Public Safety Information Officer

Description

THE POSITION – PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER

Albemarle County is looking for its next Public Information Officer to serve the Albemarle County public safety departments’ PIO and communications needs. The position provides incident communications support for the Police and Fire Rescue Departments and our regional emergency response team. This person thrives in a fast-paced environment, loves telling stories to highlight public service in the community, is comfortable working with the media (on- and off-camera), and has a demonstrated ability to produce in-house marketing materials.

Day-to-day work includes marketing, public relations, and communications across social media, press releases, web, and print using video, audio, and graphics; supports planning and execution of community-based events and activities; participates in planning and staffing local and regional emergency operations. This position responds to incidents and inquiries during and outside of regular business hours, assists with on-scene media interaction, drafts public safety messages, statements, and press releases, and conducts and coordinates live and recorded interviews, working within the incident command structure.

The Public Information Officer will also work with staff on training and tools for interacting with the media and analyze how our organization can better reach our growing and changing community. The PIO will also study our public safety communications and public engagement footprint and analyze how we can be inclusive and equitable in our communications.

The Communications & Public Engagement Office is a dynamic team, at the center of public safety and local government happenings.

– Creates compelling multimedia content
– Work with staff teams to develop communications plans for important community projects
– Implement communications plan across a variety of platforms, including social, web, and print
– Support the County’s communications platforms, including social media and newsletters
– Support events, including media briefings, community outreach, and others

Job Duties

Essential functions include, but are not limited to:

– Conduct and coordinate interviews on behalf of and with the Police Department, our combination volunteer/career Fire Rescue Department, and our regional emergency operations
– Ability to provide professional, concise, and visually pleasing communications across a variety of platforms, for internal and external audiences
– Create short and long-form videos, shooting and editing interviews, b-roll
– Social media marketing, including short video editing, graphic design
– Capable of working with staff teams, local, regional, and state public safety agencies, and the general public
– Research and write content for press releases, e-newsletters, and other social media platforms
– Track and analyze key metrics
– Perform other duties as assigned

TOOLS UTILIZED:

– Software: Adobe Creative Suite, MS Office, Canva
– Social: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
– Constant Contact

Skills Required

KEY ATTRIBUTES OF THE IDEAL CANDIDATE

– Thrives in a fast-paced, high-pressure environment
– Communicates complex information in an accessible way for the average person through compelling visuals, audio, and video
– Comfortable with on-camera interviews
– Always willing to learn new tools
– Detail-oriented
– Passionate for public safety
– Cares about the community
– Ability to function in a deadline-driven environment and to make effective decisions in a timely manner, sometimes with incomplete information and under tight deadlines and pressure
– Experience with law enforcement, fire rescue, and/or emergency management a plus
– Experience with journalism a plus