Public Affairs Manager; WMS BAND 1

Public Affairs Manager WMS BAND 1

NOTE: The hiring authority reserves the right to offer the position at any time after the required posting period, and during the recruitment process. It is to the applicant's advantage to apply as early as possible.

The position’s assigned duty workstation is located at: 1500 Jefferson St. Olympia, WA.

This position is eligible for hybrid work with most daily work remote but must be able to come to the Olympia location on an as needed basis. This position requires the incumbent to be available on evenings and weekends to support the communication, public relations, and emergency response needs of the agency.

The Department of Enterprise Services (DES) provides centralized business services to state government agencies; to other public entities such as cities, counties and tribes; and to Washington residents. DES’ mission is to strengthen the business of government for a sustainable and just future. Learn more about DES.

Communications is responsible for ensuring that DES is connecting with its audiences to achieve its strategic goals, assess and minimize risk, build and protect the agency’s public reputation and brand, and help agency customers easily understand, access, and connect with DES services.

Communications is a critical component of successful policy and government relations work, providing aligned messaging to support agency budget and legislative requests and stakeholder management for high-risk, sensitive, and politically charged issues. Work includes strategic communication planning, media relations, crisis and emergency response, agency brand, graphic design, digital platforms including website and social media, internal communications, public outreach, and all internal and external communication activities.

Communications is responsible for creating communication plans to carry out federal, state, and agency law, rule, and policy implementations.

The Public Affairs Manager is a trusted and confidential advisor on matters related to the public affairs and media relations activities of the agency to the communications director, division staff and leadership, and by extension the agency cabinet. This position manages the Public Affairs team that plans, implements, and measures the agency’s public affairs and media relation activities. This position is a member of the Communications leadership team and helps inform communications policy.

This role reports directly to the Communications Director.

• Ensures public communication strategies and content are audience-driven, effective, build agency reputation, and support agency mission and strategic goals.
• Enhances the public awareness of DES through outreach and education efforts; including agency operations, sensitive public issues, agency and state projects, and policies, laws, and rules.
• Supports internal communications as part of public communication campaigns.
• Proactively finds and develops public communication strategies that build DES’ brand and convey the value DES brings to the state.
• Finds issues of reputational risk and advises leadership on appropriate communication strategies.
• Provides tools and resources to other Communication teams to ensure aligned strategies and messaging.

• Manages agency media relation activities.
• Monitors and maintains relationships with news media.
• Consults with Governor’s Office on media strategy and activities.
• Manages process for media monitoring, assessment, and archiving.
• Influences and directs agency media relations strategy.
• Serves as a lead agency spokesperson.
• Ensures support standards.

• Provides daily management of the agency’s…