ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF MEDIA AND PUBLIC RELATIONS
Harford County MD

Nature of Work

Prepare information for public release and assist the Sheriff's Office in developing and implementing public relations and information programs; work under the direction of the Director of Media and Public Relations; perform other duties as assigned.
The Asst. Director of Media and Public Relations has opportunities for overtime and compensatory time.
Examples of Duties

Research, prepare and write news releases, official statements and other materials for public release that describe programs and objectives of the Sheriff's Office.

Produce brochures, posters and other materials to promote the Sheriff's Office.

Schedule the release of promotional materials to promote the Sheriff's Office.

Coordinate Agency contacts with the media.

Promote public understanding of the Sheriff's Office, its programs, services, activities and events through presentations to the public and representative community groups.

Develop and coordinate marketing strategies.

Work with team to coordinate and create Sheriff's Office social media outreach and video campaigns.

Attend County events and public forums to ensure maximum, effective and accurate media coverage.

Operate a personal computer utilizing Microsoft Work, Excel, Access, and PowerPoint, desktop publishing equipment, video editing, and software to produce a variety of media.

Write original copy and coordinate the production of public service announcements and other media programs.

Review, coordinate, re-write, edit and design bulletins, pamphlets, internal and external newsletters, exhibits and other materials that explain the Sheriff's Office programs and policies.

Research and gather information to be used in public information programs.

Provide advice and guidance to the Sheriff and Command Team concerning public relations issues.

Serve as back-up to the Director of Media and Public Relations in job related tasks.

Keep supervisor and relevant others informed of issues in a timely fashion.

Cultivate and maintain positive relationships with media agency contacts.

Keep informed on current public information dissemination practices by attending workshops and educational programs or reading specialized literature.

Attend meetings and participate in various teams when needed.

Must be available to serve in an on-call capacity.

Perform other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualification Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Public Relations, Journalism, Communications, Marketing, or a closely related field.

Three (3) years of work experience in marketing, journalism, creative writing, public relations or related work preferred.

OR equivalent combination of technical training and related experience.

Notes

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

Ability to act as a representative of the Sheriff's Office to the public.

Knowledge of public relations techniques and journalism styles.

Knowledge of writing techniques; writing original copy, assembling, editing and re-writing other copy and preparing copy for publication.

Knowledge of information appropriate for the dissemination to various kinds of media.

Knowledge of various social media platforms.

Ability to obtain adequate publicity for programs and activities of the Sheriff's Office.

Ability to plan, develop, organize and coordinate public information and public relations programs.

Ability to maintain the highest levels of discretion, good judgment and confidentiality.

Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with other staff; successfully communicate with other staff members, the media, and members of the public; and work as a team.

Ability to speak and answer questions tactfully under pressure, maintaining interpersonal relationships; ability to read, write and speak English in a clear, effective manner, using proper pronunciation, diction and grammar.

Ability to establish priorities and organize workload effectively and efficiently.

Ability to maintain a pleasant and productive working atmosphere.

Ability to respond properly in emergency situations and complete assignments under pressure.

Ability to operate relevant computer systems, including hardware and software (MS Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, desktop publishing), and office machines.

Ability to operate video and photo editing software.

Selected Candidate:

Must be a U.S. citizen with 10 years of verifiable US residency.

Must pass comprehensive background investigation and criminal record check; medical exam and drug/alcohol screening; and polygraph exam.

Must provide handwriting sample for review.

Must appear before and receive a favorable recommendation from Oral Interview Board.

Must be willing to serve in an on-call rotation.

Must possess a history and exhibit the characteristics of honesty, reliability, integrity, and interpersonal skills. Any criminal conviction(s) and/or arrest(s) may be grounds for disqualification.

Benefits Package includes:

• Health, Dental & Vision insurance
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• State Retirement Plan and Deferred Compensation
• Long Term Disability, and Life Insurance for Employee, Spouse, and Children
• Generous Leave Package & Paid Holidays
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Employee Assistance Program

FRINGE BENEFITS
(Effective July 1, 2023)

ANNUAL LEAVE - Begin accruing first day of employment and cannot be taken until successful completion of probationary period, EXCESS of 40 DAYS [320 hours] will be deposited into an 106 Premium Reimbursement Account.

