Statement of Duties

The Emergency Communications Public Information Officer (ECPIO) is responsible for the management, coordination, and delivery of accurate, timely, accessible information to the public and media during emergency and crisis situations, and also supports all-hazards preparedness messaging and materials development and delivery. Work across departments and with the full Communications Department to meet critical capacity needs for preparedness, emergency, and multilingual emergency communications and support full team readiness for emergency events and enhanced coordination with Public Safety and Emergency Response staff. The ECPIO will create emergency response messaging templates and plans and coordinate with various emergency response agencies.

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.

Performs emergency communications duties including but not limited to:

1. Communication Strategy:

• Develop and implement effective communication strategies and plans to provide accurate and timely information during emergencies.
• Collaborate with relevant stakeholders to establish communication protocols and standard operating procedures for crisis situations.
• Create and maintain a multi-lingual crisis communication toolkit, including template library, FAQs, and key messaging.

2. Public Information Dissemination:

• Develop and maintain a comprehensive understanding of the organization's emergency response plans, procedures, and resources.
• Develop and utilize various traditional communication channels (including SMS, email, reverse 911 alerts, websites, social media, press conferences, and public meetings) as well as alternative channels designed to reach hard-to-reach populations (in-language radio, community partner and house of worship info networks, organizational contact lists, phone banking capacities, messaging groups such as WhatsAp, etc.) to disseminate vital information to the public including vulnerable hard-to-reach persons in a clear, concise, accurate, and actionable manner.
• Coordinate with internal departments including Fire, Police, Emergency Management, Health and Human Services, Inspectional Services, and others to gather, verify, and disseminate accurate information regarding emergencies, evacuations, safety measures, and other relevant updates.

3. Media Relations for Enhanced Community Outreach:

• Serve as a spokesperson, or support the designated spokesperson, for the organization during emergency situations, liaising with the media to provide updates and respond to inquiries.
• With the support of the Communications and multilingual services staff/SomerViva Office of Immigrant Affairs, prepare and distribute plain language press releases, media advisories, community messaging, and other communications materials to ensure consistent, accessible, and accurate emergency and preparedness messaging.

4. Crisis Monitoring and Analysis:

• Monitor media coverage, social media platforms, and other relevant sources to identify emerging issues, concerns, or misinformation related to the emergency.
• Conduct regular analysis and evaluation of communication efforts to identify areas for improvement and adjust strategies accordingly.
• Prepare post-event reports summarizing the effectiveness of communication activities and provide recommendations for future enhancements.

5. Training and Preparedness:

• Conduct training sessions and workshops for staff members and key stakeholders on crisis communication protocols, media engagement, and public information dissemination.
• Collaborate with emergency management personnel, and where appropriate also community partners, to develop and conduct drills and exercises to test the effectiveness of communication strategies and preparedness plans.
• Stay updated on industry best practices, emerging trends, and new technologies related to emergency public information and crisis communication.

6. Mass Communication:

• Serve as the departmental point person for the City’s mass communication alert system, supporting training, overseeing and supporting regular usage, and developing and maintaining protocols.
• Partner with Public Safety and Emergency staff to develop and maintain mass communication protocols.
• Stay updated on FEMA best practices for alert messaging content and systems to support timely messaging.

Minimum Qualifications

Education and Experience: Bachelor’s degree in communications, public relations, journalism, or a related field. Advanced degrees or certifications in emergency management or crisis communication preferred. Four to seven (4 to 7) 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 Skill

Knowledge: Knowledge of emergency management principles, protocols, and incident command systems. Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to convey complex information to diverse audiences in a clear, accessible, and concise manner. Strong commitment to equitable, accessible emergency response. Strong media relations skills, including experience in media interviews, press releases, and crisis spokesperson responsibilities.

Ability: Demonstrated ability to work well under pressure, make critical decisions quickly, and effectively manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment. Exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail. Availability to work outside of regular business hours and be on-call during emergencies. Ability to work effectively and maintain good relationships with the public, coworkers, department heads, media contacts, City officials, and diverse community partners; ability to handle problems and emergencies effectively and diplomatically; ability to communicate clearly, both orally and in writing; ability to maintain confidential information; ability to maintain, manage, and organize records; ability to juggle multiple assignments and to meet deadlines.

Skill: Excellent organizational skills; excellent written and verbal communication skills. Superior social media, web content, digital communication skills. Appropriate software application skills such as but not limited to word processing, spreadsheet, basic mapping, social media tools, basic HTML, PowerPoint, Prezi, PhotoShop, Publisher. Bilingual or multilingual language capacities a plus.

Work Environment

The 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 to attend evening meetings or complete work assignments.

Physical and Mental Requirements
The 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 Skills
Few 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. May also be some occasional lifting of objects such as office equipment and computer paper (up to 30 lbs.)

Motor Skills
Duties 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 Skills
Visual demands require constantly reading documents for general understanding and analytical purposes.

Hours: Full-Time
Salary: $81,182.41 annualized, plus benefits
Union: Non-Union
FLSA: Exempt
Date Posted: February 15, 2024

City 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.