Public Relations Officer - Office of the Mayor

Public Relations Officer - Office of the Mayor

Salary

$63,793.60 Annually

Location

City County Building, IN

Job Type

Full Time

Job Number

09886

Department

Office of the Mayor

Opening Date

06/03/2026

Closing Date

7/3/2026 11:59 PM Eastern

• Description
• Benefits

Overview

Agency Summary

As the head of the executive branch, the Office of the Mayor is responsible for enforcing city ordinances and state laws; appointing, supervising and removing heads and employees of city government departments, agencies and divisions; appointing, supervising, and removing deputy mayors, with appointments subject to City-County Council approval; communicating and coordinating with the City-County Council concerning the financial condition and budget of the city and county; and setting the salaries of city employees.

Job Summary

Position is responsible for the researching and drafting of remarks, press releases, media advisories, and talking points and helps coordinate press conferences and events for the Mayor's Office. In addition, they will help manage social media and digital efforts including Twitter, Facebook, the Mayor's Office Web site, the City of Indianapolis e-newsletter, as well as the City-County Enterprise. The Public Relations Officer serves as a communications liaison on core initiatives, events, and appearances of the Mayor. This position reports to the Director - Communications.

Position requires the knowledge or ability to confirm and follow all established city and departmental policies and procedures.

Equal Employment Opportunity

The City of Indianapolis Marion County is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran, or disability status. We value diversity in perspectives and experiences among colleagues and the residents of this city of whom we serve.

Position Responsibilities

• Craft remarks and speeches for the Mayor of Indianapolis.
• Craft remarks and fact sheets for the Deputy Mayor's and other cabinet members
• Works with Communications Director to assist in the development of key messages for administration announcements, interviews, etc.
• Work with city communications staff to draft scripts for video production
• Collaborate with Mayor's Office staff, and outside agencies on mayoral initiatives
• Works with Assistant Director of Communications to coordinate the work of Mayor's Office communications interns
• Responsible for developing talking points for administration staff (including but not limited to: cabinet members, Mayor's Neighborhood Advocates, etc.) related to programs, policies, and announcements
• Responsible for coordinating talking points assigned to each speaker for an event to ensure messaging flow and prevent repetition
• Works with Deputy Chief of Staff to ensure proper preparation for each event i.e., when it's appropriate to write remarks vs fact sheets, name pronunciations, when headshots of key attendees may be necessary, etc.
• Responsible for maintaining messaging platforms that unify communications across the Enterprise
• Develop and maintain Web content, including graphics, for the Mayor's Office Web site
• Staff the Mayor at events, speeches, etc.
• Take photos at events and appearances
• This list of duties and responsibilities is not intended to be all-inclusive and may be expanded to include other duties or responsibilities that management may deem necessary from time to time

Qualifications

Bachelor's Degree in Communications or similar field and a minimum of three (3) years' prior work-related experience is required. Any combination of education and work experience meeting the minimum seven (7) years' experience is acceptable. Must demonstrate excellent oral and written communications skills and show ability to balance multiple task and deadline assignments. Demonstrate consistent creative ability when presented with projects and events. Must maintain organized records and create reports, utilizing excel spreadsheets as needed. Respectful, courteous, and timely response to public required, either face to face, by e-mail, through correspondence, and/or by telephone, always using professional and courteous language and demeanor.

Must perform a wide and diverse variety of duties and responsibilities with accuracy, attentiveness, speed, and professionalism under the constant pressure of time-sensitive deadlines and expectations of high-quality materials and outcomes. Strong leadership qualities and ability to integrate into team philosophy are required. Knowledge of social media tools including Twitter, Facebook and Flickr are required. Knowledge of Microsoft Office, photo editing software (Photoshop), Exact Target and other software is required. Excellent writing and verbal communication skills are required. Position requires the knowledge and understanding of overall messaging and positions of the Administration. Demonstrate creative ability when presented with unformatted projects and/or ideas. Must be able to work on multiple projects at once and establish and set priorities according to time sensitive information. Must be able to type, update and/or create reports and spreadsheets as needed.

If your qualifications meet the requirements of the posted position, your application will be referred to the hiring agency. Once the agency receives your application, all further communication during the interview and selection process will be handled directly BY THE AGENCY. It is IMPERATIVE that you record the contact information of the individual who is scheduling your interview. City-County HR will not have access to this information, is not involved in the interview or selection process, and can only confirm whether an application has been referred. After selection of the successful candidate, an official offer of employment will be made by HR.

Working Conditions

Working conditions generally entail office environment but also include outside venues for mayoral speeches and appearances, meetings and events.

Physical Conditions

• Sitting at a desk the majority of the day
• Some lifting, carrying, pushing and/or pulling of objects and materials of light weight (5-10) pounds
• Tasks may involve extended periods of time at keyboard or workstation
• Tasks require the ability to perceive and hear sounds and see visual cues or signals
• Tasks require the ability to communicate orally

All rates are bi-weekly.

