Community Relations Specialist

The purpose of this classification is to support the City's communication, public information, community engagement, and outreach efforts by developing and distributing content that informs, engages, and connects residents, businesses, and visitors. This position promotes municipal services, programs, events, and initiatives through strategic communications, digital media, website management, media relations, public outreach, and event support while ensuring consistent messaging, strengthening community relationships, and advancing the City's communication goals. Essential Functions: The following duties are normal for this position. The omission of specific statements of the duties does not exclude them from the classification if the work is similar, related, or a logical assignment for this classification. Other duties may be required and assigned. Develops, implements, and supports communication and outreach strategies that promote City services, programs, events, initiatives, and community engagement. Collaborates with City departments to gather information, identify communication needs, and create content that supports organizational priorities and enhances public awareness. Creates, edits, and distributes communication materials across digital and print platforms, including social media, websites, newsletters, press releases, public notices, annual reports, City Council communications, and promotional materials. Maintains content calendars and ensures all communications are timely, accurate, accessible, and consistent with the City's branding and messaging standards. Manages and coordinates social media accounts and digital communications for multiple City departments and affiliated programs. Creates graphics, photography, video, and other multimedia content; monitors public engagement; responds to or coordinates responses to inquiries; and assists with emergency communications, public safety messaging, traffic impacts, utility notifications, and other time-sensitive public information. Maintains and updates City websites by publishing department information, news, events, forms, and public notices while ensuring content remains current, user-friendly, and consistent with City standards. Develops and distributes press releases, media advisories, and promotional materials; coordinates media outreach and event publicity; and maintains positive working relationships with media representatives, businesses, sponsors, community organizations, and other stakeholders. Provides communication and operational support for City events by assisting with marketing campaigns, event logistics, vendor communications, registration processes, signage, sponsor recognition, live event coverage, photography, assists with the setup and breakdown of City events. Responsible for post-event evaluations and reporting. Maintains digital communication assets and assists with the administration of communication platforms, website content management systems, social media management software, email marketing systems, and analytics tools. Tracks and reports communication performance metrics to evaluate effectiveness and support continuous improvement. Communicates and collaborates effectively with supervisors, City employees, elected officials, vendors, businesses, community partners, residents, and members of the public to coordinate activities, exchange information, resolve issues, and support City operations. Performs related administrative duties, including preparing correspondence and reports, maintaining records, processing invoices, attending meetings, and providing customer service as assigned. Responsible for maintaining the City Hall outdoor event and meeting signage with time-sensitive information. Maintains consistent and reliable attendance to support effective teamwork, collaboration, communication, and event operations. Attendance may include in-person scheduled meetings, evening and weekend events, off-site assignments, and other work-related activities as required. The City will attempt to accommodate reasonable adjustments in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Additional Functions: Performs other related duties as required. Minimum Qualifications: Associate degree in Communications, Event Management, Marketing, or a related field preferred; supplemented by two (2) years of experience in planning and implementing marketing campaigns; or any equivalent combination of education, training, and experience which provides the requisite knowledge, skills, and abilities for this job. Specific License or Certification Required: Must possess and maintain a valid South Carolina driver's license. Specific Knowledge, Skills, or Abilities: Must be able to demonstrate proficiency in performance of the essential functions and learn, comprehend, and apply all City or departmental policies, practices, and procedures necessary to function effectively in the position. Performance Aptitudes: Data Utilization: Requires the ability to evaluate, audit, deduce, and/or assess data using established criteria. Includes exercising discretion in determining actual or probable consequences and in referencing such evaluation to identify and select alternatives. Operates a personal computer to enter, retrieve, review, or modify data, utilizing word processing, spreadsheet, database, presentation, Internet, e-mail, or other software; and operates general office or other equipment as necessary to complete essential functions. Human Interaction: Requires the ability to work with others to coordinate the more complex programs and more complex problems associated with the responsibilities of the job. Often represents the department and/or organization when dealing with others. Requires the ability to act as a first-line supervisor, including instructing, assigning, and reviewing work, maintaining standards, coordinating activities, and evaluating employee job performance. Equipment, Machinery, Tools, and Materials Utilization: Requires the ability to operate, maneuver and/or control the actions of equipment, machinery, tools, and/or materials used in performing essential functions. Verbal Aptitude: Requires the ability to utilize a wide variety of reference, descriptive, and/or advisory data and information, such as budget and financial documentation, contracts, marketing materials, grant applications and documentation, proposals, etc. Mathematical Aptitude: Requires the ability to perform addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division; ability to calculate decimals and percentages; may include ability to perform mathematical operations with fractions; may include ability to compute discount, interest, and ratios; may include ability to calculate surface areas, volumes, weights, and measures. Functional Reasoning: Requires the ability to apply principles of logical or synthesis functions; to deal with several concrete and abstract variables; and to analyze major problems that require complex planning for interrelated activities that can span one or several work units. Situational Reasoning: Requires the ability to exercise judgment, decisiveness and creativity in situations involving broader aspects of organizational programs and operations, moderately unstable situations, or the direction, control and planning of an entire program or set of programs. ADA Compliance: Physical Ability: Tasks require the ability to exert very moderate physical effort in light work, typically involving some combination of stooping, kneeling, crouching and crawling, and which may involve some lifting, carrying, pushing and/or pulling of objects and materials of moderate weight (12-20 pounds). Sensory Requirements: Some tasks require the ability to perceive and discriminate colors or shades of colors, sounds, taste, odor, depth, texture, and visual cues or signals. Some tasks require the ability to communicate orally. Environmental Factors: Performance of essential functions may require exposure to adverse environmental conditions, such as dirt, dust, pollen, odors, wetness, humidity, rain, heights, temperature and noise extremes, electric currents, traffic hazards, bright/dim lights, or rude/irate customers. The City of Fountain Inn is an Equal Opportunity Employer. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City will provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities and encourages both prospective and current employees to discuss potential accommodations with the employer. The City reserves the right to revise this position description at any time. Positions requires periodic evenings and weekend hours depending upon meeting and event schedules. City office hours are typically 8am-5pm Monday-Thursday and 8am-12pm. #J-18808-Ljbffr Who's On the Move