The City of Champaign offers excellent fringe benefits including: Paid vacation, sick, and personal leave and 11 paid City holidays each year; Health, life, dental, and vision insurance; Retirement health savings and flexible spending plans; Retirement benefits through the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF)
Required Education:
4 Year Degree
The Communications Manager is a highly responsible position that serves as the City’s lead and chief consultant to the City Manager, Mayor and City Council, and City Departments in the development and implementation of effective communication strategies, policies, and practices. This position serves as the City’s subject matter expert on media engagement, manages the City’s various public communication platforms, coordinates emergency communications, and manages marketing campaigns.
This position requires working independently, maintaining confidentiality, and being able to both lead and work collaboratively as a member of a team. The Communications Manager oversees the Communications Division, including staff supervision, purchasing, budgeting, and resource management.
The Communications Manager needs to be generally responsive and available to perform occasional work outside of regularly scheduled hours to attend meetings/events and respond to emergency situations. The Communications Manager must establish residency within a 30-minute drive time radius of the Champaign City Building within six months of employment.
Applications, including a cover letter and resume, must be submitted online no later than Sunday, July 20, 2025.
Required Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree in communications, marketing, journalism, public relations, advertising, electronic media, public administration, or a similar field.
Extensive, progressively responsible experience developing, coordinating, and executing communication plans and strategies.
Extensive, progressively responsible experience managing public communication technologies, including websites, social media, and/or television channels.
Extensive experience engaging with the media, including writing news releases, organizing press conferences, serving as a spokesperson, being interviewed by reporters, and prepping staff for interviews.
Progressively responsible experience supervising employees, including recruiting, coaching, evaluating, assigning and evaluating work, and setting performance expectations.
An equivalent combination of work experience and training that demonstrates the required knowledge, skills, and abilities will be considered.
Possess a valid driver’s license and acceptable driving record.
Preferred Attributes
Master’s degree in communications, marketing, journalism, public relations, advertising, electronic media, public administration, or a similar field.
Extensive public communication experience working for a government, nonprofit, or public sector agency.
Proficiency with professional content management, graphic design, and photo editing software.
Experience coordinating public communications during emergencies or crisis situations.
A drug screening, driving abstract, and criminal background check are also required.
The City of Champaign. Proud of our Diverse Community!
The City of Champaign, Illinois, is a progressive, vibrant, and diverse community of 88,000 residents conveniently located at the convergence of three Interstates with Chicago, Indianapolis, and St. Louis all within a short 2.5-hour drive. Home to the University of Illinois, our micro-urban community boasts a growing economy built on award-winning and innovative education, medical, research, technology, and manufacturing. Champaign is a family-friendly community filled with beautiful parks, diverse cultural opportunities, thriving Downtown and Campustown districts, affordable housing, and a stellar public library. With more than 500 employees, the City of Champaign offers great career opportunities for caring individuals who are dedicated to providing excellent customer service to our residents. As a member of the City’s team, you will have the opportunity to transform how people live, work, and play in our wonderful community.
