Darius R. Cobb
Director of Strategic Communications, City government
Savannah, GA · (912) 555 0129 · name@example.com · linkedin.com/in/dariusrcobb
Key Qualifications
EXPERIENCE
Eighteen years in government communications including seven as director
INDUSTRIES
City government, county emergency management
SPECIALTIES
Crisis communications, media relations, public information officer practice, digital engagement
SYSTEMS
Granicus, Meltwater, Everbridge, Adobe Creative Cloud, Sprout Social, NextRequest
CREDENTIALS
Accredited in Public Relations with the Certificate in Principles of Public Information
EDUCATION
Master of Public Administration, Georgia Southern University
Results at a Glance
1.4
Million dollar annual
70%
Top service tasks
45
Department spokespersons
Executive Summary
Communications director for a city of 210,000, leading a team of eleven across media relations, digital, video and public records. Eighteen years in government communications, seven as director. Served as lead public information officer through two hurricane evacuations and a police involved shooting.
Signature Achievements
- Leads an eleven person communications office with a 1.4 million dollar annual budget for a city of 210,000.
- Served as lead public information officer in the joint information center through two hurricane evacuations.
- Grew the city emergency notification list from 24,000 to 96,000 subscribers in three years.
- Cut average response time on Freedom of Information Act style records requests from 21 days to 8.
- Rebuilt the city website so that 70 percent of the top 20 service tasks completed in three clicks or fewer.
- Trained 45 department spokespersons on message discipline and on the record interviews.
- Produced a video and social series on storm preparedness that reached 620,000 views across the region.
Professional Experience
Director of Strategic Communications
City of Tybee Harbor Georgia, Savannah, GA 2019 to present
Director over eleven staff covering media, digital, video, translation and records for a city of 210,000.
- Sets the annual communications plan with the city manager and department directors.
- Runs the crisis communications function and staffs the joint information center during activations.
- Directs media relations, briefings and the spokesperson rotation across 14 departments.
- Oversees public records administration and the response timelines the city publishes.
- Manages digital channels, the notification system and the annual resident survey communications.
Public Information Officer
Coastal Empire County Emergency Management Agency, Savannah, GA 2014 to 2019
Lead public information officer for a county emergency agency covering 300,000 residents.
- Wrote and issued evacuation, shelter and reentry messaging during five declared events.
- Built the bilingual notification templates used by all municipal partners in the county.
- Coordinated media staging, briefings and interview access during activations.
- Trained municipal partners on public information officer roles before each hurricane season.
- Managed the agency public information budget and the outreach vendor contracts.
Communications Specialist
Ogeechee River Water Authority, Statesboro, GA 2008 to 2014
Specialist handling outreach and customer communications for a regional water authority.
- Produced the annual water quality report distributed to 40,000 households.
- Managed outage notifications and construction impact communications.
- Handled media inquiries on rate changes and infrastructure projects for the authority board.
Licensure and Certification
Accredited in Public Relations, Public Relations Society of America, 2016
Certificate in Principles of Public Information, Emergency Management Institute, 2015
Member, National Association of Government Communicators
Education
Master of Public Administration, Georgia Southern University, 2013
Bachelor of Arts in journalism, University of Georgia, 2007
Core Skills
Crisis communications · Public information officer practice · Media relations · Joint information center operations · Public records administration · Digital engagement · Message development · Spokesperson training · Granicus · Meltwater · Team leadership