Responsibilities

• Acts as the agency’s voice while promoting SFMTA activities and responding to real-time news inquiries via television, radio, and written statement interviews.
• Responds to daily inquiries from local and national media, drafts press releases and talking points and organizes press conferences.
• Identifies potential news stories to clearly communicate achievements.
• Assists in developing coordinated campaigns to educate the public on safety, operational efficiency and financial updates and transportation policies.
• Serves as an on-call representative for late-breaking news or transit emergencies, providing live updates to the public and media partners as needed.
• Conceptualizes impactful, data-driven, and compelling communications collateral including messages, talking points, social media posts, video scripts, and speeches.
• Identifies emerging topics and leads the development and execution of proactive communication plans.
• Advises and counsels the Communications Director as well as executive and senior management on media and audience strategies.
• Uses data to evaluate, adjust and target communications.
• Performs other duties and responsibilities as assigned.

Requirements

• Possession of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university; AND
• Six (6) years of full-time professional experience in publicity work, mass media, communications or similar work involving collection, dissemination and communication of news and information to the general public; AND
• Possession of a current, valid Driver License.
• Substitution: Additional experience as described above may be substituted for the required degree on a year-for-year basis. Thirty (30) semester units or forty-five (45) quarter units equal one year.

Preferred

• Exceptional verbal communication skills with experience speaking publicly and on the record with reporters.
• Proven experience in developing, pitching, and writing for diverse audiences, including press releases, blogs, and social media posts.
• A deep understanding of broadcast media with current relationships with local and national press across television, radio, and print publications.
• Knowledge of San Francisco’s transportation system, including transit operations and parking enforcement.
• Ability to assess community perceptions and craft strong narrative messaging to reinforce and promote transparency.
• Ability to use video equipment and editing software to produce stories or packages for the website, newsroom b-roll, and social media.
• Agility working in a dynamic, time-sensitive environment that requires rapid responses to planned and unanticipated events and emergencies under a deadline.
• Strong interest in enhancing urban transportation networks and a strong sense of advocacy for transit as a viable transportation mode.
• Understanding of diverse needs in San Francisco, including for neighborhoods, stakeholders and government partners.
• Ability to communicate fluently in one of the languages listed on San Francisco’s Language Access Ordinance (presently, Chinese, Spanish, and Filipino) is preferred.