Community Engagement Specialist - Social Media Manager

Statement of Duties:Working within the Communications and Community Engagement (CCE) Department and reporting to the Director of CCE, the Community Engagement Specialist/Social Media Manager’s (CES/SMM) core responsibilities are to coordinate both in person and online information sharing and engagement opportunities for the community. This includes in person work such as coordinating the City Hall Neighborhood and virtual meetings series, the City’s annual Civic Day event, and other community meetings or events. Central to the role is also the direct management of the City’s main social media feeds and oversight and support of social media use by all other City departments. The CES/SMM serves as a connector for community engagement and outreach efforts of all departments (e.g., convening CESs from all departments to share best practices). Finally, as a key member of the Communications team, the CES/SMM supports CCE’s continual integration of new, useful, and equitable communication and engagement methods, and supports the full range of communications functions as needed including but not limited to support for emergency communications, help coordinating multilingual communications, public announcements, newsletter content, constituent correspondence, and overall content creation (print and digital), etc. Employee is required to perform all similar or related duties.Essential Functions:The essential functions or duties listed below are intended only as illustrations of the various type of work that may be performed. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related, or a logical assignment to the position.Social Media Management

Monitor, manage, and moderate the City’s main social media feeds; respond to constituent comments with accurate information researched as needed; create and post shareable materials and images.

Oversee social media use by all other City departments: train new staff, maintain protocols and access, provide oversight monitoring, and apprise staff of changing trends and best practices.

Strategize and execute digital outreach and gather, analyze, and report on data on results/reach.

Manage and carryout intensive social media support during emergencies.

Stay abreast of changing technologies and best practices, propose the integration of new social media and digital engagement tools or analog approaches as appropriate, develop equitable outreach efforts, and learn and share new tools with departmental and citywide staff as relevant.

City Hall Neighborhood Series, Civic Engagement Meetings, and Event Coordination

Organize all aspects of, prepare presentations, and host regularly occurring neighborhood meetings and civic meet-ups for the City’s seven wards, as well as occasional in-person and virtual community meetings for other needs.

Facilitate meetings for 25-500+ residents, present information, answer questions, and coordinate participation from other key city staff and officials including the Mayor, the Aldermen, city staff, and residents.

Coordinate the City’s annual Civic Day event.

Deploy new technologies and non-digital approaches to expand equitable access.

Maintain the Neighborhood Meeting program as a multi-faceted resource to residents to connect with City officials and staff and acquire information about City programs, initiatives, news, data, challenges, and opportunities to engage in City discussions, planning, and decision-making.

Community Engagement

Through outreach via social media and other various methods and innovative programs, work to maintain an ongoing dialogue between the community and the Mayor, the Mayor’s Office, and City staff.

Assist with the production and promotion of the City e-newsletter.

Gather input, feedback, concerns and requests from the community and community stakeholders to share with appropriate staff and the Mayor’s Office to aid in developing and adapting City services and policies to meet the needs and priorities of the community.

Maintain thorough and detailed familiarity with citywide FAQs and provide residents answers to a broad range of City-related questions via a variety of means: in person, online responses, written responses, etc.

Support community engagement efforts of departments citywide by convening staff to share best practices and through social media support.

Communications duties for community:

Prepare oral and written communications for the community including emergency and community alerts, website or newsletter content, fliers, press releases, brochures, emails, graphics, and potentially radio and City Cable TV content.

As needed help develop and lead comprehensive communications plans for specific programs/initiatives/community information.

Find innovative communications solutions whether high- or low-tech to make sure information on City services, programs and news equitably reaches all segments of the Somerville community.

Event coordination and social sharing:

In addition to the Neighborhood Meetings series and annual Civic Day, assist or support the coordination of occasional informational, community, and cultural events including seasonal/holiday events, ceremonies, celebrations, or info sessions.

Attend and document events for social sharing via photos, posts, short video clips.

