Communications Specialist (Communications and Graphic Design Specialist)

Statement of Duties: Assists in the effective operation of the Community Relations Department performing a variety of graphic design, marketing and public relations duties; performs community outreach; performs other duties as assigned.

Supervision Required: Employee works under the general direction of the Project Coordinator The employee plans and carries out the regular work in accordance with standard practices and previous training, with substantial responsibility for determining the sequence and timing of action and substantial independence in planning and organizing the work activities, including determining the work methods. 

Supervisory Responsibility: Employee, as a regular part of the job, is not required to supervise other department employees. In absence of the supervisor, the position may occasionally manage and/or schedule the hours of part-time employees.

Confidentiality: The employee has access to some confidential information, not department-wide that is obtained during performance of essential functions, where the effect of any disclosure would probably be negligible or where the full significance of the overall confidential matter would not be apparent in the work performed.

Accountability: The nature of work assures that errors are usually detected in succeeding operations.  Consequences of errors, missed deadlines or poor judgment may include time loss caused by back checking by others and slowdowns in the processing of the work.  Errors are generally confined to a single department such as billing or accounting errors.

Judgement: The work requires examining, analyzing and evaluating facts and circumstances surrounding individual problems, situations, or transactions, and determining actions to be taken within the limits of standard or accepted practices. Guidelines include a large body of policies, practices and precedents which may be complex or conflicting, at times. Judgement is used in analyzing specific situations to determine appropriate actions. Employees are expected to weigh efficiency and relative priorities in conjunction with procedural concerns in decision making. Requires understanding, interpreting and applying federal, state and local regulations. 

Complexity: The work consists of the practical application of a variety of concepts, practices and specialized techniques relating to a professional or technical field. Assignments typically involve evaluation and interpretation of factors, conditions or unusual circumstances; inspecting, testing or evaluating compliance with established standards or criteria; gathering, analyzing and evaluating facts or data using specialized fact finding techniques; or determining the methods to accomplish the work.

Work Environment: The work environment includes everyday discomforts typical of indoor environments such as an office setting. Noise or physical surroundings may be distracting, but conditions are generally not unpleasant. The employee may be required to work beyond normal business hours in accordance with the library’s hours of service and in response to emergency calls for service support

Nature and Purpose of Relationships: Relationships are primarily with co-workers and the public involving frequent explanation, discussion or interpretation of practices, procedures, regulations or guidelines in order to render service, plan or coordinate work efforts, or resolve operating problems. Other regular contacts are with service recipients and employees of outside organizations such as vendors or consultants doing business with the department.

Occupational Risk: Duties generally do not present occupational risk to the employee, however, the employee’s failure to properly follow safety procedures or take necessary precautions when carrying out duties such as installing computer servers may present risk of injury.

Essential Functions:

The essential functions or duties listed below are intended only as illustrations of the various types of work that may be performed. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related, or a logical assignment to the position.

• Manage internal and external library communications to project a positive image internal and externally
• Use graphic design programs to create artwork for digital and print signage
• Write, edit, and distribute print and online communications
• Create and design publications, compelling graphics, and outreach materials, such as fliers, toolkits, and booklets
• Act as liaison between library and commercial print companies
• As a member of the marketing team, actively plays a role in promoting the library’s services to the community
• Support and evaluate results of communication campaigns with the team
• Collaborates with UX Librarian on all graphic design needs for the library
• Collaborates with library staff to ensure successful creation of graphics for programming and outreach
• Coordinate programs with outside organizations to use the library’s facilities
• Build and maintain relationships with the media 
• Works with librarians to ensure communication of services to bilingual community
• Oversees artist gallery displays & application process
•  Solicits and manages monthly displays by outside groups in the library’s display case.
• Attends arts and graphics events within the community to help incorporate the community’s feedback into the library
• Designs and styles library apparel for promotional events

Required Minimum Qualifications:

Education and Experience: Requires a bachelor’s degree in Communications or Art or related field and at a least one year of experience in graphic design, communications, marketing, public relations or related field.

Special Requirements: There are no special requirements for this position.

Knowledge, Abilities and Skills Required:

Knowledge: Requires knowledge of public relations principles, print and online design, excellent oral and written communication skills, and knowledge of Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Canva, and Microsoft Office. Good knowledge of office equipment, printing processes and preparing files for printing, including size guidelines. Knowledge of layouts, graphic fundamentals, typography, print and the web.

Abilities: Ability to work under distractions such as telephone calls and other disturbances. Photo editing and graphic design skills.

Skills: Well written and must be proficient in Adobe suite and Canva

Physical and Mental Requirements:

The physical demands described here 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 the position’s essential functions.

Physical Skills: Some physical demands are required to perform the work. Work effort principally involves sitting to perform work tasks, with intermittent periods of stooping, walking, and standing. There may also be frequent lifting of objects such as personal computers and related hardware.

Motor Skills: Essential functions involve close hand and eye coordination and physical dexterity. Manipulation and motor control under conditions which may require extreme accuracy may be critical. The manual skills required are comparable to those which might be needed in making repairs or installing computer hardware equipment and/or software.

Visual Skills: Position requires the employee to routinely read documents, reports, and computer screens for analysis and constantly for general understanding. Employees are required to routinely determine color differences.

Application Information

Application Submission:
 
Applications must be submitted online atwww.danbury-ct.gov/employment. Qualified applicants must submit an application no later than 11:59 pm, Monday, January 12^th, 2026. EEO/M/F/D/V
 
Important Note: Paper applications will not be accepted.