Community Relations Director

The Community Relations Director serves as a key member of the Administrative Staff and is responsible for strengthening relationships between the City, its residents, businesses, community organizations, regional partners, and other stakeholders. The position develops and coordinates community engagement initiatives, supports the City’s communications and public outreach efforts, identifies and pursues grant funding opportunities, and assists the City Manager with administrative, strategic, and special-project responsibilities. Working directly under the direction of the City Manager, the Community Relations Director serves as a liaison between the City Manager’s Office and the community and helps ensure that residents, businesses, and community partners receive responsive, professional, and consistent service from the City. The position requires considerable independent judgment, discretion, diplomacy, political awareness, excellent written and verbal communication skills, and the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced municipal environment while maintaining regular communication and alignment with the City Manager. Essential Duties and Responsibilities: Community Relations & Engagement Develops and implements strategies to build positive, productive relationships between the City and its residents, businesses, civic organizations, schools, nonprofit organizations, regional partners, and other stakeholders. Serves as a primary community liaison for the City Manager’s Office. Plans, coordinates, and participates in community meetings, town halls, public forums, outreach events, workshops, and civic activities. Develops opportunities for meaningful two-way communication between the City and the community. Identifies emerging community concerns and communicates relevant issues, trends, and stakeholder feedback to the City Manager. Builds relationships with community leaders, business owners, nonprofit organizations, neighborhood groups, and regional organizations. Represents the City Manager and/or City at community events, meetings, presentations, and other public functions as assigned. Develops programs and initiatives designed to increase community awareness, participation, and engagement with City services and activities. Assists City departments in developing effective approaches for communicating with residents and stakeholders. Grant Development & Administration Researches and identifies federal, state, regional, foundation, and other grant opportunities appropriate for City programs, infrastructure, public safety, parks, economic development, community development, and other municipal priorities. Coordinates with City departments to identify potential projects and funding needs. Develops, writes, edits, and submits grant applications, proposals, letters of support, and related funding documents. Maintains a calendar and tracking system for grant opportunities, application deadlines, reporting requirements, and awards. Coordinates with City staff, consultants, regional agencies, and funding organizations throughout the grant process. Assists with grant administration, including required reporting, documentation, compliance, and closeout activities. Develops grant-related presentations and briefing materials for the City Manager and City Council. Monitors awarded grants to ensure compliance with applicable requirements. Maintains organized records of grant applications, awards, expenditures, reports, and correspondence. Develops relationships with grant-making agencies and other funding partners. Advises the City Manager regarding potential funding opportunities and the feasibility of pursuing specific grants. Administrative Support to the City Manager Provides direct administrative and professional support to the City Manager. Assists the City Manager with special projects, strategic initiatives, research, analysis, and community-related assignments. Conducts research and prepares summaries, reports, presentations, briefing materials, correspondence, and other documents for the City Manager. Assists with preparation for City Council meetings, workshops, retreats, presentations, community meetings, and other executive-level activities. Tracks assignments and projects directed by the City Manager and coordinates follow-up with appropriate departments. Assists in coordinating cross-departmental projects and initiatives at the direction of the City Manager. Reviews information and prepares recommendations or options for consideration by the City Manager. Assists with constituent and stakeholder inquiries referred to the City Manager’s Office. Maintains confidentiality regarding sensitive City Manager’s Office, personnel, legal, financial, and community matters. Serves as a liaison between the City Manager’s Office and City departments when assigned. Assists the City Manager in preparing for meetings with elected officials, community leaders, developers, business representatives, regional partners, and other stakeholders. Performs special assignments and projects as directed by the City Manager. Communications & Public Information Supports the development and implementation of City communications and community information strategies. Assists with communicating City programs, projects, services, initiatives, accomplishments, and priorities to the public. Drafts newsletters, website content, community updates, presentations, talking points, public notices, and other informational materials. Works collaboratively with the City's communications/public information personnel, when applicable, to ensure consistent messaging. Helps translate complex municipal issues into clear, accessible information for residents and stakeholders. Assists in developing communication strategies for major projects, public initiatives, emergencies, and issues of significant community interest. Monitors community feedback and public sentiment and communicates significant trends or concerns to the City Manager. Economic & Business Relations Develops and maintains relationships with local businesses, property owners, chambers of commerce, economic development organizations, and other business stakeholders. Promotes local business engagement and participation in City initiatives. Supports business retention, recruitment, and community development initiatives as assigned. Coordinates with City staff and external partners on events and initiatives that support the local business community. Intergovernmental & Regional Relations Develops professional relationships with county, state, regional, and other governmental agencies and organizations. Represents the City at regional meetings and professional or intergovernmental organizations as assigned. Assists the City Manager with coordination and communication involving regional partners. Monitors regional initiatives, programs, legislation, funding opportunities, and issues that may affect the City. Assists with preparing correspondence and other materials related to intergovernmental relations. Customer & Stakeholder Experience Promotes a culture of responsive, professional, and courteous customer service throughout the organization. Identifies opportunities to improve the public's experience when interacting with the City. Assists in identifying recurring customer or stakeholder concerns and works with departments to address systemic issues. Helps establish and maintain standards for professional communication and community responsiveness. Collects and evaluates community feedback to identify opportunities for improvement. Other Duties Attends evening and weekend meetings and community events as required. May serve on internal committees, task forces, or project teams. May assist with emergency communications or emergency operations responsibilities as assigned. Maintains professional knowledge of municipal government practices, community engagement, grant programs, communications, and applicable laws and regulations. Performs other duties and special projects as assigned by the City Manager. Minimum Qualifications: Education: Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in public administration, communications, public relations, political science, business administration, nonprofit management, community development, or a related field. Experience: Three to five years of progressively responsible experience in municipal government, public administration, communications, community engagement, grant writing/administration, public relations, economic development, nonprofit administration, or a related field. Preferred Qualifications: Experience working in a Texas municipal government. Experience working directly with a City Manager, Deputy/Assistant City Manager, elected officials and community stakeholders. Experience coordinating community engagement programs. Experience with public-sector communications or public information Demonstrated success in grant writing and securing public or private grant funding. Ability to: Establish and maintain effective relationships with residents, businesses, elected officials, City employees, community organizations, and governmental agencies. Write compelling, clear, and professional grant applications and public communications. Exercise sound judgment and discretion when dealing with sensitive or politically sensitive issues. Work independently while maintaining close coordination with the City Manager. Research complex issues and summarize information for executive decision-making. Manage multiple projects and deadlines simultaneously. Communicate effectively with individuals from diverse backgrounds and perspectives. Facilitate meetings and public discussions. Represent the City professionally in public and private settings. Handle confidential and sensitive information appropriately. Work collaboratively across departments and organizational boundaries. Remain calm and professional in difficult or high-pressure situations. #J-18808-Ljbffr