Public Communications Specialist - Media & Crisis

Bay Area Rapid Transit; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 119,000 - 145,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Weekend days off

Job summary

Bay Area Rapid Transit is seeking a Communications Officer I to support the Media Relations team in a fast-paced, high-visibility public communications environment. You will craft news releases, passenger bulletins, and social media content to inform over 200,000 daily riders about service changes, safety initiatives, and district programs.

The role requires coordinating interviews, monitoring media, and producing accurate, timely content under deadlines.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in English, journalism, communications, or a closely related field.

Responsibilities

• Under daily, time-sensitive deadlines, prepares written, digital, and multimedia content that highlights District plans, activities, and programs; disseminates information to the news media and general public through press releases, social media posts, passenger bulletins and news articles.
• Assists in responding to media inquiries by gathering information, preparing background materials, coordinating interviews, and providing factual information under established guidelines.
• Supports crisis communications by gathering information, writing news releases, and assisting with public outreach.
• Participates in planning events with other District staff; contacts media to ensure participation; attends events and provides staff support.
• Participates in after-hours on-call rotation to respond to media inquiries about service disruptions and other newsworthy events that occur outside standard hours.
• Posts content on the District’s social media channels regarding service disruptions and other newsworthy events.
• Writes and develops content for the District’s social media channels.
• Assists in developing website content, multimedia content, passenger communications, and social media content; and edits news articles as assigned.
• Assists with maintaining media contact list, including bilingual news outlets; and develops relationships with reporters who cover District news.
• Attends Board of Directors and other public meetings and may assist with audio/visual needs.
• Contributes creative public outreach ideas to advance District priorities.

Skills

Writing clear content

Media relations

Crisis communications

Social media management

News gathering

Fact gathering

Interviews coordination

Public speaking

Team collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in English/journalism/communications

Tools

Content management systems

Media monitoring tools

Job description

Bay Area Rapid Transit is seeking a Communications Officer I to support the Media Relations team in a fast-paced, high-visibility public communications environment. You will craft news releases, passenger bulletins, and social media content to inform over 200,000 daily riders about service changes, safety initiatives, and district programs.

The role requires coordinating interviews, monitoring media, and producing accurate, timely content under deadlines.