Communications and Outreach Specialist

Knoxville-Knox County Planning (Planning) is looking for a creative and motivated individual to grow with our team of dedicated, community-oriented professionals. We’re offering a position on our communications team, a small group that helps elevate the work of Planning’s three divisions: Planning Services, Transportation Planning, and Information Services.

Our priority is finding the right person who will thrive on our team. The successful candidate may have previous experience in planning, government, or nonprofit work, as well as community engagement. This individual will also have a balance of creative and technical skills to effectively communicate complex ideas and information to help engage the public and agency partners. It is important that this person has strong written and oral communications skills, is detail oriented, has a strong work ethic and team attitude, can manage multiple tasks and projects, and can exercise independent judgement.

A regular day in this position might involve issuing a press release related to a major agency project, sending newsletter updates related to our work, collaborating with teammates on the review of a draft report, producing content for various social media accounts, promoting an upcoming community meeting, and working with colleagues on updating content for the agency website.

Our workplace is modern and equipped with the latest hardware and software tools to help you be a successful contributor. You will work in a vibrant, growing, transitioning downtown setting and live in a community with abundant, world-class natural amenities, a major research university, and wealth of outdoor and urban activities, southern history, and national events for cycling, mountain-biking, fishing, and other pursuits. Worksite training and formal education opportunities are also available to help you expand your skills and remain current in the field's best practices.

Work-life balance is understood, appreciated, and valued.

Typical job duties include:

Write newsletters and media releases
Plan and share social media content
Collaborate on branding initiatives and communication strategies
Provide content for agency and project websites
Assist with content management of agency websites, though no previous experience is required
Organize and attend community meetings
Work with staff to ensure projects include community input
Create educational materials and presentations
Review content of staff publications
Work with local media

Skills we are looking for:

Creative thinking
Positive attitude
High level of personal accountability
Commitment to public service and community involvement
Excellent communication skills, both oral and written
Detail oriented, well organized, and able to manage multiple responsibilities
Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with staff, public officials, media, and the public
Knowledge of social media outlets and ability to remain current with changing technologies
Intermediate ability to use content management applications, spreadsheets, and word processing software

Minimum qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree in communications, marketing, public administration, public relations, or closely related field.

Starting salary and benefits:

$48,000+

Starting salary is commensurate with experience.

Our benefits package includes medical, dental, and vision insurance, life insurance, retirement with employer match, 13 paid holidays, family leave, and accrued annual and sick leave.

How to apply:

Please visit knoxplanning.org/about/careers for instructions on how to apply.

Knoxville-Knox County Planning

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Outreach and Communications Specialist