Community Relations Manager

The Position

Want to join a team of communication professionals passionate about connecting communities with their local government? The City of Carlsbad is looking for a full-time Community Relations Manager to support the city's award-winning strategic communication program with managing public engagement, media relations, digital communications and more.

So, what exactly would you be doing?

You would be part of a centralized, full-service Communication & Engagement Department team that supports the city as a whole and all city departments with their communication needs, including:

• Facilitating the community's ability to provide meaningful input into city decision making.
• Encouraging participation in city events and programs.
• Promoting awareness of city issues and services.
• Increasing transparency by making city information accessible to a lay audience.
• Keeping city employees informed about the city organization and its work.
• Helping city staff enhance their own communication skills.
• Providing emergency communication support during natural disasters and other incidents.

This position reports to the Communication & Engagement Director who reports directly to the City Manager.

Are we a good fit?
Passion and innovation
We are looking for someone who has a passion for excellence and is truly excited about helping the public connect with their local government. The right candidate will have high standards and appreciate working for an organization that values quality, innovation and value for the taxpayer's dollar. Flexibility, enthusiasm, creativity, diplomacy and attention to detail are all important traits.


Broad experience and skills
On any given day, you will work with engineers, librarians, firefighters, attorneys, camp counselors, accountants, construction managers and other city staff to design and implement effective communication programs. We are looking for a generalist who can quickly come up to speed on technical, complex issues and then know how to convey what is relevant to our community, in plain language.

About Carlsbad
The City of Carlsbad is ideally situated in north San Diego County where a great climate, beautiful beaches, lagoons and abundant open space create the ideal California experience. City government serves 115,000 residents and a diverse business community by providing high quality services, including dedicated public safety personnel, well-maintained city parks, 67 miles of city trails and three city-run libraries.

The City of Carlsbad is committed to maintaining its small-town beach community character as it continues to grow. An award-winning growth management plan has helped ensure infrastructure has kept pace with new development, while protecting the city's financial health. Carlsbad has an AAA credit rating, one of the best funded pensions in the region and healthy reserves.


Looking ahead, Carlsbad is planning for the future, guided by a 5-Year Strategic Plan focused on:

• Quality of life and safety
• Community character
• Sustainability and the natural environment
• A thriving economy
• Organizational excellence and fiscal health

You belong in Carlsbad

The City of Carlsbad embraces diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace and recognizes the vital relationship of a culturally diverse, engaged work environment and innovative excellence. A diverse, equitable and inclusive work climate comprises personal experiences, values and views shaped for differences of culture and circumstance. Our organization appreciates belonging, creativity, recognition and retention of its employees and is committed to hiring and developing motivated, productive and talented employees who provide services and enhance our quality of life. We work to embrace open and equitable access to opportunities for learning and development as our responsibility and goal.

Hybrid work schedule
This position will offer the flexibility of a hybrid schedule working in-person at the office as well as working remotely.

*The Community Relations Manager announcement will remain open until 150 applications are received or until August 6, 2026, at 5:00 p.m., whichever occurs first, after which time the job announcement will be expired.
Key Responsibilities

• Develop communication goals, objectives and strategies.
• Deliver strategic communication guidance to city subject matter experts.
• Promote community awareness through communication strategies including informational materials and traditional and digital media.
• Serve as a media liaison (and media spokesperson when needed), working with the media on stories about city issues, services, programs and events.
• Develop and execute plans to communicate with internal and external audiences during emergencies, serving as a member of the Emergency Operating Center or spokesperson as needed. Participate in planning and training for these incidents.
• Develop scripts and work with professional videographers to create content about the topic of interest to the community.
• Plan and execute special events such as groundbreakings, ribbon-cuttings and community meetings.
• Represent the city at meetings and make presentations as required.
• Oversee graphic design, including providing content and working with professional graphic designers to create informational materials, in accordance with citywide brand guidelines.
• Develop and oversee project budgets and contracts with consultants.

Qualifications

Knowledge of principles and practices of:

• Strategic communication, outreach, public relations and marketing.
• Media relations, including news releases and news conferences.
• Community engagement and public participation.
• Associated Press writing style.

• Philosophy, principles and practices of programming and special events.
• Supervisory principles and practices, including training and evaluation of employees.
• Digital communication, including social media, websites, video photography and graphic design.
• Organization, administration and budgeting.

Ability to:

• Interface as a consultant with all levels of the organization.
• Plan and implement effective and measurable communication programs
• Exercise good judgment, flexibility, creativity and sensitivity in response to changing situations and needs.
• Communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing.
• Coordinate and manage a number of projects simultaneously using effective time management and problem-solving techniques.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with a variety of customers, staff and community members contacted during the course of work.
• Work independently and follow through on assignments with minimal direction.
• Work well under pressure to meet deadlines.

Experience & Education

Any combination equivalent to the experience and education that could likely provide the required knowledge and abilities would qualify. A typical way to obtain the skills and abilities would be:

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with major course work in communication, journalism, public relations, public administration, English, marketing, business administration or a related field.
• Five years of progressively responsible experience in communications, marketing, public information or a related field.