Communications Director

The Kansas Department of Labor (KDOL) assists in the prevention of economic insecurity through unemployment insurance and workers compensation, by providing a fair and efficient venue to exercise employer and employee rights, and by helping employers promote a safe work environment for their employees. This facilitates compliance with labor laws while enabling advancement of the economic well-being of the citizens of Kansas.

At KDOL, our employees are our most valuable resource. We encourage our employees to grow and advance by participating in job shadowing/training opportunities within KDOL. We value work-life balance and offer flexible schedules and telework opportunities. 

As a quickly growing agency, we are always looking for passionate, talented and creative people to join our team. If you’re looking for a challenge that will lead you to the next level of your career, you’ve found the right place. Come grow with us! Learn more @ dol.ks.gov

About the Position

• Who can apply: External
• Classified/Unclassified Service: Unclassified
• FLSA Status: Exempt
• Full-Time/Part-Time: Full-Time 
• Work Schedule: Monday – Friday, some evening and weekend
• Eligible to Receive Benefits: Yes
• Veteran and/or Disability Preference Eligible: Yes. See below for description.
• Office Location: Onsite, Topeka
• How to Apply: Jobs.ks.gov #215963
• Application Due: Friday, March 28, 2025
• Compensation: $70,000 to $85,000 per year; commensurate with the selected applicant's skills, education, and experience.

Employment Benefits

• First day of employment coverage under the State’s comprehensive medical and prescription drug coverage and dental plan.
• Additional voluntary options including vision, hospital indemnity, accident and critical illness insurance plans and flexible spending accounts.
• Retirement and deferred compensation programs
• Sick & Vacation leave
• Work-Life Balance programs: parental leave, military leave, jury leave, funeral leave
• Paid State Holidays (designated by the Governor annually)
• Employee discounts with the STAR Program
• We celebrate employee appreciation and host socializing events

Visit the Employee Benefits page for more information…

Position Summary & Responsibilities:  Communications Director

The Communications Director is a member of KDOL’s executive team based in the Topeka office and is responsible for the planning and execution of a communications strategy that advances KDOL’s mission across multiple initiatives, public informational campaigns, and platforms. This position leads the communications division and oversees all external and internal communications including earned media, KDOL website, digital and social media, publications, creative content, marketing and branding services, and rapid-response. As a member of the senior leadership team, the Communications Director participates in strategic planning, setting organizational goals and priorities and managing the communications budget. This is a full-time, salaried position that includes some evening and weekend work.

What You’ll Do:

We accomplish this by working with high-impact media, launching multimedia public information campaigns, releasing reports and research, and oversees the organization’s websites and digital channels.

•    Building and directing a strong, well-designed, well-defined strategic communications plan that empowers staff and key stakeholders to help advance the organization’s work in priority issue areas, leveraging earned and paid media, brand management, rapid response, social media strategies, and storytelling.

•    Collaborating with colleagues in the executive teams, as well as with the Governor’s staff, to ensure communications strategies serve the administration’s goals.

•    Helping to recruit, hire, train, develop, and motivate and evaluate the work of the members of the communications division.

•    Working in partnership with relevant staff to produce, edit, and approve public-facing materials including press releases, advisories, press conferences, public statements, blog posts, op-eds, fact sheets, talking points, toolkits, town halls, webinars, tutorials, email list, social media copy, and print and digital publications. All materials will be error-free and adhere to plain language standards.

•    Serving as the organization’s primary point of contact with media outlets and responding promptly to daily media requests.

•    Ensuring that KDOL tells the story of our mission through compelling, effective, and values-based narratives that center people impacted by our issues and are tailored to reach specific audiences.

•    Oversee KDOL brand management including how we imbue our brand with meaning and how we graphically represent our agency externally.

•    Provide marketing and brand services for internal and external customers in the workforce arena.

•    Providing training, preparation, and feedback to other team members for public speaking engagements and media interviews and serving as a spokesperson for the organization when needed. This includes creating talking points for spokespeople and setting up interviews.

•    Respond quickly to breaking news and inquiries, including occasionally after hours and on weekends.

•    Oversee the preparation and execution of crisis communication and rapid response plans.

•    Build and maintain press lists. Pitch stories and interviews, respond to incoming media requests; build relationships with members of the media (including Spanish media).

•    Tell the story of KDOL’s mission through compelling, effective, and values-based narratives that center people impacted by our issues and are tailored to reach specific audiences. Coordinate shared messaging with staff and partners that is based on research, best practices, and the organization’s values.

•    Develop, track and report metrics for measuring the effectiveness of the communications programs of the organization.

•    Lead communications research efforts by utilizing metrics and surveying key constituencies to inform messaging and communications goals.

Who You Are:

The ideal candidate will be ready to hit the ground running to expand the organization’s position as a leading agency. While no one person will have all the qualities enumerated below, the successful candidate will bring many of the following qualifications and attributes:

•    Significant professional, managerial, and leadership experience in strategic communications and media relations including:

   * Experience serving as a spokesperson for public outreach campaigns or organizations.

   * Experience writing, editing, and producing effective communications materials for publication in print and online.

   * Experience effectively leading and developing individual staff and teams.

•    Willingness and ability to travel throughout Kansas and occasionally to other states for conferences, training, and other communications-related work.

•    Embrace a learning mind-set. Acquire and utilize knowledge about how the agency’s major business functions impact Kansans to add value to the Communications Division. Require staff to do the same.

•    Demonstrated flexibility and ability to work under pressure with short and long-term projects simultaneously; ability and desire work in a fast-paced, changing environment, and conform to shifting priorities, demands and timeline; and be responsive to rapidly to significant developments.

•    Experience with digital media including email marketing, social media, website administration, and other web-based content.

•    Experience with basic graphic design or willingness to learn basic graphic design with programs like Canva or Adobe.

•    Proficiency in AP-style for press release writing.

•    Proficiency with office technology including online communications and word processing and a willingness to learn new techniques, procedures, processes, and computer programs as needed.

•    Ability to look at situations from several points of view and take a collaborative approach to problem solving, working effectively with individuals at all levels (internally and externally).

•    Superior writing and editing skills, with the ability to produce clear, concise and persuasive materials with meticulous attention to detail and accuracy.

•    Excellent writing and editing skills, with the ability to translate complex material into accurate, accessible, and compelling messaging.

•    Ability to work effectively across multiple issue areas.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Journalism, or a related field.
• A combination of relevant experience may be considered, requiring a minimum of 5 years in a supervisory role.
• At least 2 years of supervisory experience is required.
• Preferred: Master’s degree in Communications, Public Administration, or a related field.

Post-Offer, Pre-Employment Requirements:  

• Pre-employment background screening
• State of Kansas Tax Clearance Certificate. The successful applicant (even non-residents) must obtain a valid Kansas Certificate of Tax Clearance by accessing the Kansas Department of Revenue's website within 10 days of the date the applicant has been offered the employment position. A Tax Clearance is a comprehensive tax account review to determine and ensure that an individual's account is compliant with all primary Kansas Tax Laws. A Tax Clearance expires every 90 days. This is in accordance with Executive Order 2004-03. If you need assistance with the tax clearance, please contact (785) 296-3199. Visit the Tax Clearance site for more information on and where to obtain this Kansas Department of Revenue document.