Temporary Social Media and Community Outreach Intern

City of Merced; Merced (CA); On-site; USD 42,000 - 64,000; Full time

Job summary

The City of Merced is seeking an experienced communications professional to manage social media and community outreach for City events and projects. Under general direction, the incumbent will plan, organize, and create content across platforms to engage residents and stakeholders.

The role emphasizes clear, grammatically correct public communications, collaboration with City staff, and timely updates to inform the community about events, meetings, and initiatives.

Qualifications

• Experience managing social media content across platforms.
• Ability to draft clear public-facing updates with proper grammar.
• Familiarity with basic social media analytics and engagement metrics.

Responsibilities

• Assist with creating and posting content for city social media platforms.
• Support scheduling and monitoring of social media posts using approved tools.
• Help track basic social media analytics and engagement metrics
• Assist with drafting captions, announcements, and community updates
• Support community outreach initiatives and City events as needed
• Monitor public comments and messages and route inquiries appropriately
• Collaborate with City staff on communication and outreach projects
• Perform other related duties in support of the City Manager’s Office.

Skills

Social media

Content creation

Analytics

Public communications

Customer service

Education

Degree in communications/PR/marketing

Tools

Hootsuite

Sprout Social

Canva

Meta Business Suite

Job description

Description

Class specifications are intended to present a descriptive list of the range of duties performed by employees in the class. Specifications are not intended to reflect all duties performed within the job.

Description

Class specifications are intended to present a descriptive list of the range of duties performed by employees in the class. Specifications are not intended to reflect all duties performed within the job.

Summary Description

Under general direction, incumbent will assist with planning, organizing, coordinating, and creating social media and community outreach for City events, meetings, and projects.

DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS

The incumbent is expected to be technically proficient in content creation, social media literacy, social media analytics, and other public facing items. Incumbent must exhibit a mastery of grammar in both oral and written communications and demonstrate professional customer service.

Reports To

City Manager or designee

CLASSIFICATIONS SUPERVISED

This is not a supervisory classification.

Examples of Duties

• Assist with creating and posting content for city social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, X, NextDoor, and LinkedIn)
• Support scheduling and monitoring of social media posts using approved tools
• Help track basic social media analytics and engagement metrics
• Assist with drafting captions, announcements, and community updates
• Support community outreach initiatives and City events as needed
• Monitor public comments and messages and route inquires appropriately
• Collaborate with City staff on communication and outreach projects
• Perform other related duties in support of the City Manager’s Office.

Typical Qualifications

The following generally describes the knowledge and ability required to enter the job and/or be learned within a short period of time in order to successfully perform the assigned duties.

Knowledge Of

• Social media strategies, analytics, and scheduling tools (example: Hootsuite, Sprout Social, Canva, Meta Business Suite, etc.
• Best practices in social media communication
• Best practices in customer service
• Proper grammar rules
• Business etiquette

Ability To

• Organize and support community events and outreach programs.
• Write public facing updates, bulletins, and announcements using proper grammar and in incumbent’s own words. AI shall be limited in its use as a resource only and shall not be used to write public facing documents in its entirety.
• Complete tasks in a timely manner, using available software tools for follow-up of any outstanding items as needed.
• Follow directions.
• Work collaboratively in a team setting.
• Communicate with the public in a professional manner.

Education/Training

Education and Experience Guidelines – Any combination of education and experience that would likely provide the required knowledge and abilities is qualifying. A typical way to obtain the knowledge and abilities would be: A degree or coursework in communications, public relations, marketing, or a related field.

Experience

Work with social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X, NextDoor, and LinkedIn, in a professional setting. Familiarity with content creation tools is highly preferred.

License Or Certificate

Possession of an appropriate California Driver license. Reliable transportation is required to ensure the ability to travel to work during the expected hours.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORKING ENVIRONMENT

The conditions herein are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential job functions.

Environment: Work is performed in an office environment with travel from site to site and frequent contact with staff and the public.

Physical: Primary functions require sufficient physical ability to work in an office environment; frequently stand and walk; sit for extended periods; normal manual dexterity and eye-hand coordination; lift and move objects weighing up to 25 pounds; corrected hearing and vision to normal range; verbal communication; and use of engineering and office equipment, including computers, telephone, calculators, copiers, and FAX.