Salary : $64,507.00 - $100,066.00 Annually
Location : 101 City Hall Plaza, Durham, NC
Job Type: Full time with benefits
Job Number: 26-06121
Department: Housing & Neighborhood Services
Opening Date: 10/22/2026
Closing Date: 11/19/2026 11:59 PM Eastern
Position DescriptionIf you're passionate about helping residents access information, engage in public decisions, and connect with resources that support affordable, safe, and fair housing, the City of Durham invites you to consider the role of Communications and Outreach Coordinator with the Housing & Neighborhood Services (HNS) Department.
The Communications and Outreach Coordinator leads and coordinates departmental communications and outreach for the Housing & Neighborhood Services Department.
This position will be nested within the Housing and Neighborhood Services Department's Administration Division.
An ideal candidate will have experience in public information, communications, and equitable engagement.
About the PositionKnowledge of:
- Principles and practices of public communication, marketing, outreach, and community engagement.
- Effective writing, editing, and plain language communication techniques for diverse audiences.
- Digital communication platforms, including websites, social media, email systems, and content management tools.
- Project coordination, workflow management, and editorial processes.
- Equity centered engagement strategies and culturally responsive communication approaches.
Skills in:
- Writing clear, accurate, and accessible content for print and digital formats.
- Facilitating meetings, public events, listening sessions, and outreach activities
- Coordinating projects, timelines, approvals, and cross departmental workflows.
- Problem solving, identifying communication challenges, and recommending effective solutions.
- Using design, layout, or content creation tools.
Duties/Responsibilities - Strategic Communications and Content Development: Develop and implement department-wide communication plans that align with HNS priorities, major initiatives, and the City's strategic goals.
- Community Outreach and Engagement: Plan and lead departmental engagement strategies, including logistics, promotions, and gathering stakeholder feedback.
- Employee Advisement and Engagement: Provide communications guidance and direction to staff, including the executive team, andsupport internal employee engagement efforts
- Perform other related duties as assigned.
Minimum Qualifications & Experience - Bachelor's Degree in business or public administration, communications, or directly related field, and one year of professional communications, web and graphic design, media relations, public information, or video production experience.
OR- An equivalent combination of education and experience sufficient to successfully perform the essential duties of the job such as those listed above, unless otherwise subject to any other requirements set forth in law or regulation.
Additional Preferred Skills - Two years of professional experience in communications, public information, public relations, marketing, community outreach, community engagement, or a related field.
- Experience developing and implementing strategic communications or public-engagement plans, preferably in local government, housing, community development, or a related public-service setting.
- Superb written and verbal communication skills and strong public speaking and presentation skills.
- Proficiency with Microsoft 365 and content-creation tools such as Canva or Adobe Creative Cloud;
- Knowledge of digital accessibility, plain-language, language-access, records-management, and public-sector communications practices.
- Bilingual or multilingual communication skills, particularly Spanish, are a plus.
ADA AND OTHER REQUIREMENTS:Positions in this class typically require: climbing, balancing, stooping, reaching, standing, walking, fingering, grasping, talking, hearing, and seeing.
Light Work: Exerting up to 20 pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 10 pounds of force frequently, and/or negligible amount of force constantly to move objects. If the use of arm and/or leg controls requires exertion of forces greater than that for Sedentary Work and the worker sits most of the time, the job is rated for Light Work.
Working Conditions:
Work is performed in indoor and outdoor environments.
Incumbents may be expected to travel to external locations/organizations.
Benefits - General Full-Time Employees - 12-13 paid holidays per year
- 13 standard work days of vacation per year
- 13 standard work days of sick leave per year, which accumulates indefinitely; sick leave may be used toward early retirement
- 2 weeks paid military leave per year
- Medical, dental, vision, and supplemental life insurance plans
- State and City retirement plans
- Short and long term disability plans
- Paid temporary disability leave for specified conditions
- City contribution of 13.6% into the N.C. State Retirement System
- Paid funeral leave
- Employee Assistance Program - personal and family counseling
- Paid life insurance equal to annual salary
- 48 hours for volunteer work each year*
- 4 hours parental leave each year
- Workman's Compensation Insurance
- 457 Deferred Compensation Plans
Benefits - Part-Time (1,000 hours or more per year) - 401(k) retirement plan (5.0% of salary)
- State retirement plan
Benefits Part-Time (Average 30 hours per week over 12 month period) - 401(k) retirement plan (5.0% of salary)
- State retirement plan effective first day of the month following date of hire
- Health insurance effective first day of the month following date of hire
- Dental and life insurance, after one year of service
- Pro-rated vacation, pro-rated sick, pro-rated floating holiday, parttime holiday pay (based on scheduled hours for that day) after one year of service
01
Where did you first hear about this opportunity?
- City of Durham Website
- Walk in
- Job fair
- Employee referral
- Professional organization ***Please list the organization in "other" box below***
- Internet posting ***Please list the specific web site in the "other" box below***
- Craig's List
- Facebook
- LinkedIn
- GlassDoor
- governmentjobs.com
- Monster.com
- Indeed.com
- Employment Security Commission
- Magazine/Newspaper
- Other
02
If you listed "other" above please give specific web site, organization, or publication.
03
Please select your highest level of COMPLETED education.
- Less than a High School Diploma or Equivalent (GED, HiSET, TASC)
- High School Diploma or Equivalent (GED, HiSET, TASC)
- Associates Degree
- Bachelor's Degree
- Master's Degree
- Doctoral Degree (PhD, Juris Doctorate)
04
How many years of professional experience do you have in professional communications, web and graphic design, media relations, public information, or video production?
- No related experience
- Less than 1 year of related experience
- 1 year but less than 5 years of related experience
- 5 years but less than 9 years of related experience
- 9 years but less than 13 years of related experience
- 13 or more years of related experience
05
How many years of professional experience do you have creating graphic, web, social media, email, photography, or video content?
- No related experience
- Less than 1 year of related experience
- 1 year but less than 5 years of related experience
- 5 years but less than 9 years of related experience
- 9 years but less than 13 years of related experience
- 13 or more years of related experience
06
Briefly describe a communications campaign or outreach initiative you developed or coordinated. Include the intended audience, communications channels or engagement methods used, your role, and the results. If none, type N/A.
07
Briefly describe your experience engaging diverse or historically underserved communities. Include any experience addressing language, accessibility, technology, or trust-related barriers to participation. If none, type N/A.
08
If available, provide a link to a portfolio or examples of relevant writing, graphic design, web, social media, photography, video, or outreach materials.
Required Question
