The posting
Director, Public Affairs
Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA)
Lead the Conversation. Build Trust. Strengthen Northeast Ohio.
The Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) is seeking an experienced, strategic, and collaborative communications leader to serve as its next Director of Public Affairs.
NOACA is the metropolitan planning organization and areawide water quality management agency serving Northeast Ohio. The Director of Public Affairs is a senior executive leadership position responsible for shaping how NOACA communicates its mission, work, priorities, and regional impact to elected officials, stakeholders, partners, the media, and the public.
This is much more than a communications position. The Director serves as NOACA’s communications strategist and a senior advisor to the Executive Director & CEO, providing leadership on public perception, reputation, executive messaging, stakeholder engagement, media relations, public participation, and high-visibility issues.
The successful candidate will be a strategic thinker who can see beyond individual communications products or campaigns and understand how communications contributes to organizational credibility, public trust, effective governance, and the advancement of NOACA’s regional mission.
Lead Enterprise-Wide Public Affairs Strategy
Establish the vision, strategy, standards, and priorities for NOACA’s Public Affairs function and ensure that communications and engagement activities support the agency’s strategic direction and Overall Work Program (OWP).
You will:
- Develop and oversee NOACA’s enterprise-wide communications and public affairs strategy.
- Establish policies, standards, and governance practices for communications, media relations, digital engagement, marketing, and public participation.
- Ensure communications are consistent, credible, transparent, accessible, and aligned with NOACA’s mission and regional role.
- Connect communications strategies to organizational priorities, Board expectations, federal and state public participation requirements, and regional stakeholder needs.
- Establish measurable standards for Public Affairs performance and effectiveness.
- Lead development of the annual Public Affairs Work Plan, Communications & Marketing Plan, Public Engagement Strategic Plan, and Community Impact reporting.
Serve as a Strategic Advisor to the CEO and Executive Leadership
The Director will serve as a trusted advisor to the Executive Director & CEO on matters involving communications, public perception, stakeholder dynamics, reputational risk, and emerging issues.
You will:
- Advise the CEO and executive leadership on executive messaging and communications strategy.
- Anticipate and assess reputational risks and emerging public issues.
- Ensure consistency between executive, Board, internal, and external communications.
- Lead crisis communications readiness and high-visibility issue management.
- Serve as NOACA’s chief spokesperson or designate appropriate spokespersons based on the circumstances.
- Represent NOACA at executive briefings, regional forums, public events, and other high-profile engagements.
Lead and Develop the Public Affairs Team
You will provide strategic leadership to a talented Public Affairs team while creating an environment in which employees are empowered to perform meaningful work, develop professionally, and take ownership of results.
You will:
- Establish clear expectations, priorities, performance measures, and accountability.
- Delegate appropriately while retaining accountability for strategic outcomes.
- Develop employee capabilities through coaching, feedback, mentoring, and professional development.
- Build a culture of collaboration, accountability, trust, and continuous improvement.
- Align staff capacity, workflows, resources, and priorities with agency needs.
- Address performance and organizational challenges directly, fairly, and constructively.
- Encourage employees to think critically, solve problems, and bring forward ideas and solutions.
Champion Servant Leadership Accountability
At NOACA, leadership is not defined simply by title or authority. Servant Leadership Accountability means leaders are responsible for both the results they achieve and the people they lead.
The Director of Public Affairs is expected to model this philosophy every day by:
- Leading with humility, integrity, accountability, and respect.
- Creating clarity around expectations, priorities, roles, and desired outcomes.
- Developing employees rather than simply directing them.
- Practicing candid, constructive feedback while maintaining strong relationships.
- Listening to employees and stakeholders before making decisions.
- Removing barriers so employees can do their best work.
- Holding themselves and others accountable for commitments and results.
- Building trust through transparency, consistency, and follow-through.
- Recognizing accomplishments and supporting employee growth and wellbeing.
- Collaborating across organizational boundaries rather than operating within functional silos.
The Director should be someone who can set a high bar while helping people reach it.
Measure Impact and Improve Performance
NOACA is committed to communications that produce measurable value—not simply activity.
The Director will establish and monitor performance indicators related to communications, media relations, digital engagement, public participation, and community outreach.
You will:
- Evaluate campaigns, engagement efforts, and communications strategies using meaningful data and metrics.
- Monitor media coverage, public discourse, stakeholder sentiment, and emerging issues.
