Overview
The City of Charlotte is the largest municipality in North Carolina and the 15th largest city in the United States, with a total population of more than 897,000 citizens. A major commerce center, Charlotte hosts several of the nation’s largest banks and technology companies.
Also known as the Queen City, Charlotte is home to the Carolina Panthers, the Charlotte Hornets and the NASCAR Hall of Fame. We work hard to ensure that the community will be a winning city for everyone – a truly remarkable place to live, work, learn and play. Join us in helping to keep our City thriving, ensuring upward mobility and advancement in the workplace.
Summary
The Strategy and Communications Director plays a pivotal role in shaping and executing the organization’s overall strategic vision and communication efforts. This includes developing and implementing comprehensive strategies to achieve the organizations goals and enhancing the internal and external communications with the general public, stakeholders, customers, and employees. This position will oversee Communications, Government Relations, and Customer Care. Working closely with the Executive Leadership team, across CLT divisions and with partners, this position will be instrumental in identifying risks and opportunities, creating business and operational strategies, policy development and problem resolution while guiding the organization towards continued growth, success, and positive public perception to maintain the brand and reputation of CLT.
All applicants must successfully pass and maintain an active TSA Security Threat Assessment (STA) and Criminal History Records Check (CHRC). Certain convictions will disqualify individuals from unescorted access privileges and therefore be excluded from employment.
Major Duties and Responsibilities
• Direct the Communications, Government Relations, and Customer Care teams in telling the Airport’s story through various communications tools and providing feedback and problem resolution. Implement initiatives, projects and activities that support the department’s strategic principles, vision, and mission.
• Advise and guide leadership and staff in strategic planning. Create forums and opportunities for collaboration and effective and efficient communications related to all areas of the Aviation Department’s work.
• Establish and implement short and long-range organizational goals, objectives, strategic plans, policies, and operating procedures that align with our mission, vision, and strategic priorities; monitors and evaluates programmatic and operational effectiveness, and effects changes required for improvement.
• Responsible for strategy development, issue spotting and reputation management. Provide feedback, solutions and ideas to policy issues and problems across various workgroups. Identify and anticipate synergies, challenges, and potential scenarios.
• Direct and lead the department’s development and implementation of all internal and external strategic communications initiatives and programs that supports the mission and goals of the Airport’s stakeholders. Ensure brand consistency across all communication channels and platforms.
• Advise and guide the Aviation Department’s media relations program, including crisis management.
• Critical member of the AEOC, participate as required in the Airport’s emergency response plan. Perform specific communications role when Airport EOC is activated. Maintain current training on local, state, and federal Joint Information Center (JIC) protocols. Liaison with Emergency Operations for disaster and incident training. Be available to respond 24/7/365.
• Manage department-wide customer inquiries, complaints, incidents to ensure consistency, brand protection and responses are appropriately handled.
• Identify consistent problems as reported through customer interactions. Work across various departments to identify and solve problems. Research and present solutions internally and externally to stakeholders.
• Analyze customer feedback from surveys, focus groups, etc. to identify trends, problems, successes. Address issues, remove roadblocks and create solutions as necessary.
• Work closely with the Passenger Experience team to enhance and improve the overall customer experience, train employees, and create resources that add value to all customer interactions.
• Direct all government relations activity through contracted services and/or appropriate staff. Strategically engage with appropriate federal, state and local elects to protect, enhance and position the Airport for success.
• Represent the Airport with legislative bodies, elected officials, state governmental, and/or quasi-governmental agencies as needed. Ensure constructive external relationships with government officials to obtain organizational objectives.
• Participate with national professional organizations, specifically ACI and AAAE on legislative and regulatory solutions impacting air travel and airports.
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
• Core experience in public relations strategic planning, media relations, communications, crisis communications, policy development, governmental affairs, budgeting, and project leadership
• Extensive experience in crisis communications planning and execution
• Experience working with multiple federal, state, and local agencies during a crisis.
• Strong executive leadership experience.
• Strong ability to establish and maintain constructive working relationships with members internal and external stakeholders and the community to promote cooperation and understanding for the Airport’s mission.
• Strong ability to clearly communicate, verbally and in writing, information pertaining to the business and administrative activities of the Airport.
• Strong ability to be able to organize, plan and direct activities of subordinates.
• Strong project management skills with demonstrated performance delivering projects on schedule and on budget.
• Ability to work effectively in a teamwork environment.
Preferred Qualification
Executive level experience in internal and external communications, strategic and/or business planning, customer care and/or experience and crisis communications. Experience at an airport, in customer or tenant relations, airport or airline operations, or with a 24-hour organization is preferred.
Minimum Qualifications
Bachelor's Degree and seven years of relevant work experience
OR
Master's degree and five years of relevant work experience
Conditions of Employment
The City’s Background Check Policy requires background checks to be conducted on final internal or external candidate(s) applying for any position with the City of Charlotte. The type of information that will be collected as part of a background check includes, but is not limited to: reference checks, social security verification, education verification, criminal conviction record check, and, if applicable, a credit history check, sex offender registry and motor vehicle records check.
Background checks must be in compliance with all federal and state statutes, such as the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The checks must be consistent with the guidelines set forth by these laws requiring organizations to obtain a candidate’s written authorization before obtaining a criminal background report, motor vehicle records check or credit report; and to properly store and dispose of information derived from such reports.
Final candidates must pass a pre-employment drug-screening test and physical examination. During the selection process, candidates may be asked to take a skills test, and/or participate in other assessments.
The City of Charlotte is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
How To Apply
Apply online.
Federal law requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities. Please tell us if you require a reasonable accommodation to apply for a job.
You are welcome to visit the City of Charlotte Human Resources Department lobby where we have workstations available. Our office is located at 700 East 4th Street, Suite 200, Charlotte, NC 28202. Our hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (EST), excluding official City holidays.
Anyone seeking an accommodation to apply for a job may call (704) 336-2285 for assistance or you may email questions to CityHrJobPostingsNotify@ci.charlotte.nc.us.
Benefits
The City of Charlotte provides a comprehensive benefits package to all employees.
Click here to learn more about the City of Charlotte’s benefits.
The City of Charlotte is a drug and alcohol-free workplace.
In Conclusion
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