DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

Executive Service

Who we are and what we do:

The Tennessee Department of Agriculture is a Cabinet agency committed to ensuring agriculture and forestry remain the leading industries in Tennessee. The Department serves, supports, and promotes agriculture and forestry in all 95 counties through robust programming and responsible regulation. Department functions are wide-ranging, including animal health, food safety, weights and measures, licensure and permitting, forest management, pesticide certification, and the Pick Tennessee Products program, among others.

How you make a difference in this role:

The Tennessee Department of Agriculture is seeking a strategic, organized, and creative Director of Communications to lead the department's public communications, brand management, digital content, and major communications initiatives. This role is responsible for developing and executing communications strategies that support the department's mission, promote Tennessee agriculture, and ensure consistent, accurate, accessible, and engaging messaging across all platforms. The Director of Communications will oversee part of the department's communications team, including two internal creative services staff members and one contracted videographer. This position will manage key department publications, including the Tennessee Department of Agriculture annual report, and will provide leadership for social media, campaigns, storytelling, media outreach, executive communications, and accessibility compliance for public-facing documents.

Key Responsibilities:

• The Director of Communications will lead the development and execution of the department's overall communications strategy, ensuring alignment with TDA priorities, leadership goals, and statewide initiatives.

• This position will oversee the Tennessee Department of Agriculture's social media platforms, including content planning, messaging, engagement strategy, analytics, and coordination with program areas.

• The director will manage TDA communications campaigns from concept through execution, including public awareness campaigns, promotional initiatives, program-specific outreach, and cross-platform storytelling.

• This role will lead the production of the Tennessee Department of Agriculture annual report, coordinating content, design, data collection, photography, writing, editing, approvals, ADA document remediation, and final publication.

• The director will supervise and support two internal creative services direct reports and coordinate work with a contracted videographer to ensure high-quality photography, video, graphic design, and digital content.

• The position will develop and maintain consistent department branding, messaging standards, editorial guidelines, and visual identity across all communications materials.

• The director will work closely with executive leadership, program staff, and external partners to identify communications opportunities and ensure accurate, timely information is shared with the public.

• The position will monitor communications trends, public sentiment, analytics, and emerging platforms to improve TDA's outreach and engagement.

• The Director of Communications must be able to operate effectively in a very fast-paced environment, managing competing priorities, urgent requests, and multiple major communications projects simultaneously while maintaining accuracy, professionalism, and strong attention to detail.

• This position will be responsible for coordinating several high-priority projects at once, including campaigns, publications, social media initiatives, executive communications, video projects, and departmentwide communications needs.

• The director will ensure public-facing documents and digital materials meet accessibility standards, including knowledge of ADA document remediation best practices for PDFs, reports, presentations, forms, and other published materials.

Minimum Qualifications:

• A bachelor's degree in communications, public relations, journalism, marketing, English, agriculture communications, or a related field is preferred.

• Several years of progressively responsible experience in communications, public relations, media relations, marketing, journalism, government communications, or a related field.

• Experience managing staff, contractors, creative projects, campaigns, publications, or digital communications.

• Strong writing, editing, project management, and organizational skills.

• Experience managing social media platforms, content calendars, campaign strategy, and analytics.

• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple complex projects simultaneously in a high-volume, deadline-driven environment.

• Experience working in a fast-paced communications, government, media, public relations, campaign, or executive office environment.

• Knowledge of ADA accessibility requirements and document remediation practices, including accessible PDFs, tagged documents, alternative text, reading order, headings, tables, links, and other accessibility considerations.

• Ability to communicate complex information clearly and accurately to a variety of audiences.

• Ability to work collaboratively with leadership, program staff, media, stakeholders, and external partners.

• Strong ability to prioritize urgent needs, manage shifting deadlines, and maintain quality control across multiple communications channels and deliverables.

Pursuant to the State of Tennessee's Workplace Discrimination and Harassment policy, the State is firmly committed to the principle of fair and equal employment opportunities for its citizens and strives to protect the rights and opportunities of all people to seek, obtain, and hold employment without being subjected to illegal discrimination and harassment in the workplace. It is the State's policy to provide an environment free of discrimination and harassment of an individual because of that person's race, color, national origin, age (40 and over), sex, pregnancy, religion, creed, disability, veteran's status or any other category protected by state and/or federal civil rights laws.