENCIES
Citywide - Every employee in this position is accountable to:

• Establish effective interpersonal relationships through honest, open communication and follow-through on commitments
• Recognize personal strengths and weaknesses, and target areas for personal self-development
• Demonstrate initiative in performing job tasks
• Exhibit problem-solving skills leading to sound judgment and quality decisions
• Achieve goals, and handle assigned workload and new assignments effectively; demonstrate an ability to work independently
• Communicate effectively with individuals and groups using clear and concise verbal and written communications
• Demonstrate accountability for work, and take ownership in job performance
• Demonstrate concern for the accuracy and quality of work; take steps to correct mistakes and improve the overall product

Job Specific – Every employee in this position must be able to:

• Establish, prioritize, and implement goals, objectives, policies, and work standards aligned to the Police Department’s vision and priorities
• Provide objective feedback and counsel on communication strategy to the Police Department’s leadership related to police services
• Provide excellent leadership and support for the Public Information Unit
• Work independently with minimal supervision while working collaboratively and cross-functionally with members of the City’s communications team and other police staff to achieve the City’s and Police Department’s goals
• Think creatively and take the initiative in planning and implementing assigned projects
• Manage multiple priorities; deal with ambiguity and effectively cope with change in work plans and priorities
• Demonstrate agility to anticipate potential outcomes and consequences related to communication issues
• Understand services provided by the Police Department in order to incorporate key concepts into digital media for a variety of internal and external audiences
• Display outstanding organizational, project and time management skills, including meeting multiple deadlines
• Establish and maintain cooperative working relationships with both the City and police department’s leadership, staff, and community members
• Build strong, positive relationships with teams as both a member and a leader
• Works well under stress from demanding deadlines, public contact, and complete projects within time constraints; perform multiple, concurrent tasks and make quick decisions
• Assemble, organize, and present in oral or written form statistical, financial, and factual information for a variety of audiences
• Demonstrate a strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office including Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Word

Leadership – Every employee in this position is accountable to:

• Exercise leadership and provide guidance in communications strategy
• Foster a participatory organizational climate that is open, positive, reinforcing, and supportive
• Encourage employees to be accountable for their work and take ownership in what they do
• Demonstrate leadership and courage by making or supporting decisions that reflect the organizational mission and goals even when the decision may be unpopular to some
• Demonstrate collaboration and conflict resolution skills with other departments and employees

JOB SPECIFIC FUNCTIONS

Essential Job Functions, Duties, Responsibilities, and Tasks
Communications:

• Serve as the department’s primary spokesperson for media inquiries which can occur outside of a traditional workday, including nights and/or weekends.
• Develop and implement external communication efforts, including: public website, digital and social media, newsletters, and community events
• Collaborate with content contributors from all police department work groups to provide timely information for internal and/or external communications
• Act as liaison to connect various police work groups to help plan their external communication and outreach initiatives
• Support the Chief of Police to prepare remarks and briefing materials for community events, public statements, etc.
• Author internal and external communications on behalf of the chief of police or other department members
• Create draft, sample, and final materials such as community notifications to address communication needs
• Support the management and monitoring of website content and digital media outlets based on City standards

Public Engagement:

• Provides trusted counsel to the police department’s leadership on engagement and communications strategies for residents and the community at-large
• Serves as a voice for the Police Department the community and the department
• Develop a communications strategy to engage and inform residents, business owners, visitors, and the larger community about the Police Department’s services and workload, including Patrol, Traffic, Animal Management, Investigations, Internal Affairs, Public Safety Telecommunications, and other units
• Attend City-sponsored events to help with outreach and promotion of City programs, projects and services

Other Duties and Responsibilities

• Assist in proofreading publications
• Participate as a member of the emergency communication response team
• Assist with media relations by developing and maintaining professional relationships with the media
• Ability to maintain confidentiality with police personnel and police records

Incumbent is accountable for all duties of this job, and other projects and responsibilities may be added at the City’s discretion.

POSITION REQUIREMENTS/WORKING CONDITIONS/PRE-EMPLOYMENT REQUIREMENTS

Education, Experience, Skills, Formal Training, Licenses, and Certifications
Required:

• Bachelor’s degree in communications, journalism, political science, English, marketing, or similar field
• Five (5) years or more of relevant, progressive experience in print or broadcast news, communications, and/or public relations. Previous experience as a spokesperson for a police or fire department or as a journalist or news producer covering public safety is preferred.
• Demonstrated communications experience with complex topics and events
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills as well as outstanding organizational and time management skills; experience with professional and technical writing with strong spelling and grammar skills
• Previous experience in a lead or supervisory position required; experience in a lead of supervisory position of communications or public information staff is preferred
• Experience in public speaking to large audiences
• Possession of a valid driver’s license and maintenance of a safe driving record

Preferred:

• Experience with the Colorado Open Records Act (CORA), Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), and Colorado Criminal Justice Act (CCJA) information releases
• Demonstrated digital content creation and proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite, or other similar tools
• Experience with social media monitoring tools
• General knowledge of graphic design and layout
• Background or experience in government or public-sector organizations
• Experience with multi-lingual communication best practices
• Experience in photography, videography or video editing

Any equivalent combination of education, training, and experience, which would provide the required knowledge and skills, may be considered.
Physical Requirements
Work is sedentary in nature and requires sufficient physical stamina and strength for:

• Constant sitting to perform daily tasks; occasional walking through a multilevel facility to retrieve information; frequent standing, sometimes for extended periods
• Frequent squatting, reaching above shoulder, and twisting to file documents and lift supplies and material; occasional bending, kneeling, climbing, balancing, and reaching below shoulder to store documents, material, and supplies
• Constant light grasp, fine manipulation, and handling to perform daily duties; occasional firm grasp to safely use equipment
• Frequent lifting, carrying, and pushing and/or pulling of up to ten (10) pounds to move material and supplies; occasional lifting and pushing and/or pulling of up to twenty-five (25) pounds with dollies and carts

WORKING CONDITIONS
Work is usually performed indoors. This is primarily sedentary office work. Must demonstrate the ability to meet the physical demands of the job, including the ability to retrieve information from various locations in the office when needed. Exposure to periods of high activity and stress under demanding conditions. The position requires a great deal of communication with City employees, the public, and outside agencies. This position may work outdoors at police engagement and community events in all weather conditions. This position may work evenings, weekends, and holidays as needed. Requires a rotating schedule of on-call status.
Required Materials and Equipment
Operates general office equipment including telephones, calculators, personal computers, copy machines, printers, digital cameras/video recorders, and associated graphics/video software systems. Operate a motor vehicle.

PRE-EMPLOYMENT REQUIREMENTS

• Background checks will include employment references and criminal history, and when applicable, credit check, driver license record, and education verification
• Must be able to pass the FBI Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) background check due to access to sensitive areas
• Pre-employment drug screen
• Polygraph or CVSA
• Must be legally entitled to work in the United States

• Health and Dental
• Flexible Spending
• Pension/ Retirement Plans
• Term Life Insurance
• Long-term Disability
• Survivor Benefits
• Wellness Program
• General leave that provides vacation, holidays, illness leave and administrative leave
• Education and Training Reimbursement, and
• Exempt Reimbursement Program