0 months - 3 years 1 day per month (12 days per year)
4 years - 9 years 1 ¼ days per month (15 days per year)
10 years - 15 years 1 ¾ days per month (21 days per year)
Over 15 years 2 days per month (24 days per year)

* Please note that leave is prorated according to your status determined by actual hours worked*

SICK LEAVE - Begin accruing first day of employment (UMLIMITED ACCUMULATION)

1 day is allowed after first month of employment
1 ¼ days per month accumulation

PERSONAL LEAVE - For new employees, personal leave is prorated according to schedule below, for the first year only. Any employee on board as of December 31st of each year automatically receives 8 days as of January 1st the following year. (NOTE: Personal Leave may not be taken until successful completion of probationary period; personal leave will be lost if not taken before December 31st of each year.)

1/1 to 1/31 6 days 4/1 to 4/30 3 days
2/1 to 2/28 5 days 5/1 to 5/31 2 days
3/1 to 3/31 4 days 6/1 to 6/30 1 day
7/1 to 12/31 0 days
FAMILY LEAVE - Up to 12 weeks per year

FUNERAL LEAVE - 3 days + 1 day for extended travel

MILITARY LEAVE - 3 weeks per year with no loss in pay for Reserve or National Guard Training, Active Duty and serving during emergencies.

CIVIL LEAVE - No loss in pay while serving Jury Duty.

RETIREMENT -
COUNTY EMPLOYEES: State Pension System 7% employee contribution
LAW ENFORCEMENT (TO INCLUDE TEMPORARY DEPUTIES): LEOPS 7% Employee Contribution
CORRECTIONS: SOPP 9% Employee Contribution

COUNTYFLEX - Provides the employee with a range of health care and other employee benefit options which gives employee the opportunity to design a benefit plan that best meets the employee's needs. Employee may use available credits to purchase the following:

HEALTH INSURANCE - CareFirst Triple Option and BlueChoice Opt-Out Plus Open Access and Kaiser Permanente (all plans include prescription drug coverage)

DENTAL INSURANCE - CareFirst Dental PPO Plus Plan and CareFirst Dental PPO Plan

VISION INSURANCE - Provided through BlueVision Plus

FLEXIBLE SPENDING ACCOUNTS - Provided through American Fidelity. Employees may fund health and child care expenses on a pre-tax basis.

PRE-TAX - All deductions for health, dental, vision and flexible spending accounts are subject to deductions from paycheck before federal and state taxes are applied.

LIFE INSURANCE -
Provided through MetLife - $50,000 policy - NO COST TO EMPLOYEE

SUPPLEMENTAL LIFE (TERM/WHOLE/UNIVERSAL AND AD&D)
Provided through MetLife.

LONG TERM DISABILITY - Provided through MetLife.

DEFERRED COMPENSATION -
Lincoln Financial Group - Retirement Consultant David Weiland
Phone 410-236-2494 Email- Dave.Weiland@LFG.com
[Customer Service Representative 1-800-234-3500]

RETIREE HEALTH CARE INSURANCE BENEFITS-
Employees hired on or after 7/1/2010 will have an automatic Retirement Health Savings account made available as the primary retiree healthcare benefit. This 105(h) Universal Reimbursement Account will only be able to be accessed upon separation of service and/or retirement whichever applicable. These accounts are employer funded, tax free, & portable with 20 different Nationwide investment options.
These funds are solely for the use of offsetting your premium health care cost, prescriptions, co-pays and deductibles. Upon death funds are made available immediately to the surviving spouse or qualified dependents (as defined by the IRC 152 (a).

DEATH BENEFITS - PAID BY COUNTY

50% of accumulated sick leave

All accumulated annual leave

Personal leave (maximum of 2 days)

$50,000 life insurance

One (1) month's salary

PAID BY RETIREMENT
One year's pay (after 1 year's service) plus employee's contributions refunded with interest.

HOLIDAYS - 11 per year:

New Year's Day January 1st
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 3rd Monday in January
President's Day 3rd Monday in February
Memorial Day last Monday in May
Juneteenth June 19th
Independence Day July 4th
Labor Day 1st Monday in September
Veteran's Day November 11th
Thanksgiving Day 4th Thursday in November
Friday after Thanksgiving
Christmas Day December 25th

OTHER BENEFITS: Employee Assistance Program
Travel and Official Expense Reimbursement
Uniforms and Safety Clothing
Tuition Assistance
Legal Plan

Agency Harford County

Address 220 South Main Street

Bel Air, Maryland, 21014

Phone 410-638-3201

Website http://www.harfordcountymd.gov

This job has expired.