Communications Administrator - Deputy

DEPARTMENT OF CHILD SAFETY The Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS) is a social and human services agency whose mission is to successfully partner with families, caregivers, and the community to strengthen families, ensure safety, and achieve permanency for all Arizona’s children through prevention, services, and support. Communications Administrator - Deputy

Job Location:

COMMUNICATIONS
3003 N Central Ave Phoenix, AZ 85012 Posting Details:
Salary: $36.0576 Hourly Grade: 26 Closing Date:
August 13, 2026

Job Summary:

This position serves as a critical senior communications partner to the Assistant Director of Communications and the Agency Director, playing a strategic role in shaping and delivering the public messaging of the Department of Child Safety. Furthermore, this role is accountable for ensuring that communication is consistent, timely, and impactful across all platforms.

• Proactively engages with media outlets to promote agency priorities and enhance public awareness. Acts as the main point of contact for press inquiries, collaborating with leadership and subject matter experts to provide timely, accurate, and policy-aligned responses. Recommends and arranges interviews and media opportunities. Develops and edits press releases, quotes, statements, social media, presentations, and Questions & Answer (Q&A) documents. Drives press release planning and earned media strategies.
  
  Represents the agency in interviews and public engagements with professionalism and clarity. Pitches stories and interviews, placing content in targeted media outlets. May require driving on state business.
• Cultivates strategic relationships to enhance the agency’s public image. Builds and maintains connections with internal stakeholders and media contacts to support positive press coverage. Expands and updates media outreach lists, identifying new outlets and reporters. Accompanies executive leadership on office visits and external engagements to document activities, highlight key moments, and relay relevant information to the communications team.
• Establishes and maintains relationships across all areas of the department to define goals, set priorities, and facilitate clear, concise communication at all levels of leadership. Works closely with key leaders to track agency initiatives and accomplishments. Ensures Director and Agency Leadership are apprised of current events that may require an Agency response. Maintains up-to-date awareness of agency priorities, child welfare trends, and legislative changes.
  
  Tracks strategic initiatives and evolving practices in child welfare, assessing their relevance to departmental goals. Monitors statutory updates and evaluates their impact on agency policies and procedures.
• Monitors media coverage to inform agency awareness and innovation. Tracks local and national news daily to identify stories relevant to agency operations, policy areas, and emerging trends. Flags coverage requiring attention and shares key insights across the agency to support strategic communication and creative thinking.
• Responds to media requests. Leads media tracking and external communications strategy. Monitors media coverage, press releases, and Public Records Requests (PRRs) to identify trends and inform messaging. Serves as the primary press contact in inter-agency communications meetings. Develops and coordinates agency talking points to ensure consistent, clear, and unified public messaging.
• Handles confidential and sensitive material, engage in complex and high-impact work, and exercise considerable independence and discretionary judgment. Acts on behalf of Assistant Director of Communications when needed. Assists in indirectly supervising staff to ensure effective delivery of messaging, & oversees social media strategy, content, & monitoring. Provides cross-functional support on communications initiatives & projects, ensuring collaboration across the team.
• Other duties as assigned.

Knowledge of:

• Deep understanding of the media landscape including print, broadcast, and on-line media
• Expertise in external facing communications
• Best practices related to public…