What are the responsibilities and job description for the Communication Specialist/ Website Administrator position at Washington County, MN?
JOB SPECIFICS
The Washington County Office of Administration is seeking a collaborative professional to join our team as a Communications Specialist and Website Administrator. In this role, you will partner with departments across the organization to guide and support effective content presentation, formatting, information architecture, and ADA compliance for the Washington County website.
The primary responsibility is leading the county’s external website, www.washingtoncountymn.gov, using the content management system, Civic Plus; this tool does not require custom coding. This position provides expertise and training to staff on preparing website content that meets multiple objectives, including clear writing style, logical organization and layout, effective use of graphics, and accessibility standards.
The Communications Specialist/ Website Administrator will develop and communicate website content guidelines, ensuring consistency and best practices in digital communications across departments.
Depending on skills and strengths, the position will take on a variety of additional communications responsibilities outlined in the job description and will function as an active member of the communications team, contributing to broader county communication strategies and initiatives.
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Stakeholder Communication & Training
Develop and deliver UX/UI-focused training for non-technical department staff and managers. Translate design and web concepts into clear, practical guidance for diverse audiences. Create user-friendly documentation and resources that promote website best practices and accessibility standards.
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Project Prioritization & Stakeholder Management
Balance and prioritize website requests and projects from multiple departments while maintaining a strong focus on user needs and experience. Communicate clearly about design decisions, project timelines, and expectations. Provide leadership in identifying and resolving website errors, offering guidance and solutions for staff who manage backend content. -
Leadership & Relationship Building
Lead the implementation and ongoing management of the county’s website governance plan to ensure content standards, accessibility, and consistency are maintained. Foster strong working relationships with leadership, colleagues, and cross-departmental partners, and collaborate effectively with team members from diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise.
SELECTION TECHNIQUE: Your training and experience will be rated based on the required application material submitted and the top scoring candidates will be forwarded to the hiring department for further consideration.
HOURS / DAYS: Monday through Friday 8:00am-4:30pm. Hybrid schedule available up to 2 days/week. After hours or on-call may be occasionally needed. Work schedules (hours and days) and location are subject to change based on department needs.
E-Verify Participation:Washington County participates in the federal E-Verify program. This means that Washington County will provide the Social Security Administration (SSA) and, if necessary, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), with information from each new employee's Form I-9 to confirm work authorization. If the Government cannot confirm that you are authorized to work, Washington County is required to give you written instructions and an opportunity to contact DHS and/or the SSA before taking adverse action against you, including terminating your employment. Employers may not use E-Verify to pre-screen job applicants and may not limit or influence the choice of documents you present for use on the Form I-9.
E- Verify Participation Poster
Right to work Poster
JOB SUMMARY
A communications specialist develops and maintains a unified internal and external voice for programs within a department through various communication media in collaboration with overall county communication. The work involves planning, coordinating, and implementing communications projects and activities with internal and external stakeholders. Activities can vary from designing and implementing communications, marketing plans and campaigns, promoting assigned programs, evaluating and analyzing communications efforts with community partners, interpreting data, and developing measurements related communication effectiveness.
EMPLOYMENT CRITERIA
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
Bachelor's Degree in Communications, Marketing, Public Relations, English, Journalism, or related discipline AND three years experience in a communications environment – public relations, marketing, media, graphic design or mass communication ; or equivalent.
A background check is required. A driver's license is required.
Core Competencies outline essential business and professional traits necessary to perform this job.
- Promotes a diverse, culturally competent, and respectful workplace;
- Demonstrated knowledge of marketing and public relations techniques, and social media trends.
- Demonstrated knowledge of Microsoft Office software including Word, Excel, Power Point, Publisher, Outlook and SharePoint, and HTML and web content publishing and management applications.
- Demonstrated ability to effectively develop, implement, and evaluate communication plans. Strong oral and written communication skills; ability to write in a variety of formats and to wide array of audiences.
- Demonstrated ability to prioritize and manage multiple projects simultaneously.
- Demonstrated ability to work independently and as an effective team member in a professional setting.
DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES
- Create, oversee and collaborate with staff on communication plans and communication approaches for various topics and audiences; ensure communication is in accordance with county policy guidelines
- Write, edit, prepare and produce a variety of communication messages including but not limited to media relations, community relations, social media, news releases, talking points, fact pages, email messages, list serves, presentations, web pages, marketing and media research, media planning, audio/video presentations, or displays
- Prepare presentation materials and coach staff for presentations, public meetings, and media interviews
- Work with appropriate vendors in the design and printing of publications, online and print advertising, contracted photography and video; manage consultant/contractor communications contracts in coordination with project managers
- Interview employees, stakeholders and community partners to write feature stories, testimonials and program newsletters for internal and external audiences
- Monitor and evaluate effectiveness of communication strategies, ensure message accuracy, analyze and make communication strategy recommendations
- Provide appropriate annual department budget recommendations to carry out communication plans
- Work with internal and external community partners on messages and tool development through meeting facilitation, focus groups or key informant interviews.
- Monitor county web pages for content accuracy and up to date information; identifies areas for improved optimization on related search engines
- Develop and communicate web writing style guidelines and standards, presentation guidelines, and ADA accessibility standards
- Monitor and evaluate web services and content through usage reports, surveys and customer feedback and inquires. Provide recommendations to improve website usage
- Photograph events as needed
- Perform other duties as assigned
WORK ENVIRONMENT
Work is sedentary in nature performed within the Government Center or satellite offices. There is a lifting requirement of 15 - 20 pounds on an occasional basis. There may be frequent wrist and finger manipulation due to high concentration of filing, compiling, calculating, or computer work. No special physical effort or ability is required to perform the work. Most work is performed in a normal office environment.
Additional physical/mental requirements that occur may not be listed above, but are inherent in performing the position's essential functions.
This job description is intended to describe the kinds of tasks and level of work difficulty being performed by people assigned to this classification. The list of responsibilities is not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified. The County retains the discretion to add or change the contents of this job description at any time.
Salary : $31