Employee & Executive Communications Manager (WMS BAND 1)

State of Washington; Olympia (WA); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Department of Enterprise Services (DES) in Olympia, WA, seeks an Employee & Executive Communications Manager to lead the Employee and Executive Communications team and align internal messaging with agency policy.

The role supports leadership communications, media relations, and legislative budgeting communications, with hybrid work and occasional evenings/weekends during sessions. Email inquiries to [e-mail].

Qualifications

• Five (5) years of professional experience in communications, public information, journalism, public relations, marketing, or closely related field.
• Two (2) years of supervisory experience.
• Bachelor’s degree with major study in English, communications, public information, journalism, public relations, advertising, marketing, or a closely related field; One year of professional experience in communications; Three (3) years of supervisory experience.

Responsibilities

• Manages agency employee communication strategies, including executive leadership messaging.
• Prepares talking points, speeches, presentations, supporting narratives and materials.
• Participate in practice sessions for legislative hearings, committee meetings, and informal meetings.
• Curates tools and training to preserve leadership tone, voice, and communication standards.
• Guides executive to employee communication strategies.
• Manages routine employee communication tactics including cascading communication plans and leadership toolkits, agency all‑staff meetings, insideDES intranet, weekly internal newsletter DES News.
• Manages major employee information campaigns.
• Partners and develops relationships with key staff across the agency.
• Makes sure content upholds brand standards.
• Partners with Executive Operations, Government Relations, and Finance to create a comprehensive legislative communications plan.
• Advises on key stakeholder interest and reaction to proposed activities.
• Coaches and advises leadership and spokespeople on how to effectively communicate and advance agency priorities.
• Measures and assesses outcomes to adjust strategies, update best practices and guidance, and achieve goals.
• Provides tools and resources to other Communication teams to ensure aligned strategies and messaging.
• Develops and manages complex public information activities.
• Advises staff and topic experts at all levels to develop and deliver communication strategies and materials.

Skills

Executive communications

Employee communications

Crisis communications

Public policy knowledge

Education

Bachelor's in English/Communications

Job description

Employee & Executive Communications Manager

WMS BAND 1

NOTE: The hiring authority reserves the right to offer the position at any time after the required posting period, and during the recruitment process. It is to the applicant's advantage to apply as early as possible.

The position’s assigned duty workstation is located at: 1500 Jefferson St. Olympia, WA.

This position is eligible for hybrid work with most daily work remote but must be able to come to the Olympia location on an as needed basis. This position requires the incumbent to be available on evenings and weekends to support the communication, and executive operation needs of the agency. This need is typically higher during the month leading up to and during Legislative session.

Who we are:

The Department of Enterprise Services (DES) provides centralized business services to state government agencies; to other public entities such as cities, counties and tribes; and to Washington residents. DES’ mission is to strengthen the business of government for a sustainable and just future. Learn more about DES.

About the Opportunity:

Communications is responsible for ensuring that DES is connecting with its audiences to achieve its strategic goals, assess and minimize risk, build and protect the agency’s public reputation and brand, and help agency customers easily understand, access, and connect with DES services.

Communications is a critical component of successful policy and government relations work, providing aligned messaging to support agency budget and legislative requests and stakeholder management for high-risk, sensitive, and politically charged issues. Work includes strategic communication planning, media relations, crisis and emergency response, agency brand, graphic design, digital platforms including website and social media, internal communications, public outreach, and all internal and external communication activities. Communications is responsible for creating communication plans to carry out federal, state, and agency law, rule, and policy implementations.

The Employee and Executive Communications Manager (EECM) reports directly to the Communications Director and is a trusted and confidential advisor on matters related to the employee and executive operation communication activities of the agency to the communications director, division staff and leadership, and by extension the agency cabinet. This position manages the Employee and Executive Communications team that plans, implements, and measures communications for employees and executive operations. This position is a member of the Communications leadership team and helps inform communications policy. The EECM manages communication activities and strategies that effectively support agency strategic and public policy goals and enhance employee culture. It ensures DES’ messages are meeting its audiences in the right way at the right time; it manages the agency’s communication strategies for employee communications and executive operations.

This role is responsible for recommending, coordinating, approving, and supplying communication strategies and activities for internal and external communication planning. This position monitors and measures the effectiveness of the activities under its direction, including employee, executive, and legislative and budget communications. The EECM gauges potential issues and areas of interest among key interested parties, and ensures communications aligns with agency mission, vision, values, and goals. This position provides round time (particularly during Legislative Session) support on issues of high public interest and must frequently safeguard confidential and high-risk or sensitive information in the course of its duties. The selected candidate will possess a deep understanding of the Washington policy landscape, including meaningful experience working with public policy or government relations, and a general understanding of the Washington state legislative process.

