Chief Communications Officer

The Chief Communications Officer (CCO) is responsible for overseeing the agency’s internal and external communications strategies. This role focuses on enhancing the agency’s [and thereby, the state’s] brand reputation, ensuring consistent messaging across all channels, and fostering positive public perception through strategic storytelling, media relations, and crisis management. The CCO aligns communication initiatives with agency objectives to drive growth and stakeholder trust while managing teams and budgets dedicated to these efforts.

Responsibilities

1. Strategic Communications Plan Development

• Develop and execute a strategic communications plan that is comprehensive, departmentally collaborative, and in alignment with the agency’s economic development goals.

Consistently seek out strategic opportunities to advance the brand and reputations of the agency, the Office of the Secretary of Economic Development, the Louisiana economy, and the state.

• Routinely practice strategic consideration of key LED stakeholders [elected officials, LED boards & committees, private sector leaders, economic development partners, etc.] in all communications strategies, initiatives, and projects.

2. Agency Leadership

• Under the management and leadership of the Secretary of Economic Development, serve as the agency’s primary lead on all internal and external communications and messaging matters.
• Drive internal communications strategy by collaborating with agency department leads, and ensuring a holistic approach to messaging consistency.
• Develop systems for consistent, purposeful collaboration with peers across state agencies to ensure messaging alignment and advancement of key economic development initiatives.

3. Team Leadership & Budget Oversight

• Develop the staff structure of the Communications Department to reflect a dynamic, cross-functional team that fully comprehends and supports the mission and goals of the department.
• Manage staff workflow and accountability across all activities including, but not limited to public and media relations, content creation & storage, social and digital tools, advertising, journalism, event planning, etc.
• Oversee strategies and management of the agency’s contractual relationships with external communications consultants and advisors.
• Allocate resources efficiently while tracking ROI metrics across department initiatives and investments.

4. Media Relations & Public Engagement

• Build and maintain relationships with local, state, national, and international journalists, influencers, investors, and other stakeholders to target, secure and maximize media coverage across all platforms.
• Lead the management of content development and deployment of public engagement tools such as newsletters, annual report, social media, press releases, publications, etc.
• Monitor public sentiment, address misinformation, proactively shape narratives, and ensure stakeholders are appropriately informed of relevant developments.

5. Collaborative Approach to Brand Management

• Work hand-in-glove with LED FastStart creative and marketing to ensure overall messaging strategies are aligned with sales and promotional materials.
• Co-manage the sharing of resources [ex: content collection, data, and analytics tools] and expertise [ex: event management staff] between departments.
• Co-develop systems and protocols for the creation, storage and external usage of LED public documents, including publications, one-pagers, power points, brochures & flyers, etc.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in mass communication, journalism, English or related field; Master’s degree in mass communication or related field a plus, but not required
• Ten years or more of communication and branding experience in private and/or public sectors. Business-to-business experience a plus
• Division/department management, resource allocation and project delegation
• Management of internal direct reports and external contractors
• Project leadership and management, working within external/internal cross-functional teams
• Budget/contract preparation and administration
• Creative thinker with a strong analytical mindset
• Verbal and written communication expertise
• Metrics and tracking performance
• Ability to operate in a fast-paced environment and adapt to evolving business needs

Working Conditions

• Standard office environment with regular office hours, but may require additional hours for events, meetings, and other activities.

Application Instructions

Interested candidates should submit a resume, cover letter, and three professional references. Please highlight your experience and achievements in economic development and business growth strategies. Applications should be sent to Dawn.Thibodeaux@la.gov.

Join us in shaping the economic future of our community and driving transformative growth through strategic marketing initiatives. We look forward to your application.