Position Description
About the Office of Commissioner Rodney Ellis
The Office of Commissioner Rodney Ellis serves Harris County, the largest county in Texas and the third largest in the United States. In a fast-moving policy environment, our decisions shape statewide and national conversations on democracy, justice, health, climate resilience, and economic dignity.
Commissioner Rodney Ellis is a nationally respected leader with a decades-long record of advancing civil rights, justice, and equity in Texas. Alongside a strategic leadership team, an expert policy division, and a community affairs team with deep ties across the county, we’re building one of the most sophisticated and values-driven communications shops in local government.
Our communications operation integrates narrative, press, digital, and creative into a unified engine that meets the moment, moves public organizing, and delivers results for the people we serve. We hold high standards and provide high support, offering candid feedback, teamwork without ego, strategic thinking, calm decision-making, and a shared commitment to human dignity and public service.
If you want to do work that leaves a mark—on your career, on this country, and on issues that shape our future—you belong here. We recruit nationally; relocation to Houston is required.
About The Position
As Digital Director, you’re the digital leader for the Office of Commissioner Rodney Ellis, driving strategy and execution across the website, email, text, and social platforms.
You oversee a small, high-performing team that turns policy and narrative into clear, usable pathways for residents: read what’s new, get details, sign up, show up, and stay engaged. You co-build campaign calendars with Narrative Strategy, Media Relations, and Creative leadership, ensure evergreen information is accurate and current, and set the digital operating rhythm—cadence, standards, and simple checklists—so publishing is fast, accessible, and on-brand.
You design digital channels that work together, where email points residents to useful pages and invites them to follow; social drives sign-ups and RSVPs; web pages capture interest with simple forms; and in-person moments become posts, clips, and newsletter items that extend reach. You bake accessibility and language justice into digital strategy from the start, working with County translation services or trusted partners to ensure digital content is multilingual as needed.
Across each quarter, you’ll plan and launch digital support for priority initiatives, grow the audiences that matter, and leave behind cleaner systems and templates that help the whole team move faster and smarter.
The role is ideal for a strategic, hands-on digital leader who blends editorial judgment, technical fluency, and operational discipline and enjoys turning data into clear recommendations the whole team can use.
Key Responsibilities:
Digital strategy
- Lead the digital vision and collaborate on quarterly communications planning with the leadership team and the directors of Narrative, Media Relations, and Creative. Define digital goals for each initiative(who to reach, what action to drive), and how web, email, text, and social work together to achieve our goals. Run a simple weekly rhythm (stand-ups, a rolling 6-week calendar) so campaigns, approvals, and parity/access steps are locked in before launch.
Team leadership & coaching
- Manage and coach the Social Media Manager and Digital Experience Producer. Set clear goals, run 1:1s, review work, and grow skills. Coordinate interns as needed.
Channel standards & security
- Keep our website, email, text, and social systems reliable and secure: monitor uptime, back up content, keep software updated, enforce permissions and multi-factor logins, and protect resident data. Maintain clear publishing standards and documentation.
Website strategy & architecture
- Own an evolving site architecture and quarterly roadmap. Make it easy to find “what’s new” and “what to do,” run regular content audits, improve navigation and search, and retire or merge outdated pages with a clear content lifecycle (publish, update, archive/redirect). Create page templates and standards that scale across issues.
Email & text programs
- Own deliverability, templates, list health, segmentation, cadence, and digital communications compliance. Use email/text to move people to the right pages and events—and help grow followers and sign-ups across channels.
Social operations (you lead; SMM executes)
- Approve calendars, posting guardrails, and digital rapid-response protocols. The Social Media Manager runs daily posting, engagement, and mentors junior posters.
Make content easy to find and track
- Improve search and social previews through accurate titles, descriptions, and link cards; use consistent tracking links so results are trustworthy.
Accessibility & language access
- Build pages, emails, and posts that work for everyone—clear structure, readable graphics, alt text, captions, and plain language; and plan and publish on-time multilingual versions for priority items, coordinating translation vendors or partners.
Forms & Flows
- Set up simple, reliable forms and sign-ups. Make sure confirmations, follow-ups, and handoffs to departments work end-to-end—and track conversions.
Measurement & Learning
- Maintain dashboards with quality information. Run A/B tests (subject lines, hooks, timing). Produce a short monthly “what worked / scale–pause–adjust” memo to improve future campaigns.
Monthly Measurements
- Track and report reachable audience growth (email list + unique site visitors), task completion (RSVPs/forms submitted), engagement quality (meaningful interactions), and time-to-ship for priority items.
Rapid Response (digital)
- In coordination with Media Relations and Narrative, turn decisions into useful digital updates quickly: refresh key pages, post a short explainer, pin the most helpful post, and guide residents to next steps.
Vendor/contractor management
- Manage outside developers or designers when surge capacity for big launches is needed, ensuring timelines, security, and quality standards are met.
Tools & Training
- Keep our software and accounts current and organized. Train staff on publishing basics, accessibility, and tracking. Maintain a short internal how-to library.
Harris County is an Equal Opportunity Employer
https://hrrm.harriscountytx.gov/Pages/EqualEmploymentOpportunityPlan.aspx
If you need special services or accommodations, please call (713) 274-5445 or email ADACoordinator@bmd.hctx.net .
This position is subject to a criminal history check. Only relevant convictions will be considered and, even when considered, may not automatically disqualify the candidate.
Requirements
Education:
- High School Diploma: Equivalent work experience or certifications may also be considered.
Experience:
- 5+ years of experience in digital communications or product/content operations managing website, email, and social programs at scale, including team and vendor management.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
- Proven record leading digital strategy for campaigns or initiatives: setting clear goals (who to reach, what action to drive) and delivering measurable results.
- Hands-on experience with modern CMS and email platforms; able to scope pages/emails, QA builds, and keep publishing moving.
- Comfortable with analytics: set useful metrics, build or read dashboards, run simple tests (subject lines, hooks, timing), and turn results into next-step decisions.
- Working knowledge of accessibility and plain-language standards and experience coordinating on-time Spanish or multilingual versions.
- Basics of search and distribution: write clear titles/descriptions, improve findability, and keep tracking links consistent so data is trustworthy.
- Governance mindset: maintain roles/permissions and MFA, watch uptime, keep backups current, and protect resident data.
- Strong collaborator across editorial, creative, and media; excellent judgment and calm execution under deadline.
- Familiarity with basic HTML/CSS and form tools; comfort improving navigation and page templates over time.
- Government, campaign, or advocacy experience (urban context a plus).
- Experience supporting rapid response online (fast updates without sacrificing accuracy).
- Demonstrated experience leading or shaping strategic communications on issues of equity and justice, particularly those affecting communities of color, with attention to credibility, cultural relevance, and public trust.
NOTE: Qualifying education, experience, knowledge, and skills must be documented on your job application. You may attach a resume to the application as supporting documentation but
ONLY information stated on the application will be used for consideration. "See Resume" will not be accepted for qualifications.
Preferences
- Bachelor’s or graduate degree in public affairs, communications, journalism, marketing, or graphic design is preferred but not required.
- Spanish proficiency is a plus; experience working with translation partners strongly preferred.
General Information
Additional Information:
- This is a full-time position offering a competitive yearly salary of $110,000 - $130,000 commensurate with experience; comprehensive benefits, including relocation assistance; and opportunities for professional growth. Some evenings and weekends are required.
Employment may be contingent on passing a drug screen and meeting other standards.
Due to a high volume of applications positions may close prior to the advertised closing date or at the discretion of the Hiring Department.
