Director of Digital Communications

Job Description Summary

Provides visionary leadership for citywide public information, digital media, community and media relations, marketing, web development, graphic design, and internal and external communications. Serves as a strategic advisor to city management on current and long-range communication policies, plans, and practices that impact public relationships. Oversees the Digital Communications Department as the central source for city information, media dissemination, and official communication with city audiences through multimedia platforms. The position supports public awareness of city policies, actions, programs, and events while maintaining effective relationships with key organizations, stakeholders, businesses, visitors, and the media.

Essential Functions

• Serves as the primary communications and public relations advisor to the Mayor, City Council, City Manager, and departments on media strategy, public outreach, marketing campaigns, speeches, talking points, official messaging, and employee communications.
• Directs the City’s media relations and social media programs, including story pitching, press releases, content strategy, policy oversight, and community engagement.
• Oversees the development and management of City communication platforms and materials, including the City website, employee intranet, publications, graphic design, photography, video, advertising to ensure consistent, high-quality content.
• Collaborates and advises departments on effective marketing and outreach strategies, and leads integrated campaigns that promote City services, programs, and initiatives.
• Recruits, develops, supervises, and evaluates Digital Communications staff to foster innovation, accountability, and high-quality customer service.
• Acts as the primary communications and public relations advisor to the Mayor, City Council, City Manager, and departments, guiding crisis communications, media strategy, public outreach, marketing campaigns, executive messaging, and internal communications.

Requirements

• Formal Education/Knowledge: Work requires broad knowledge in a general professional or technical field. Knowledge is normally acquired through four years of college resulting in a Bachelor's degree or equivalent.
• Experience: Minimum seven years of experience in a related field.
• Certifications and Other Requirements: Valid Driver's License.
• Reading: Work requires the ability to read general correspondence, memorandums, reports, and letters at a college level.
• Math: Work requires the ability to perform general math calculations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
• Writing: Work requires the ability to write articles for publication, correspondence, memorandums, and reports at a college level.
• Managerial: Semi-Complex - Work requires managing and monitoring work performance of a department including evaluating program/work objectives and effectiveness, establishing broad organizational goals and realigning work and staffing assignments for the department.
• Budget Responsibility: Moderate - Has responsibility for final approval of a department's budgetary recommendations to a Deputy City Manager/City Manager. Monitors progress toward fiscal objectives and adjusts plans as necessary to reach them.
• Policy/Decision Making: Significant - The employee normally performs the duty assignments within broad parameters defined by general organizational requirements and accepted practices. End results determine effectiveness of job performance. This position independently decides how objectives are achieved and what resources are needed. Typical positions in this category are upper management to executive level jobs.
• Technical Skills: Comprehensive Application - Work requires advanced skills and knowledge in approaches and systems, which affect the design and implementation of major programs, solutions for highly complex issues, and/or processes organization-wide. Independent judgment and decision-making abilities are necessary to apply technical skills effectively.
• Interpersonal/Human Relations Skills: High - Interactions involve overseeing and/or approving final decisions regarding policy development and implementation. This level often involves interaction with others outside the organization or department on key organizational/departmental issues and requires exercising participative management skills, high levels of negotiation, and the ability to reach consensus on complex issues to achieve organizational goals and objectives.

Benefits

• Vacation Leave: 14 days per year, increasing with longevity. Goodyear offers an enhanced vacation benefit of recognizing total years of service under all Arizona public retirement systems for accruing vacation.
• Sick Leave: 12 days per year
• Holidays: 12 paid holidays per year, including one floating holiday the first full pay period of January
• Flexible Holiday: 24 hours per calendar year (prorated based on hire date)
• Health Insurance: Three health plans available to select from at a group rate
• Dental Insurance: Two dental plans available to select from at a group rate
• Vision Insurance: Available at a group rate
• Flexible Spending Accounts: Health Care and Dependent Care accounts available
• Short Term Disability Insurance: City-paid coverage
• Cancer Benefit: City-paid coverage
• Life Insurance: City-paid insurance valued at twice the annual salary ($400,000 maximum); additional life insurance for self and/or dependent is available at employee's cost
• Longevity pay beginning at year six
• Tuition Assistance: $5,250 per calendar year
• Employee Assistance Program
• Onsite wellness center/clinic
• Access to the Goodyear Recreation Center
• Robust employee well-being program
• Free identity theft monitoring and protection with Aura
• 457 Deferred Compensation Plan: 2% city match (employee contributes 1%)
• Retirement Health Savings: $22.50 city contribution (employee contributes $12.50 per pay period)
• Retirement: Arizona State Retirement System (ASRS) Defined Benefit plan with mandatory city and employee contributions currently at 12.00%. Plan includes Long Term Disability Benefit.