Communications Specialist


Position Overview

This position reports to the Associate Director of Internal Communications in the Office of the Provost. A significant portion of the duties will be to assist the internal communications team with activities such as message preparation and distribution, news releases, social media, web page content development and site maintenance. The specialist assumes primary responsibility for monitoring and troubleshooting the Provost Office email inbox and drafting potential responses. The ideal candidate will enjoy working in a fast-paced and quickly changing environment, appreciate being part of a team that focuses on internal communications and a high level of customer service.

KU offers great benefits to employees with up to 176 hours of paid vacation per year, 72 hours of sick leave earned per year, nine paid holidays plus one discretionary day, a retirement program, medical & dental insurance, life and disability insurance, other benefit plan options and State of Kansas discounts offered by various vendors. KU also offers employees educational and professional development opportunities. KU is a great place to work! See benefits.ku.edu for more details

Job Description

40% Research and draft content suitable for multiple platforms:
  • Press releases and KU Today (daily campus email newsletter) feature stories
  • Newsletters and messages written on behalf of the Provost or others
  • Email drafts and necessary revisions written by the office on behalf of or in conjunction with Vice Provosts or Deans
  • Social media posts
  • Video scripting
  • Remarks for the Provost
  • Website content

25% Assists the Associate Director of Internal Communications in maintaining existing web content in the Drupal 8 platform:
  • Upload and revise content
  • Create new pages and modules
  • Verify links
  • Ensure accessibility compliance
  • Insert appropriate metadata and tags
  • Plan and develop new sites as requested

25% Provide primary oversight for the Provost’s Office inbox:
  • In a timely manner, respond to messages on behalf of the Provost’s Office or delegate responses to the appropriate person or office within the university
  • Coordinate responses with other KU leadership and their office staff (Chancellor’s Office, Public Affairs, General Counsel, Student Affairs) when multiple recipients are involved
  • Track themes or issues and alert the communications team to issues that are newly emerging
  • Draft talking points for students and staff who work at the front desk (and other campus constituents) when issues become apparent and it is likely that the front desk will receive calls on that topic
  • Format and distribute required broadcast messages on regular topics as requested throughout the year and maintain the online archive of memos

10% Other duties as assigned

Required Qualifications

  1. Bachelor’s degree in Journalism, English, Public Relations, Marketing or related field
  2. Minimum of one year of related experience
  3. Ability to effectively manage multiple projects and deadlines, as demonstrated by prior work or classwork
  4. Excellent writing skills, as demonstrated by prior work or classwork
  5. Proficiency with Microsoft Office suite, particularly Word, Teams and Outlook as evidenced in application materials
  6. Ability to work both independently and collaboratively in a variety of situations, as demonstrated by prior work or classwork

Preferred Qualifications

  1. Experience with web content development and site maintenance, and Drupal 8
  2. Experience with social media messaging for an organization or enterprise
  3. Experience with customer service
  4. Experience with Adobe Creative Suite, particularly Photoshop and InDesign

Additional Candidate Instructions

A complete application includes:
  • Cover letter that addresses the required and preferred qualifications.
  • Resume
  • Three original writing samples
  • Three professional references
Application review will begin Monday, June 5th and will remain open until a qualified pool of candidates has been identified. Apply by June 5th for priority consideration.

Contact Information to Applicants

David Day
785-864-0236
davidday@ku.edu

Advertised Salary Range

$43,000

Work Schedule

- Monday through Friday 8 - 5
- On-site with possibility of hybrid
- 250 Strong Hall

Application Review Begins

Monday June 5, 2023

Anticipated Start Date

Sunday July 16, 2023

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Posting Information

  • Posting ID:  25267BR
  • Department:  Provost Office
  • Primary Campus:  University of Kansas Lawrence Campus
  • Assignment:  Hybrid
  • Reg/Temp:  Regular
  • Employee Class:  U-Unclassified Professional Staff
  • Review Begins:  05-Jun-2023

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