Press Secretary

City of New York; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

City of New York seeks a Press Secretary to run a busy three-person press office and help develop all public statements, press releases, and events for the Department. You will manage relationships with reporters, editors, and agency partners, shaping messaging across media and internal channels.

Responsibilities include supervising the team, coordinating with senior leadership, and proactively pitching positive stories.

Qualifications

• A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college and two years of satisfactory, full-time experience related to the projects and policies to be studied in the particular position.

Responsibilities

• Oversee the daily operations of a busy press office and assist in developing public statements, press releases, and events.
• Manage relationships with reporters, editors, and editorial boards, and with representatives from other agencies, City Hall and industry members.
• Supervise the press office to ensure timely, accurate, and contextualized information to media and internal outlets.
• Prepare senior management for interviews and proactively pitch positive news stories.
• Compose op-eds, press releases, advisories, talking points, remarks, and newsletters.
• Be on-call nights and weekends to respond to urgent press inquiries and press matters.

Skills

Public speaking

Writing & editing

Media relations

Press events

New York City media

City government interest

Collaboration

Multitasking

Deadlines

Spanish

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

The Press Secretary will oversee the daily operations of a busy, three-person press office. The Press Secretary will assist in-developing all public statements, press releases, and events involving the Department. The selected candidate will be responsible for managing relationships with reporters, editors, and editorial boards, as well as representatives from other agencies, City Hall and industry members.

Specifically, the Press Secretary will:

• Work closely with Chief Communications Officer to create and implement innovative and proactive strategies for outreach, education, and communication to the public.
• Ensure all public communications adhere to the Department's Strategic Plan and the message, mission, and vision of the Department.
• Supervise the press office to ensure consistent, timely, accurate, and appropriately contextualized information to media and internal outlets.
• Regularly update the Buildings Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner of External Affairs, and Chief Communications Officer on press issues and inquiries.
• Apprise senior management of potential communications issues and provide recommendations for action.
• Prepare senior management for interviews, as needed.
• Actively pitch positive news stories.
• Compose op-eds, press releases, advisories, talking points, remarks, emergency incident debriefs, newsletters and other agency writing assignments.
• Be ready on-call on nights and weekends to respond to urgent press inquiries and press matters.
• Working on special projects and initiatives, as needed.

REMOTE WORK

This position may be eligible for remote work up to 2 days per week, pursuant to the Remote Work Pilot Program.

CONFIDENTIAL STRATEGY PLANNER - 5474A

Minimum Qualifications

A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college and two years of satisfactory, full-time experience related to the projects and policies to be studied in the particular position.

Preferred Skills

• Five years of relevant work experience
• Public speaking
• Exceptional writing and editing skills across formats: press, digital, long-form, speeches, testimony, and op-eds
• Proven experience managing media relations and press events
• Knowledge and interest in the New York City media landscape
• Interest in city government, real estate, housing, or construction industries
• Collaborative working style, strong multitasking ability, and comfort operating under tight deadlines
• Spanish proficiency a plus

Public Service Loan Forgiveness

As a prospective employee of the City of New York, you may be eligible for federal loan forgiveness programs and state repayment assistance programs. For more information, please visit the U.S. Department of Education's website at https://studentaid.gov/pslf/.

Residency Requirement

New York City residency is generally required within 90 days of appointment. However, City Employees in certain titles who have worked for the City for 2 continuous years may also be eligible to reside in Nassau, Suffolk, Putnam, Westchester, Rockland, or Orange County. To determine if the residency requirement applies to you, please discuss with the agency representative at the time of interview.

Additional Information

The City of New York is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.