Community Engagement Coordinator

City of Thornton; Thornton (CO); On-site; USD 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

City of Thornton seeks a strategic leader to direct community engagement, coordinate Code Compliance outreach, and oversee CDBG and related grant programs. You will partner with departments and community organizations to expand access to City services and resources.

Responsibilities include developing outreach strategies for underserved populations, planning public meetings, and serving as a liaison with residents, elected officials, and staff to inform policy and drive equitable outcomes.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field and 3+ years in community engagement or public administration.
• Experience building partnerships with nonprofits, neighborhoods, and public agencies.
• Bilingual or multilingual communication skills preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead citywide community engagement initiatives and public participation efforts.
• Develop and implement equitable access strategies for City services and resources.
• Build and maintain partnerships with nonprofits, schools, businesses, and community leaders.
• Plan, coordinate, and facilitate public meetings, forums, and stakeholder events.
• Represent the City at meetings and public events to foster trust and transparency.
• Evaluate outreach effectiveness through participation metrics and community impact.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Public engagement

Grant programs

Stakeholder relations

Bilingual preferred

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration, Communications, Political Science, Business Administration, Psychology, or related field

Job description

Under direction, provides strategic leadership for community engagement efforts supporting Code Compliance, Volunteer Coordination, Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and related grant programs, homelessness outreach and resource navigation, and other specialized Community Programs initiatives. Additionally, this position works with other departments to design and implement a City-wide community engagement framework.

(Essential functions, as defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act, may include the following tasks, knowledge, skills, and other characteristics. The list of tasks is ILLUSTRATIVE ONLY, and is not a comprehensive listing of all functions and tasks performed by positions in this class.)

Provides strategic leadership for community engagement efforts supporting Code Compliance, Volunteer Coordination, Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and related grant programs, homelessness outreach and resource navigation, and other specialized Community Programs initiatives.

Develops and maintains collaborative relationships with community members, neighborhood organizations, nonprofit partners, businesses, elected officials, and other governmental agencies to advance the City's strategic priorities. Leads public engagement efforts, builds trust through transparent communication, facilitates community participation, and ensures that resident voices are incorporated into City programs, policies, and initiatives.

Develops and implements a citywide community engagement strategy that advances equitable access to City services, programs, and resources. Identifies barriers that prevent residents from accessing City services and develop strategies to reduce or eliminate those barriers.

Establishes and maintains collaborative partnerships with nonprofit organizations, faith-based organizations, schools, healthcare providers, businesses, neighborhood leaders, and other community stakeholders to expand awareness of City resources.

Develops targeted outreach strategies for historically underserved, marginalized, and vulnerable populations, including individuals experiencing homelessness, low-income households, seniors, immigrants, refugees, people with disabilities, and other populations facing access barriers.

Interfaces with city departments to coordinate outreach events to improve resident awareness of and access to City programs, grants, services, and community resources.

Serves as a key liaison between the City and the community, helping foster inclusive decision-making and meaningful partnerships that improve outcomes for residents.

Plans, coordinates, and facilitates public meetings, community forums, workshops, and stakeholder engagement events.

Represents the City at community meetings, neighborhood associations, advisory boards, and public events.

Evaluates the effectiveness of outreach efforts by measuring participation, service utilization, and community impact.

Gathers, analyzes, and summarizes community feedback to inform policy recommendations and service delivery improvements.

Establishes and monitors performance measures related to engagement efforts and community partnerships.

Develops communication materials including presentations, newsletters, reports, fact sheets, website content, and social media messaging in coordination with the City's Communications team.

Supports strategic planning efforts through stakeholder engagement and partnership development.

Assists in identifying grant opportunities and participate in grant implementation requiring community collaboration.

Responds to constituent inquiries and concerns in a timely, professional, and solution-oriented manner.

Maintains records of engagement activities and prepares reports for leadership, City Council, boards, and commissions.

Advises City leadership on emerging community issues, trends, and opportunities to improve service delivery and resident engagement.

Serves as an internal resource for best practices in community engagement, public participation, and equitable service delivery.

Works overtime as required.

Performs other duties as assigned.

Education/Experience

Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration, Communications, Political Science, Business Administration, Psychology, or a related field is required. Three years of progressively responsible experience in community engagement, public administration, communications, nonprofit management, and/or stakeholder relations. Experience developing partnerships with nonprofit organizations, community-based organizations, neighborhood groups, or public agencies serving diverse populations. Bilingual or multilingual communication skills are preferred. Experience working in a municipal/government agency and experience managing community advisory groups or cross-sector partnerships are preferred.

Licensing and Certification Requirements

May need the ability to travel to various locations in a timely manner as the job requires.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Knowledge of the policies, procedures and goals of the City of Thornton and the department.
• Knowledge of best practices and principles of public engagement, community outreach strategies, and community relations.
• Knowledge of public administration and municipal governance, operations and decision-making process.
• Knowledge of community development and stakeholder engagement best practices.
• Knowledge of conflict resolution and consensus-building techniques.
• Knowledge of equity, diversity, and inclusion principles.
• Knowledge of project management principles, strategic planning, and project coordination.
• Skill in strong interpersonal, analytical, and skills.
• Skill of public speaking and presentation and public meeting facilitation.
• Skill of facilitation of meetings and workshops.
• Skill of writing and editing professional communications.
• Skill of organization and time management and managing multiple priorities and projects simultaneously.
• Ability to build trust with diverse community stakeholders, build collaborative relationships and expand partnerships that improve community outcome.
• Ability to increase awareness and utilization of City programs and services.
• Ability to develop innovative outreach strategies that increase participation and access to City programs.
• Ability to communicate effectively with residents, elected officials, executive leadership, and staff.
• Ability to develop metrics to evaluate outreach effectiveness and resident satisfaction and demonstrate measurable improvements in equitable access to City resources.
• Ability to direct and lead other employees.
• Ability to navigate sensitive or politically complex issues with professionalism.
• Ability to analyze community needs and recommend practical solutions.
• Ability to increase volunteer and community partner engagement.
• Ability to exercise sound judgment and maintain confidentiality when appropriate.
• Ability to work independently while fostering collaboration across departments.

Physical and Mental Requirements

While performing the essential duties of this job, the employee is required to climb, balance, stoop, kneel, crouch, reach, stand, walk, push, pull, lift, finger, grasp, feel, talk, hear and make repetitive motions. This position is mostly light work; exerting up to 20 pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 10 pounds of force frequently, and/or a negligible amount of force constantly to move objects. The employee is required to have close visual acuity.

Examinations may include but are not limited to application screening beyond minimum qualifications; written, oral, practical exercise or any combination thereof or other job related assessment deemed appropriate by Human Resources.

Your application will be used as a screening tool. Completeness and accuracy are important! Any false or untrue statements or material omissions in the application and related paperwork or during the selection process could disqualify you from consideration.

As a condition of employment, the City of Thornton conducts background investigations for all positions which may also include a review of credit report and/or driving record. A drug screen, physical, and/or psychological examination administered by a city-designated provider will be required for pre-determined positions.