Press Secretary

About The Campaign Finance Board

The Campaign Finance Board is a nonpartisan, independent city agency that empowers New Yorkers to have a greater impact on their elections. Our mission is to make local democracy more open, transparent, and equitable by removing barriers to participation. We make it easier for New Yorkers to vote, meaningfully support candidates for city office, and run for office themselves. NYC Votes, our voter engagement initiative, meets people where they are to share trustworthy election information and help New Yorkers participate. We publish the citywide Voter Guide, which delivers information about candidates directly to voters’ doors. Our public matching funds program ensures small contributions can make a big difference, allowing regular people to run for office by relying on the support of other regular people, not just wealthy donors and special interests. And we lift the veil on how candidates raise and spend money, increasing transparency and accountability in local government.

We believe that when every New Yorker is empowered to participate meaningfully in elections, candidates will better reflect the communities they serve, elected leaders will be more accountable to the public, and New Yorkers will have a democracy they can truly trust.

About The Department

The Public Affairs division engages New Yorkers, informs them about elections, and boosts their participation in the democratic process. We make election information accessible and relevant, increase engagement with underrepresented communities, and cultivate a team that reflects our core values of purpose, curiosity, creativity, and collaboration. The division includes Marketing and Digital Communications, Partnerships and Outreach, Language Access, and Public Relations. Our division’s work includes publishing the citywide Voter Guide, running the official citywide Debates Program, and managing the voter engagement initiative NYC Votes. Within Public Affairs, the Public Relations team leads messaging and strategy for internal and external communications and oversees the citywide Debates program as well as Board meetings and other events.

Job Description

The NYC Campaign Finance Board seeks a Press Secretary to serve as the CFB’s lead spokesperson and execute the agency’s media relations strategy. Reporting to the Director of Public Relations, the Press Secretary will work closely with reporters to fulfill incoming requests (including through Freedom of Information Law, or FOIL, and through the CFB’s online Follow the Money and Campaign Finance Summary tools) and shape and secure earned media coverage for the CFB, its voter engagement initiative NYC Votes, and signature programs including the matching funds program and citywide debates program.

The ideal candidate will bring deep knowledge of NYC politics and the local political media landscape, strong relationship building skills, honed political instincts and professional judgment, and experience with fast-paced, mission-driven communications. They will be comfortable appearing on-camera and in other on-the-record media interviews and adept at preparing other spokespeople for their own media appearances and public speaking responsibilities. The person in this role will play a key role in advancing the CFB’s strategic goals to make it easier for New Yorkers to participate meaningfully in their local democracy, whether by casting their vote, supporting their candidate of choice, running for office, or something in between. We’re seeking a candidate who is passionate about politics and local government and who understands the power of effective communication and storytelling to boost participation.

The Press Secretary will also supervise the Assistant Press Secretary, who is responsible for managing the agency’s Community & Ethnic Media strategy and Spanish-language media relations, with an emphasis on amplifying voting and election information to harder-to-reach audiences.

The Press Secretary’s responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Oversee media relations strategy and tactics including drafting messaging and talking points, compiling and sending press releases and advisories, participating in on-the-record and background interviews
• Develop strong relationships with reporters and secure coverage to ensure New Yorkers are well informed about local elections, the city matching funds program, and the spectrum of civic engagement in NYC
• Serve as primary on-the-record spokesperson for the agency
• Respond to all media inquiries
• Develop comprehensive knowledge of the campaign finance program and ensure media coverage of the agency is nuanced and accurate
• Prepare the Executive Director and other spokespeople for public appearances and media interviews
• Represent the Campaign Finance Board in the press, on social media, at public meetings, at conferences and convenings
• Manage the Assistant Press Secretary

ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, ABILITIES & OTHER BEHAVIORS (KSAOs)

• Knowledge of federal, state, and city campaign finance laws and compliance
• Knowledge of best practices for media relations in politics and government
• Knowledge of professional strategic communications
• Knowledge of New York City government
• Knowledge of politics at the national, state, and local level
• Knowledge of campaign finance and voting rights
• Knowledge of NYC’s boroughs, neighborhoods and communities
• Knowledge of principles of nonpartisanship
• Effective communication skills to interact with internal partners, external partners, and the public
• Skill of writing clearly and concisely, journalistically and/or in an organization’s voice
• Skill of public speaking, speaking in soundbites, and giving interviews
• Skill of translating complex topics into plain language
• Skill of staff supervision, delivering feedback and managing staff performance
• Skill of creating written materials targeted at specific audiences
• Skill of time management, project management and delegation
• Ability to learn and understand complex political, legal, administrative, and technical systems
• Ability to teach others to navigate government processes, explain complex programs, and use online tools
• Ability to think creatively about media relations and storytelling
• Ability to think strategically, both internally and externally
• Ability to plan and execute a media relations campaign
• Ability to communicate key messages to a range of diverse audiences
• Ability to build positive, productive relationships with colleagues and journalists
• Ability to collaborate effectively and mobilize staff across functions at all levels within the agency
• Ability to mentor staff and manage up
• High level of emotional intelligence
• Capacity to respond well to unexpected events and rapid-response moments
• Demonstrates a creative approach to achieving goals and problem-solving
• Demonstrates empathy for people across lines of difference
• Demonstrates accountability in achieving results
• Works well with different skill sets and styles
• Works independently and creatively to advance goals and mission
• Demonstrates curiosity in their work

Preferred Qualifications

• 4-6 years’ experience working in politics, advocacy, or government workplaces with core communications responsibilities
• Demonstrated relationships with NYC reporters, particularly reporters on the City Hall or politics beats
• Experience managing direct reports

Minimum Qualifications

• A bachelor’s degree from an accredited college including or supplemented by at least twelve-semester credits (or the equivalent of twelve-semester credits) in accounting, auditing, business or public administration, computer science, economics, finance, statistics, graphic design, personnel or human resources administration, user experience design, or a closely related area of study and one year of satisfactory full-time experience in accounting, auditing (including compliance or investigative auditing), business or public administration, business analysis, computer science, database administration, economics, finance, fiscal or economic management or research, statistics, graphic design, personnel or human resources administration, user experience design, or a closely related field;
• Or a four-year high school diploma or its educational equivalent and five years of experience as described in “1” above;
• Education and/or experience equivalent to “1” above.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness

If you are interested in applying for Public Service Loan Forgiveness, you may be eligible for federal loan forgiveness programs and state repayment assistance programs. For more information, please visit the U.S. Department of Education’s website at https://studentaid.gov/pslf/.

Residency Requirement

New York City residency is generally required within 90 days of appointment. However, City Employees in certain titles who have worked for the City for 2 continuous years may also be eligible to reside in Nassau, Suffolk, Putnam, Westchester, Rockland, or Orange County. To determine if the residency requirement applies to you, please discuss with the agency representative at the time of interview.