Communications Director

Communications Director

The Community Police Commission (CPC) envisions communities and Seattle's police working in alignment with shared goals of safety, respect, and accountability. We listen to, amplify, and build common ground among communities affected by policing in Seattle. We are a small, but dedicated, team championing policing practices centered in justice and equity.

We are searching for a Communications Director who combines personal experience and understanding of the challenges that BIPOC communities face when interacting with police, and hands-on communications strategic planning, content creation, and implementation. The Communications Director is an individual contributor at the senior leadership level and serves as the key advisor to staff, Commissioners, and City leaders on strategic communications. We are looking for leaders who will take part, engage, listen, synthesize, inform, and follow up after community meetings and events. The information you gather and share will influence and inform City policy. You will need a successful track record for engaging competently across communities, departments, and levels of power.

The job can be broken into two parts:

Tracking, managing, and responding to Public Disclosure Requests requiring diligence, organization, confidentiality, and timeliness. Preparing the department's annual report, press releases, statements from the Commissioners, and other communications deliverables.

Telling the CPC's story, what we are working on, the events we are a part of, what we are learning from the community, emerging issues, and how the community's feedback is changing policies and practices. Creating a strategic communications plan to engage and inform the community accessibly, using a variety of communication formats to meet the needs of each audience member. Representing the CPC thoughtfully and responding appropriately to current events, whether tragic or terrific. Managing every interaction with care and respect.

To be successful in this role, you are committed to:

• Racial equity and social justice
• Equitable, culturally competent, accessible, and inclusive outreach and engagement
• Inviting feedback and listening, especially when it is challenging
• Transparency and clear communications based on the needs of the audience
• Building trust and strong relationships
• Elevating community voices, concerns, and needs

To be effective in this role, you are:

• Motivated to make the City of Seattle more accessible to, and interactive with, community members, and seeing those interactions as learning opportunities.
• Comfortable seeking out and engaging BIPOC communities, Immigrants, Refugees, 2SLGBTQIA+, and Unhoused people
• Knowledgeable and sensitive to the interests of a wide range of community members, partners, elected officials, and colleagues, and can navigate interactions at all levels, including how to de-escalate conflict
• Able to gather and synthesize community feedback, share it with CPC staff, Commissioners, department leaders, and elected officials
• An active listener and versatile and successful storyteller and communicator, gathering information and keeping people informed using the best content and format depending on the complexity of the issue/situation – social media, video, newsletters, and infographics
• Experienced working with media, serving as a point-of-contact, pitching stories, organizing press conferences, and writing press releases
• Skilled at developing and measuring communication performance, making necessary adjustments, and reporting progress
• Experienced with tracking, managing, elevating (when appropriate), and responding to Public Disclosure Requests
• Multi-lingual and can provide in-language support to community members would be a plus

Successful applicants will have experience demonstrating strategic communication skills that center equity and anti-racist practices. This experience should be complemented by demonstrated ability in most of the following areas:

• Broad written and oral communication skills, including representing their team or organization with a variety of audiences
• Cross-cultural community engagement
• Advocating for BIPOC communities
• Successfully having difficult conversations about race
• Navigating political nuances and confidentiality concerns
• Managing Public Disclosure Requests
• Working in a dynamic, diverse, fast-paced environment