- Identify opportunities to strengthen NOACA’s visibility, credibility, and public trust.
- Provide quarterly and annual reporting aligned with OWP deliverables and Board expectations.
- Use performance information to continually improve Public Affairs programs and services.
Translate Complex Regional Issues Into Clear Public Understanding
NOACA’s work encompasses transportation, infrastructure, environmental planning, economic development, public policy, and regional coordination.
The Director must be able to take complex technical and policy information and help diverse audiences understand:
What is happening? Why does it matter? Who is affected? What is NOACA doing about it?
The successful candidate will ensure that NOACA’s communications are understandable, compelling, accurate, accessible, and appropriate for the audience—whether that audience is a technical professional, elected official, community leader, journalist, partner agency, or member of the public.
What We’re Looking For
Education & Experience
- Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Public Relations, Journalism, Marketing, Planning, Public Administration, or a related field required; Master’s degree preferred.
- At least 10 years of progressively responsible leadership experience in public affairs, communications strategy, media relations, marketing, government relations, public engagement, or a related field.
- 6+ Years Experience managing and developing professional staff, with a commitment to Servant Leadership management style.
- Demonstrated experience leading complex, high-visibility communications initiatives.
- Demonstrated experience advising executive leadership.
- Experience in a public-sector, governmental, metropolitan planning, transportation, environmental, or similar regional organization is strongly preferred.
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
The ideal candidate will demonstrate:
- Executive-level expertise in communications strategy, media relations, digital engagement, and public participation.
- Exceptional written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.
- Strong strategic judgment and decision-making ability.
- The ability to assess risk and anticipate reputational and stakeholder implications.
- The capacity to translate technical, planning, transportation, environmental, and policy information into clear public messaging.
- Understanding of public governance, transparency, accessibility, and stakeholder engagement.
- Strong executive presence and the ability to influence at the Board, executive, governmental, and community levels.
- Professionalism, discretion, composure, and sound judgment in sensitive or high-pressure situations.
- Demonstrated ability to build strong relationships across organizational and functional boundaries.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office and familiarity with digital analytics, creative, marketing, and workflow management tools.
Why Join NOACA?
NOACA offers an opportunity to do work that has a direct and lasting impact on Northeast Ohio.
Our employees are dedicated professionals who are passionate about coordinating improvements to transportation, the environment, infrastructure, and the economy of the region. We value collaboration, professional expertise, growth, wellbeing, and meaningful public service.
At NOACA, we believe:
- The best way to deliver on our strategies is to mirror them internally.
- Teamwork and collaboration strengthen our organization.
- Our reputation for excellence and partnership must be preserved.
- Robust processes and technology help us work smarter.
- Our employees should be supported in their development.
- Recognition and wellbeing are essential to a sustainable organizational culture.
As Director of Public Affairs, you will have the opportunity to help shape not only how the region understands NOACA, but also how NOACA strengthens its relationships with the communities and partners it serves.
The Ideal Candidate
The ideal candidate is a strategic communications executive, trusted advisor, and people-centered leader.
You may come from communications, public relations, journalism, marketing, public administration, government relations, transportation planning, or another related field. What matters most is your ability to understand complex issues, see the larger organizational picture, communicate with clarity, exercise sound judgment, and lead people toward meaningful results in a psychologically safe culture.
You should be comfortable moving between the executive suite, Board room, newsroom, community meeting, and employee workplace—and understand that each audience requires a different approach while the underlying message and organizational values remain consistent.
You are someone who:
- Thinks strategically before acting tactically.
- Sees issues before they become problems.
- Can tell a compelling story without sacrificing accuracy.
- Can advise senior leaders with confidence and candor.
- Builds relationships while maintaining appropriate professional boundaries.
- Develops people rather than simply managing tasks.
- Remains calm and thoughtful when issues become highly visible or politically sensitive.
- Believes accountability and empathy can—and should—exist together.
- Understands that public trust is earned through consistent actions, not just effective messaging.
Other Requirements
- Ability to represent NOACA professionally at public, community, governmental, and executive-level engagements.
- Ability to lead and participate in occasional evening or weekend outreach events.
- Ability to work in a professional office environment as well as community and public meeting settings.
Equal Opportunity Employer
NOACA is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We value a diverse workforce and are committed to creating an inclusive environment where all employees can contribute their talents, develop professionally, and do their best work.
If you are an experienced public affairs leader who wants to help shape the conversation about the future of Northeast Ohio, we invite you to apply.
