SUMMARY OF JOB RESPONSIBILITIES AND REQUIREMENTS
JOB TITLE: Sr Communications Mgr – Media
REQUISITION: CUS00F1
DEPARTMENT: Corporate Communications – Kansas City Headquarters
LOCATION: Kansas City, MO
PAY RANGE: Sr Communications Mgr: $76,400 – $101,800
Scheduled Work Hours: Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (Other hours as required) Flexible/hybrid work arrangements with typically 2-3 days per week in office. Candidates who are performing work remotely must live in Kansas or Missouri.
Summary of Primary Duties and Responsibilities:
Evergy is seeking an experienced and passionate communications manager with extensive experience developing media relationships, media strategy and writing, including news releases, media pitches, speaking points and more. This position will develop and execute media relations plans to support corporate strategy, community relations, marketing and other initiatives. This position builds relationships throughout the business to identify brand building stories, enhance brand reputation and mitigate risk. The communications manager will manage media lists in support of local and regional media releases and pitches and maintain and grow Evergy’s online newsroom. The position will also monitor media, develop reports and use results to advise and refine strategy. The communications manager will also be a key part of the emergency and storm response communications team, which requires occasional evening and weekend availability.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
• Represent Evergy as spokesperson for interviews with TV, radio and print media.
• Develop timely public relations and communications content including news releases, talking points, messaging points, media advisories and toolkits, including consideration of accompanying visuals created in partnership with other internal teams.
• Develop and advise on communications plans and strategy for a broad range of topics working with experts at all levels of the organization.
• Create media lists in support of outreach efforts including pitching, media alerts, news releases, etc.
• Cultivate relevant, engaging stories that elevate our brand and strengthen our reputation.
• Partner across internal and external communications channels to drive engagement and ensure consistent messaging.
• Coordinate with internal communications and social media teams to highlight positive news coverage.
• Provide insightful, strategic recommendations to stakeholders related to media queries and proactive media coverage.
• Develop and maintain speaking points for a range of company initiatives and potential reactive needs.
• Coach and prepare subject matter experts for media interviews.
• Develop media relationships to understand current and changing newsroom needs and use that knowledge to better work with media through direct story development and development of online newsroom resources.
• Monitor media coverage and use measurement tools to gauge the effectiveness of media strategy to inform and adapt future strategy. Produce media reports to demonstrate overall program results and special event/campaign results.
• Attend community open houses and informational project meetings to coordinate any media in attendance.
• Support communication strategy for company initiatives including infrastructure (transmission and distribution) investment.
• Participate in on-call rotation for evening and weekend media contacts and for emergency or storm response communications.
Required Skills, Knowledge and Abilities: • Excellent writing, editing and storytelling skills with understanding of newswriting, active voice and AP Style. • Intellectual curiosity is an integral part of this position. Must have excellent interviewing skills, with the ability to collect, analyze and curate information to tell a compelling story. • Ability to serve as company spokesperson, including on camera, often on short notice. • Proficient in Microsoft Office with strong ability in Word to develop, manage review of and prepare documents for distribution and general ability using Word, Excel and PowerPoint. • Media monitoring platform management and use of reporting to measure effectiveness. • Understanding of local media operations and their needs. • With limited direction, ability to manage and prioritize multiple projects with proven success working under pressure and meeting deadlines. • Experience and comfort working with confidential information. • Occasional travel within Kansas and Missouri to build company and media relationships.
Preferred Skills, Knowledge and Abilities: • Ability to capture and edit photos and video to build out online newsroom, publish in other channels and supplement media pitches and news releases. • Familiarity with publishing and editing in content management systems (CMS). • Familiarity with Stream Yard and ability to set up live stream social media and media briefings. • Knowledge of Adobe Creative Cloud.
Education and Experience Requirements: A bachelor’s degree in journalism, communications, marketing or related field is highly preferred. Candidates must have at least five years of experience in journalism, media relations, content writing and/or marketing communications.
Licenses, Certificates, Bonding and/or Testing Required: Must have a valid driver’s license. Must have reliable high-speed home internet.
Working Conditions: Normal office working conditions. Must have a satisfactory work record including good attendance.
Evergy has a clear mission – To empower a better future. Evergy chooses to live this mission by valuing People First. We know that to lead the responsible energy transition and provide affordable, reliable, and sustainable service to our customers and communities, we need a team with a variety of backgrounds, perspectives and skills. So, our goal is to be a diverse workforce that is representative of the communities we serve. We are committed to celebrating diversity and building a team where everyone – regardless of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status – has a voice and can bring their best every day. We know that the more diverse and inclusive we are, the better we will be. Evergy is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer.
Disclaimer: The above information has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees assigned to this job.