Director of Public Information - VID 220125

Duties Description The New York State Office for the Prevention of the Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence is seeking a highly skilled, creative, and dynamic communications leader to oversee its Public Affairs and Communication programs. Public Awareness is an essential part of OPDV’s mission and the Executive branch of New York State government. In this role the Director of Public Information is responsible for OPDV’s strategic communications, high-level media relations, press and event management, growing public information streams, and innovative digital products. The ideal candidate will have experience working in a high energy fast paced environment and with a proven track record of designing, managing, and executing creative and effective media relations, press strategies, and 360-degree communications activations spanning earned, owned, and paid digital channels.
Oversight of day-to-day communications activities include:
• Work with and cultivate strong relationships with high-level reporters in top-tier local, State, and national outlets.
• Support the Executive Director as the primary spokesperson for the agency and occasionally act as the agency spokesperson.
• Craft media responses, press releases, and OPDV’s communications.
• Maintain and expand OPDV’s presence across all public information touchpoints, including web/digital channels, and social media channels.
• Spearhead creative marketing and brand-building efforts.
The individual must demonstrate an ability to distill complex policy objectives and curate content across all mediums and channels.

Duties may include but not be limited to:
• Provide creative and visionary leadership to manage communications, press, and creative marketing functions in the office, including creating, managing, and executing messaging priorities across all channels.
• Devise and execute high-level earned, owned, and paid driven strategies to elevate OPDV’s work and leadership, including through press opportunities and Op-Ed/editorial development.
• Produce all external communications including press statements, releases, responses, and multifaceted public awareness campaigns.
• Create and execute an annual communication plan that cultivates and expands OPDV’s presence across all public information touchpoints such as web, social media, and digital products.
• Work collaboratively with OPDV Executive team and subject matter experts to craft messaging and communication strategies to support public understanding of often complex or nuanced budget and policy initiatives.
• Serve as a catalyst for creative development and execution of new publications and products to make the work of OPDV and the Gender-Based Violence service delivery systems more familiar and accessible to the public and survivors of domestic, sexual, and all forms of Gender-Based Violence.
• Work throughout OPDV to help produce clear, meaningful, insightful, impactful, and attractive data visualization products, such as charts, graphs, infographics and more, for various mediums such as print, web, presentation decks, and social media.
• Support the development of public-facing documents and products such as annual budget publications, quarterly updates, presentations, and talking points.
• Create and promote social media communications to maintain a robust online presence, support transparency, and advance public communication.
• Serve as spokesperson to represent OPDV to the media and other public interfaces.
• Perform the full range of supervisory responsibilities for communications staff.
• Perform other duties and special projects as required.

Minimum Qualifications Eight years of relevant experience*. One year of the experience must have been at a supervisory level.

*Substitutions: associate degree may substitute for two years of specialized experience; bachelor's degree may substitute for four years of specialized experience; master's degree may substitute for five years of specialized experience; . may substitute for six years of specialized experience; and . may substitute for seven years of specialized experience.

Preferred Qualifications:
• Communications experience in gender-based violence, gender issues, or violence prevention.
• Excellent work ethic, resolute integrity, detail oriented with a commitment to delivering a high-quality and accurate work product with a track record of putting the success of the team first.
• Ability to assess potential emerging public affairs and public relations effects on public and stakeholders’ attitudes and to be effectively responsive to the Executive Director, the Deputy Executive Director of External Affairs, and the Executive Chamber to help inform decision making for public response.
• Ability to work effectively with members of the news media, OPDV’s Executive Team, Executive Chamber Press Team, and colleagues in other state agencies and gender-based violence prevention stakeholders and organizations
• Excellent journalistic, presentation, and interpersonal skills that resonate with a variety of audiences; ability to communicate persuasively, concisely, and unambiguously in speech and in writing.
• A track record of creative and proactive approaches for pitching news stories.
• Strong project management skills with the ability to work well under pressure and respect for internal and external deadlines.
• Ability to manage multiple diverse activities simultaneously, deliver on commitments and varying deadlines, and operate/make decisions with speed, accuracy and strong judgment.
• Strong computer skills (Word, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint), and social media platforms, such as Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, .

NOTE: IN ORDER TO AWARD THE PROPER CREDIT FOR WORK EXPERIENCE, RESUMES MUST INCLUDE MONTH AND YEAR FOR START AND END DATES. IF ANY OF THIS EXPERIENCE IS LESS THAN FULL TIME YOU MUST INDICATE THE AVERAGE NUMBER OF HOURS WORKED PER WEEK.