This position is essential in ensuring consistent communication and public information that supports the agency’s mission of strengthening the business of government for a sustainable and just future.

For more information about this position, email the recruiter: Rachel Vaughan by emailing [e-mail] and request the full job description.

Responsibilities associated with this position include:

Employee and executive communications

• Manages agency employee communication strategies, including executive leadership messaging.

• Ensures agency director, cabinet, and senior leaders (or anyone testifying on DES’ behalf to the Legislature) are adequately prepared and staffed for speaking engagements.
  • Prepare talking points, speeches, presentations, supporting narratives and materials.
  • Participate in practice sessions for legislative hearings, committee meetings, and informal meetings.
• Curates tools and training to preserve leadership tone, voice, and communication standards.
• Guides executive to employee communication strategies.
• Manages routine employee communication tactics including:
  • cascading communication plans and leadership toolkits
  • agency all‑staff meetings
  • insideDES intranet
  • weekly internal newsletter DES News
• Manages major employee information campaigns.
• Partners and develops relationships with key staff across the agency.
• Makes sure content upholds brand standards.

Executive operations - budget and legislative session

• Partners with Executive Operations, Government Relations, and Finance to create a comprehensive legislative communications plan with key strategies throughout the entire legislative and budget cycle.
• Partners with leadership and divisions to monitor agency efforts, associated risks, and issues management tied to agency reputation, public policy, budget and legislative requests.
• Advises on key stakeholder interest and reaction to proposed activities.
• Coaches and advises leadership and spokespeople on how to effectively communicate and advance agency priorities.
• Measures and assesses outcomes to adjust strategies, update best practices and guidance, and achieve goals.
• Provides tools and resources to other Communication teams to ensure aligned strategies and messaging.
• Develops and manages complex public information activities.
• Advises staff and topic experts at all levels to develop and deliver communication strategies and materials.

Executive operations - agent authorizing environment outreach and engagement

• Assists Government Relations in audience management of authorizers, including the Legislature, Governor's Office, Lieutenant Governor's Office, Office of Financial Management, and authorizing committees like the State Capitol Committee and Capitol Campus Design Advisory Group.
• Manages audience and issue profiles and anticipates communication needs by audience and risk.
• Manages inventory of vetted materials, including periodic reviews for accuracy and effectiveness.
• Supports Executive Operations and Government Relations in inquiry response and bill implementation.Manages legislative report communications strategy.

Lead Employee and Executive Communications team

• Supervises and directs work of Employee and Executive Communications team.
• Provides daily management, leadership, decision‑making, coaching, issue escalation and resolution.
• Sets and measures team performance standards, connected to division and agency strategic goals.
• Manages and develops employee performance.

Leadership

• Contributes as a member of Communications leadership team.

• Contributes to agency and statewide efforts.
• Assess impacts and provides analysis.
• Informs Communications policy development.
• Provides cross‑coverage for leadership absences.

Required Qualification/Experience/Education/ Competencies

To qualify for this position, you must have a total of five (5) years of any combination of qualifying education or qualifying experience. Experience may substitute year for year of higher education. Please note that supervisory experience does not count towards the required five (5) years of professional communication experience.

Here are ways to meet the qualifications for this position:

OPTION 1

Five (5) years of professional experience in communications, public information, journalism, public relations, marketing, or closely related field;

AND

Two (2) years of supervisory experience.

OPTION 2

Bachelor’s degree with major study in English, communications, public information, journalism, public relations, advertising, marketing, or a closely related field;

AND

One year of professional experience in communications, public information, journalism, public relations, marketing, or closely related field;

AND

Three (3) years of supervisory experience.

OPTION 3

I meet with qualifications other than the above listed.

In addition to meeting with one of the above options, qualified candidates must possess the following professional experience:

• Leading or supervising others.
• Providing expert strategic advice to leaders and peers.
• Developing and carrying out effective communication and outreach plans, including outreach and engagement, media relations, and public education.
• Providing clear direction, performance expectations, timely feedback, and coaching.
• Deciding and measuring effective tactics using performance data.
• Ability to lead through a highly complex process of communication strategies, consensus building, and issue resolution to lead to successful outcomes.
• Ability to manage multiple conflicting priorities and quickly adjust to a changing environment.
• Ability to navigate complex and technical subject matter and quickly acquire specific sets of subject matter expertise.
• Building collaborative partnerships throughout an organization and with external interested parties.