Request for Qualifications - Communications Support Services

Submission Deadline: January 20, 2026

As a contractor for the Communications Department, you will help support communications and marketing activities for the City by helping to write, edit, and design newsletters, Cityscape quarterly magazine, website content, social media posts, and take photos and videos of the City’s staff, projects, events, and programs. Reporting to the Director of Communications & Marketing, you will lend support on a variety of activities within the department and assist with a broad array of communications and community engagement strategies.

As a communications contractor you should possess good writing/editing skills, have a dedicated attention to detail, be comfortable using technology, have an openness to learning new things and an interest in supporting content creation across all owned media platforms (website, social media, newsletters, etc.). Operating in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment, you should be flexible in your hours and approach to the work, comfortable collaborating with members of other teams and be able to professionally interact with a variety of City-staff, volunteers, businesses, City partners, other City contractors, and community members.

The Communications Department is a collaborative , team-oriented department that works closely with all City departments to provide outstanding service and communications support to the City’s 100+ staff, 5,500 Utility customers, and 10,500+ households inside and outside City limits. This is a fantastic opportunity to utilize and build skills in communications and marketing while making a difference in the community through increasing an understanding of municipal work and building trust in local government.

The City of Port Townsend seeks to enter into a one-year service agreement with a qualified communications contractor who will support our Communications Department with communications and graphic design services. The desired scope of work covers but is not limited to newsletters, website updates, print communications, and social media:

• Assist the Director of Communications & Marketing in:
  • Drafting and updating social media posts and website content, including capturing photos and videos, editing, and uploading to the website and social media.
  • Drafting content for use in press releases, emails, newsletters, event promotion, project communications, and more.
  • Reviewing content and copyediting materials for grammar and punctuation.
  • Engage and collaborate with departments across the City and partners to understand their communications needs, gather relevant content, confirm facts and data, and help with project details and timelines.
  • Five hours per week of this position are dedicated to the Public Works Department, which has the largest number of staff, projects, and budget at the City.
• Compile analytics across all channels monthly and review with the Director of Communications & Marketing, to guide communications strategy and activities.
• Organize and maintain asset resources and image/video library .

• Assist in maintaining email lists for campaigns.
• Work collaboratively in a team environment .
• Complete assigned tasks by scheduled deadlines.
• Assist with other projects assigned to support communications goals.

• Portfolio of work in marketing, communications, design, and/or journalism.

• Ability to work collaboratively within a team, with a learning mindset.
• Strong computer skills, especially in Microsoft Office (Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, Excel).
• Experience with social media management, especially Facebook and YouTube.
• Experience with web-based technology platforms for communication and presentation purposes, like Canva, Miro, and Mailchimp.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Strong writing, copyediting, and photography skills.
• Good time management and organizational skills with the ability to plan ahead and meet deadlines.
• Able to handle a variety of tasks simultaneously while placing a high value on quality over quantity.
• Effective written and oral communication skills – appropriate for both internal and external communications.
• Openness to understanding, interpreting, and writing about complex topics.
• Respectfully takes direction and feedback on projects.

• One to two years minimum of experience in communications, marketing, graphic design, or other related areas.

• Experience with Adobe Creative Suite, video editing software, or other content creation tools.
• Bachelor’s degree in communications, marketing, and/or design .
• Experience working in municipal government.
  

Selected contractor must be willing to work on multiple projects simultaneously based on the fixed hourly rate of $35 per hour, billed monthly to the nearest 15-minute interval with no minimum time per task. Contract not to exceed $28,000 for all services rendered. Work is expected to average around 15 hours of work per week, but will fluctuate based on seasonal projects, City capacity needs, and contractor scheduling.

Work can be performed remotely with in-person meetings at Port Townsend City Hall. There will be no reimbursement for equipment or travel time. Computer and phone will need to be supplied by the contractor. The term of service will be for a one-year period of time with the option to extend the agreement for additional one-year periods based on need, performance, and funding availability.

RFQ Posted: December 31, 2025

Deadline for submission: January 20, 2026, 5:00PM PST

Proposed selection , notification, and potential interviews: January 23, 2026

Preferred start date of contract: February 2, 2026

The following materials should be submitted online to sleavens@cityofpt.us no later than 5 p.m. on January 20, 2026.

• Cover letter including description of relevant experience and desire to work in municipal communications. Include confirmation of availability starting February 2.
• Name and contact information (email, phone number)
• Resume
• Five to ten samples of work (links or attachments)
• Three references (for prior work of a similar nature)