CLOSING DATE:  Open Until Filled

WHO WE ARE
Montgomery County Recreation is a nationally recognized and award-winning agency committed to providing high quality, diverse and accessible programs, services and facilities that enhance the quality of life for all ages, cultures and abilities. The department manages 39 facilities including recreation centers, senior centers and indoor and outdoor aquatic facilities and provides thousands of programs such as out-of-school activities, aquatics, classes, youth and adult sports programs and leagues, senior programs, and therapeutic recreation.
 
WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR
The Department is seeking dynamic and experienced full-time Communications Program Manager, whose creativity and knowledge can be demonstrated in a wide range of services. This position is responsible for designing, developing, managing, organizing and coordinating comprehensive marketing, communications and public outreach plan for the Department of Recreation, which serves the more than one million residents of Montgomery County. This position requires work on some nights and weekends.

Recreation is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals and values diverse perspectives, lived experiences and cultures. Recreation encourages BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color), immigrants, women, LGBTQIA+, individuals with disabilities and veterans to apply. Bilingual candidates are also encouraged to apply!

The expected Salary Range for this role is $77,629 - $101,103

The position is responsible for creating and executing a comprehensive plan to achieve high customer engagement, improved customer experience and strong advocacy of the Department.

• Design, develop, coordinate and execute communications plan; serving as the point of contact for the media; writing press releases, talking points, and media advisories; and other communications functions.
• Oversight, editing and approval of all graphic requests. 
• Design, develop, coordinate and execute effective marketing plan to promote recreation programs, classes, activities, services and special events.
• Oversight of website maintenance and development, content creation, editing, ensuring site is accurate and up to date.
• Oversight of the department's social media accounts and crafting responses to customer questions/comments.
• Oversight of content creation, including video projects.
• Supervisory responsibilities.
• Providing emergency communication for inclement weather and other emergency incidents. 
• Research and respond to Maryland Public Information Act requests.
• Provides support to the community outreach specialists. 
• Responsible for ordering promotional items.

Experience: Thorough five years professional experience in public communications/outreach and/or multimedia presentations.
Education: Graduation from an accredited college or university with a bachelor’s degree.
Equivalency: An equivalent combination of education an experience may be substituted.

There are preferred criteria for this position. Applicants will be required to answer additional questions when filling out their application.  

• Knowledge of marketing and outreach strategies and best practices. 
• Experience working with the media.
• Experience establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with individuals, groups, organizations and/or government agencies to promote activities, programs and services.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office 365 and VSI/RecTrac or other recreational and/or Oracle-based registration system.
• Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite applications. 
• Experience with content management systems, website maintenance. 
• Knowledge of social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube), scheduling tools and pulling analytics. 
• Skilled writer with proficiency in AP Style.
• Experience developing innovative solutions to reach communities of diverse backgrounds and needs.
• Supervisory experience.
• Candidates with bachelor’s degrees in communications, public relations, or related fields are preferred.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

The Office of Human Resources (OHR) reviews the minimum qualifications of all applicants, irrespective of whether the candidate has previously been found to have met the minimum requirements for the job or been temporarily promoted to the same position. This evaluation is based solely on the information contained in the application/resume submitted for this specific position.

Montgomery County Government(MCG)  is an equal opportunity employer, committed to workforce diversity. Accordingly, as it relates to employment opportunities, the County will provide reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, in accordance with the law. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should email OHR at OHR@montgomerycountymd.gov. Individual determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made in accordance with all applicable laws.

MCG also provides hiring preference to certain categories of veterans and veterans/persons with a disability. For more information and to claim employment preference, refer to the Careers webpage on Hiring Preference.

All applicants will respond to a series of questions related to their education, relevant experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities required to minimally perform the job. The applicant's responses in conjunction with their resume and all other information provided in the employment application process will be evaluated to determine the minimum qualifications and preferred criteria or interview preference status. Based on the results, the highest qualified applicants will be placed on an Eligible List and may be considered for an interview. Employees meeting minimum qualifications who are the same grade will be placed on the Eligible List as a "Lateral Transfer" candidate and may be considered for an interview.

This will establish an Eligible List that may be used to fill both current and future vacancies.

If selected for consideration for this position, you may be required to provide evidence that you possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities indicated on your resume.

Montgomery County Ethics Law: Except as provided by law or regulation, the County's "Public Employees" (which does not include employees of the Sheriff's office) are subject to the County's ethics law including the requirements to obtain advanced approval of any outside employment and the prohibitions on certain outside employment. The outside employment requirements of the ethics law can be found at 19A-12 of the County Code. Additional information about outside employment can be obtained from the Ethics Commission website.

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