Senior Public Involvement / Communications Specialist

Description

Job title:                        Senior Public Involvement/Communications Specialist

Labor Classification:   Senior Consultant

Exemption Status:       Exempt

Employment Status:    Full Time (40 hours per week), hybrid

Office Location:           Baltimore, MD or Washington, DC

Reports to:                    Associate Director/Director

About PRR:

At PRR, we create meaningful and inclusive opportunities for people to get information and engage with decision-makers—our clients. These clients include government agencies, organizations, and businesses that focus on transportation and the environment. As a full-service communications consulting firm, we add value and supplement the workforce, billing for our time and materials to bring in revenue.

Summary:

This position will manage strategic communications and public involvement teams for several transportation and environment projects, primarily within the Baltimore or DMV regions. The successful candidate must have demonstrated experience managing multiple projects in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment and providing client or customer service. They must work collaboratively, have excellent oral and written communications skills, demonstrate commitment to social and racial justice, and have experience creating successful campaigns to reach diverse audiences.

This hybrid position provides flexibility to work remotely, with the expectation of some in-person work in our Baltimore and Washington, DC offices, as well as in-person community outreach work throughout the greater Baltimore or DMV regions.

Duties and Responsibilities

Drive community engagement strategy and manage or support project teams to successfully deliver projects on time and on budget, including but not limited to:

Public Involvement

• Create and implement communications and engagement plans that effectively reach diverse audiences, including people who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), people with disabilities, people with low incomes, and people who use languages other than English
• Lead and support equitable community engagement initiatives to meaningfully involve historically underserved and underrepresented communities in decision-making
• Lead event planning and facilitate virtual and in-person meetings, briefings, and special events, including evening and weekend meetings and events
• Build meaningful working relationships with community-based organizations and communities
• Research, write, and edit content for message platforms, newsletters, press releases, social media, fact sheets, flyers, presentations, summary reports, and websites
• Produce presentations slide decks and meeting summaries
• Edit technical information and information for public audiences
• Work with colleagues and community members from diverse backgrounds

Project Management

• Lead and support multiple project teams, including onboarding team members, providing support to successfully accomplish complex tasks, delegate work effectively to team members with various levels of experience, coach team members to accomplish goals, and identify gaps in staffing and collaborate to fill them
• Participate and lead project team meetings
• Collaborate with interdisciplinary PRR teams, including language services; diversity, equity, and inclusion; research; marketing; and creative
• Develop and manage project scopes, schedules, and budgets
• Deliver work on time and on budget, meet project objectives, and troubleshoot any issues as they arise
• Develop and actively manage complex project and event work plans with multiple moving parts, including evolving timelines

Client Relations

• Build effective working relationships with clients
• Set and maintain high quality control standards for all communications to clients and partners
• Partner with project teams to provide best possible solutions to clients, help establish goals and objectives, maintain a focus on achieving the goals, and seek opportunities to add value
• Lead client communication on projects, including leading meetings and proactively responding to email communication
• Provide excellent customer service
• Work proactively to anticipate and respond to client needs
• Maintain confidentiality of client information

Administrative

• Review invoices and prepare progress reports for multiple projects
• Provide regular updates to project workload planning system
• Supervise and mentor staff
• Complete timesheets and expense reports on time and with accurate information
• Create and manage databases and Excel spreadsheets
• Provide accurate and timely billing information to accounting department
• Maintain or exceed billable utilization goals
• Support business development efforts, such as proposal writing and participating in interviews

Other Duties

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities required of the employee for this job. The employee may be tasked with other duties which fall within the reasonable scope of the job.

Utilization/Billability Goal

In this role, your time will be spent working on projects and billing your time to clients. Most of our staff spend between 75% to 90% of their time during the week on projects. The rest of your time would be billed to the company to complete company activities, engage in business development, attend company events, and participate in growth and development opportunities. The annual billable utilization goal for this position is 85%. Our staff track and report their time spent on projects and company activities each week.

Experience/Education

• 7 years of work experience in public involvement, community engagement, or strategic communications
• Experience working with historically marginalized communities
• Demonstrated understanding of institutional and structural oppression
• Experience leading teams and managing complex projects
• Experience working in consulting, customer, or client service, and/or for government agencies

Required Skills

• Strong work ethic and ability to take initiative and work independently and efficiently
• Superior commitment to quality
• Comfort with a fast-paced, ever-changing environment
• Ability to work outside regular hours, when needed
• Excellent public speaking, oral communications, and interpersonal communication (including with people from diverse backgrounds)
• Writing for the public information/education:
  • Using plain language – strategies to translate technical information into plain language and tailor messages for public audiences
  • Adapting to client styles
• Understanding of editing and quality control methods e.g., maintaining templates, editing for grammar and typos, attention to detail and client style guides
• Task and team management strategies toward meeting deadlines
• Comfort working in a variety of settings, including a busy office, virtual meetings (e.g., Zoom), meetings with elected officials, or in-person out in the community
• Proficient with PCs and MS software, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams
• Understanding of and interest in civic activities, public affairs, and policies
• Valid Driver's License

Desired Skills

• Interest in planning, transportation infrastructure, transportation, water quality, and/or environmental sustainability
• Multilingual translation, transcreation, and interpretation skills
• Facilitation skills
• Experience working with the Virginia and District Departments of Transportation (VDOT/DDOT) and other local government agencies

Compensation

The full salary range for this position is $90,000 - $130,000 per year, depending on experience.

PRR offers a benefit suite including: 

• Health, dental, and vision insurance for full-time employees and their dependents 
• Flexible spending account/dependent care spending account 
• Life insurance 
• Paid family and medical leave 
• Short and long-term disability 
• 401(k) plan with discretionary company match 
• Employee Stock Ownership Program (ESOP) 
• Pet Insurance 
• Employee Assistance Program 
• Professional development training allowances 
• Gym or mass transit subsidy 
• Paid Time Off Benefits include: 
• 120 hours of Paid Time Off 
• 40 hours of Paid Sick Time 
• 12 Paid Holidays 

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee may be expected to work extended hours; including, but not limited to, standing or sitting for extended periods. The employee will often have to lift over 30 pounds. The employee is regularly required to talk or hear. The employee will regularly operate office equipment.

Salary : $90,000 - $130,000