Minimum QualificationsEducation and Experience: Bachelor’s Degree and three (3) years experience; or any equivalent combination of education, training and experience which provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the essential functions of the job.Knowledge, Abilities and SkillKnowledge: Excellent knowledge of grammar and usage. Good knowledge of and strong interest in local government. Strong understanding of and talent for community-oriented social media and new media. Facility with outreach and engagement strategies. Thorough understanding of the components of quality constituent service and community relations.Ability: Ability to meet and serve the public effectively and appropriately; ability to handle problems and emergencies effectively; ability to flex to take on unexpected tasks as they arise; ability to communicate clearly, both orally and in writing; ability to maintain confidential information; ability to maintain, manage, and organize records; ability to maintain professional collaboration with City employees, City officials and members of the general public; ability to juggle multiple assignments and to meet deadlines; ability to inspire interest and engagement via compelling communication and effective outreach; comfortable recording mass notification messages.Skill: Excellent organizational skills; superior social media skills, web content development skills, and interpersonal skills; effective meeting facilitation skills; excellent writing skills and instinct for appropriate formats for varied needs; unfailing skill in researching and communicating accurate information; comfortable with social media analytics; ease with creative thinking, idea generation, brainstorming; competent in the use of personal computers and office software including word processing, spreadsheet applications, e-newsletter software, design software, document sharing, basic HTML and, social media management tools, etc.Work EnvironmentThe work environment involves everyday discomforts typical of offices, with occasional exposure to outside elements. Noise or physical surroundings may be distracting, but conditions are generally not unpleasant. Employee may be required to work beyond normal business hours in response to attend evening meetings or complete work assignments.Physical and Mental RequirementsThe physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the position’s essential functions.Physical SkillsMinimal physical demands are required to perform the work. Work effort principally involves sitting to perform work tasks, with intermittent periods of stooping, walking, and standing. There may also be some occasional lifting of objects such as office equipment or photocopy paper (up to 30lbs.). When in the field, more physical skill may be required to accomplish the duties required.Motor SkillsDuties are largely mental rather than physical, but the job may occasionally require minimal motor skills for activities such as moving objects, operating a telephone, personal computer and/or most other office equipment including word processing, filing and sorting of papers.Visual SkillsVisual demands require constantly reading documents for general understanding and analytical purposes.Hours: Full-TimeSalary: $97,418.89 annualized, plus benefitsUnion: Non-UnionFLSA: ExemptDate Posted: May 23, 2024City of Somerville residents are especially encouraged to apply.The City of Somerville is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, age, national origin, disability or any other protected category. Women, minorities, veterans, and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply. Auxiliary aids and services, written materials in alternative formats, and reasonable modifications in policies and procedures will be provided to qualified individuals with disabilities free of charge, upon request. Persons with disabilities who need auxiliary aids and services for effective communication (i.e., CART, ASL), written materials in alternative formats, or reasonable modifications in policies and procedures in order to access the programs, activities, and meetings of the City of Somerville should please contact Adrienne Pomeroy at 617-625-6600 x 2059 or apomeroy@somervillema.gov.Pre-Employment Requirements for All Employees:

MA Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) clearance

Completition of Conflict-of-Interest Law Education training for municipal employees

Overview of Total Rewards:

4 weeks annual vacation (for non-union positions) union positions vary by contract

Medical insurance through the Group Insurance Commission (GIC) - 80% of premium costs paid by City

Dental coverage low and high plans through Cigna

Vision care through Vision Service Plan (VSP)

Long term disability through Sun Life

Group and voluntary life insurance through Boston Mutual

Health Care and Dependent Care flexible spending through Benefit Strategies

Deferred compensation plans through a choice of three vendors

Free, confidential services through the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provided by E4Health

Annual cancer screening & wellness release

Somerville Retirement Pension System

Tuition reimbursement

MBTA pass program

FREE Blue Bikes membership

Eligible employer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF)

Benefits listed are for benefits-eligible positions and the above information is meant to be a general overview of the benefit programs offered by the City of Somerville and not a binding contract.Powered by JazzHR