2026 Rate Sheet - To view our rate sheet, please copy and paste this link into your web browser: https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:67382b58-4d1a-4519-89d7-8453f91e19a1

Life Insurance Employee Only (rates per $1,000 per month):

Basic: Employer Paid

Optional Life Insurance Employee Only (rates per $1,000 per month)

Additional:

<25-29 $0.058

30-34 $0.083

35-39 $0.099

40-44 $0.132

45-49 $0.223

50-54 $0.363

55-59 $0.600

60-64 $0.795

65-69 $1.329

70 + $2.054

IMPORTANT PERF UPDATE:

• For more information on eligibility options, refer to Proposal 21-288 https://bit.ly/3exq8yR

1. All employees hired/rehired after 1/1/2022 have a choice to select the PERF Hybrid plan (3% + Pension) or the INPRS My Choice: Retirement Savings plan (3% + 1% Contribution). The Hybrid plan consists of two components:

Annuity Savings Account (ASA) -This consists of the mandatory employee contribution of three (3%) percent of compensation (made for the employee by the City), plus interest credits or earnings. Youre always vested in your ASA portion - its always yours.

Pension - The pension portion of the retirement benefit is funded by contributions made by the employer over the course of the employees career and separate from the annuity savings account. Employees enrolled in the PERF Hybrid plan are eligible for retirement benefits at age sixty-five (65) if they have ten (10) or more years of creditable service. After June 30, 1995, employees may retire at age sixty (60) with at least fifteen (15) years of credible service or if the members age in years plus the years of credible service equals at least 85 and the member is at least fifty-five (55) years of age. With fifteen (15) or more years of creditable service, the employee may retire as early as age fifty (50) with a reduced pension.

2. Employees hired/rehired by the City and County between 1/1/2017 and 12/31/2021 will be automatically enrolled in the PERF My Choice: Retirement Savings plan. This plan is an annuity savings account (ASA) only plan and does not have a pension component. Any service that an employee has in the My Choice: Retirement Savings Plan will not count toward the service time requirements for pension eligibility in the Hybrid Plan.

With the PERF My Choice: Retirement Savings Plan, the ASA is split up into two parts:

Part one - This consists of the mandatory employee contribution of three (3%) percent of compensation (made for the employee by the City), plus interest credits or earnings. Youre always vested in your ASA portion - its always yours.

Part two - This consists of an additional variable rate contribution paid by the City toward your ASA. This variable rate contribution is currently 1% of your gross wages. Vesting in the value of the variable rate employer contribution will vary by length of participation. You are:

• 20 percent vested after 1 full year of participation
• 40 percent vested after 2 full years of participation
• 60 percent vested after 3 full years of participation
• 80 percent vested after 4 full years of participation
• 100 percent vested after 5 full years of participation

3. All employees hired/rehired prior to 1/1/2017 are grandfathered into PERF Hybrid plan. The Hybrid plan consists of two components:

Annuity Savings Account (ASA) -This consists of the mandatory employee contribution of three (3%) percent of compensation (made for the employee by the City), plus interest credits or earnings. Youre always vested in your ASA portion - its always yours.

Pension - The pension portion of the retirement benefit is funded by contributions made by the employer over the course of the employees career and separate from the annuity savings account. Employees enrolled in the PERF Hybrid plan are eligible for retirement benefits at age sixty-five (65) if they have ten (10) or more years of creditable service. After June 30, 1995, employees may retire at age sixty (60) with at least fifteen (15) years of credible service or if the members age in years plus the years of credible service equals at least 85 and the member is at least fifty-five (55) years of age. With fifteen (15) or more years of creditable service, the employee may retire as early as age fifty (50) with a reduced pension.

4. City Employees hired/rehired between 1/1/2017 and 12/31/21 that are members of the City AFSCME labor union can choose to enroll in either the PERF My Choice: Retirement Savings plan or the PERF Hybrid plan. Both plans are described above. Employees have 60 days to choose which option they want, and by state law this cannot be changed. If no choice is made, the employee will then be automatically added to the PERF My Choice: Retirement Savings plan.

The Indiana General Assembly has enacted a provision that allows public employees to make voluntary contributions in addition to the mandatory three percent (3%) contributions. Employees may contribute up to an additional ten- percent (10%) of their compensation per pay period to the annuity savings account. This means that the maximum level of contributions to the annuity savings account under this new provision is thirteen percent (13%) of an employees compensation per pay period.

Employees who separate from the city within their first ten (10) years of employment need to contact INPRS - PERF regarding their ASA account.

Questions relating to PERF may be directed to INPRS - PERF at:

Indiana Public Retirement System

Public Employees Retirement Fund

One North Capitol, Suite 001

Indianapolis, Indiana 46204

(888) 236-3544

Employer City of Indianapolis and Marion County

Address 200 E. Washington Street

CCB 1501

Indianapolis, Indiana, 46204

Phone 317-327-5211

Website http://www.indy.gov