Are you a public communications and marketing expert? Ready for an exciting opportunity to serve a growing and diverse community by developing impactful and creative strategies to keep the public informed on a variety of highly visible, timely, and complex topics? Are you a digital media expert who enjoys creating social media campaigns, websites, and graphic design? If this sounds like you, then apply today and join our team as the Communications Manager in our City Manager’s Office!

Responsibilities of the Position

The Communications Manager is a highly responsible position that serves as the City’s lead and chief consultant to the City Manager, Mayor and City Council, and City Departments in the development and implementation of effective communication strategies, policies, and practices. This position serves as the City’s subject matter expert on media engagement, manages the City’s various public communication platforms, coordinates emergency communications, and manages marketing campaigns.

This position requires working independently, maintaining confidentiality, and being able to both lead and work collaboratively as a member of a team. The Communications Manager oversees the Communications Division, including staff supervision, purchasing, budgeting, and resource management.

The Communications Manager needs to be generally responsive and available to perform occasional work outside of regularly scheduled hours to attend meetings/events and respond to emergency situations. The Communications Manager must establish residency within a 30-minute drive time radius of the Champaign City Building within six months of employment.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in communications, marketing, journalism, public relations, advertising, electronic media, public administration, or a similar field.
• Extensive, progressively responsible experience developing, coordinating, and executing communication plans and strategies.
• Extensive, progressively responsible experience managing public communication technologies, including websites, social media, and/or television channels.
• Extensive experience engaging with the media, including writing news releases, organizing press conferences, serving as a spokesperson, being interviewed by reporters, and prepping staff for interviews.
• Progressively responsible experience supervising employees, including recruiting, coaching, evaluating, assigning and evaluating work, and setting performance expectations.
• An equivalent combination of work experience and training that demonstrates the required knowledge, skills, and abilities will be considered.
• Possess a valid driver’s license and acceptable driving record.

Preferred Attributes

• Master’s degree in communications, marketing, journalism, public relations, advertising, electronic media, public administration, or a similar field.
• Extensive public communication experience working for a government, nonprofit, or public sector agency.
• Proficiency with professional content management, graphic design, and photo editing software.
• Experience coordinating public communications during emergencies or crisis situations.

A drug screening, driving abstract, and criminal background check are also required. The annual starting salary range is $97,362 - $110,837, DOQ, plus an excellent fringe benefits package. Applications, including a cover letter and resume, must be submitted online no later than Sunday, July 20, 2025.

The City of Champaign is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Women, minorities and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply. The City of Champaign is committed to promoting a work environment and a community that values and supports diversity and inclusion. Contact the Human Resources Department at (217) 403-8770 Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. if you require an accommodation to complete this application or during any phase of the application, interview, or employment process.

The following locations offer free Internet access and assistance: The following locations offer free Internet access and assistance: Champaign Public Library, Champaign Public Library Douglass Branch, and the Illinois WorkNet Center.

Our mission is to provide responsive, caring, cost-effective service in partnership with our community.

These values guide our work:

Personal Integrity

We act in the best interests of the City

We behave in an ethical and legal manner

We are open and honest

We follow through on commitments

We are loyal to the City

Responsibility

We anticipate issues, problems, and opportunities

We take initiative

We act to prevent and solve problems

We take responsibility for the outcome of our actions and decisions

We hold ourselves and others accountable

Respect

We treat others in a fair, courteous, and equitable manner

We actively listen and seek understanding

We provide a direct response

We embrace ethnic and cultural diversity in the community and our workplace

We are positive and cooperative

We are willing to apologize

Teamwork

We know and respect our roles and responsibilities

We ask who needs to be involved and we involve others appropriately

We define and agree upon the goals

We collaborate to achieve organizational goals

We help others accomplish their goals

We share authority, responsibility, and credit

Results

We take pride in our work

We complete assignments and projects on time and within budget

We evaluate outcomes and seek feedback on our performance

We learn from our mistakes

We innovate