Director of Communications

Are you looking to serve your state by performing meaningful and rewarding work? Would you like to provide leadership to the State of Connecticut's Department of Public Health, working on the communication of the Department's efforts and initiatives?

The State of Connecticut, Department of Public Health (DPH) is hiring! We are seeking a qualified individual for the position of Director of Communications!

The Director of Communications will:

• Be responsible for the positive and comprehensive promotion of Department of Public Health efforts and initiatives
• Act as the communications liaison to DPH, the public and the media to ensure the efficiency of the DPH Mission    
• Manage internal communications through several channels, such as staff emails, bulletins, social media and other forms of communications
• Be responsible for creating the strategic communications plans and related focused communication campaigns for the Department of Public Health.

The Mission of the Department of Public Health (DPH) is to protect and improve the health and safety of the people of Connecticut by assuring the conditions in which people can be healthy, preventing disease, injury, and disability, and promoting the equal enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health, which is a human right and a priority of the state.

DPH accomplishes this through the implementation of its Strategic Plan which outlines the actions that DPH is taking to accomplish its Mission.

Position Details:

Hours: This position's schedule is typically 40 hours a week Monday-Friday.

Location: 410 Capitol Avenue, Hartford, Connecticut. 

What’s in It for You - Leading Comprehensive Benefit Offerings: 

• Industry leading health benefits, including medical and dental coverage; 
• Comprehensive pension plan and supplemental retirement offerings; 
• Paid time off; 
• Professional growth and development opportunities; 
• Ability to serve the citizens of Connecticut in a strategic capacity;
• A healthy work-life balance to all employees!

In accordance with sections 5-198 (10) of the Connecticut General Statutes, as qualified by Public Act 13-247 which states "Executive Assistants to each state elective officer and each department head, as defined in section 4-5, provided (A) each position of executive assistant shall have been created in accordance with section 5-214, and (B) in no event shall the Commissioner of Administrative Services or the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management approve more than four executive assistants for a department head."

This position will be filled in accordance with contractual language, reemployment, SEBAC, transfer, promotion and merit employment rules. In order to be considered for this job opening, you must meet the Minimum Qualifications as listed on the job opening. You must specify your qualifications on your application. The minimum experience and training requirements must be met by the close date on the job opening, unless otherwise specified. 

Due to the volume of applications anticipated, we are unable to provide confirmation of receipt or status during the recruitment process. Updates will be provided through your JobAps portal account. 

Interviews will be limited to candidates whose experience most closely meet the preferred requirements of the position.  Applicants invited to interview may be required to submit additional documentation, which supports their qualification(s) for this position. These documents may include: performance reviews, supervisory references, college transcripts, licensure, etc., at the discretion of the hiring agency. 

Please Note: You will be unable to make revisions once you submit your application for this posting to the JobAps system.

This posting may require completion of additional referral questions (RQs) which will be sent to you via email after the closing date. The email notification will include an expiration date by which you must submit (Finish) your responses. Please regularly check your email for notifications. Please check your SPAM and/or Junk folders, as emails could end up there in error. 

Applications to this recruitment may be used for future vacancies.

Should you have questions pertaining to this recruitment, please contact Chelsea Moore at Chelsea.Moore@ct.gov.

• Bachelor's degree in Communications, Marketing or a related field with strong preference for an advanced degree.
• At least five (5) years of experience in a professional communications role.
• Experience meeting and exceeding deadlines for both short-term and long-range, high-complexity projects
• Experience with creating strategic communications plans and focused communication campaigns using a variety of media
• Experience developing content and formal press releases for multi-channel media platforms (standard and social media)
• Experience working with communications software, specifically having proficiency with email messaging capabilities
• Experience engaging an internal community with messaging on organizational mission, vision and values
• Experience supervising a diverse team of communications professionals
• Experience managing communications within the health care and/or public health industries

AN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

The State of Connecticut is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and strongly encourages the applications of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities.