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Posted: 02-May-23
Location: Baltimore, Maryland
Salary: Open
Internal Number: 108466-en_US
General summary/purpose
The Student Affairs division of Johns Hopkins University is seeking a Communications Specialist for Student Engagement to join its growing communications team. Comprised of more than 25 offices and departments across the Homewood campus, Student Affairs is dedicated to fostering student development and success and helping students make the most of their experience at Johns Hopkins. The communications team supports the divisions efforts by providing high-level communications functions that reach students, staff, faculty, families, and other stakeholders.
Working under the direction of the Associate Director for Communications, the specialist will contribute to the development and implementation of divisional communications strategies through a variety of digital and print channels. This is a new position within the communications team and will be particularly focused on engaging undergraduate and graduate students and informing them of the many programs, resources, and support services that are available.
The successful candidate will be highly creative and collaborative, with a solid foundation in messaging and content development, a sense for design, strong digital fluency with in-depth knowledge of web and social media platforms, and demonstrated experience producing high quality, engaging, and effective communications efforts.
For best consideration apply by April 24, 2023. Position will remain open until filled.
Specific duties & responsibilities
- Develop and execute a student outreach strategy on behalf of Student Affairs, establishing relationships with students and student organizations across campus to identify opportunities for collaboration, collect feedback, and guide future communications efforts.
- Develop and create content for divisional social media channels, with a focus on identifying opportunities for collaboration with students, student organizations, and other university departments/schools.
- Manage website content, with a focus on quality assurance, accessibility compliance, and search engine optimization; provide occasional website support and training to other Student Affairs staff.
- Contribute to the planning, development, and distribution of targeted email communications and newsletters; manage audience distribution lists.
- Produce content for the campus-wide digital signage platform; advocate for its adoption by students, student organizations, and campus partners; support oversight and management activities; and contribute to ongoing assessment and improvement.
- Continually measure and review the performance of communications efforts; report on key metrics and trends, making adjustments where necessary.
- Advise student organizations on brand compliance; provide guidance on student organization naming conventions and logo usage as outlined in university brand guidelines, and support the development of brand-compliant promotional and marketing materials.
- In collaboration with the Director and Associate Director, plan and execute larger communications initiatives from conceptualization to completion, ensuring the quality, timeliness, and effectiveness of all components.
- Serve as an in-house resource to Student Affairs colleagues, advising on communications best practices, university guidelines, and brand standards.
- Continually stay abreast of emerging platforms, technologies and trends; identify new opportunities to engage with audiences particularly students.
- Coordinate with designers, photographers, printers, and other vendors as needed.
- May supervise 1 to 2 student workers.
Special knowledge, skills, and abilities
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to write clear, concise copy for digital and print materials; strong editing and proofreading skills.
- Extensive knowledge of and fluency within social media platforms, particularly Instagram; experience building and managing content calendars.
- Experience using content management systems (e.g., WordPress) and email marketing platforms (e.g., Emma, Constant Contact, etc.) preferred.
- Basic understanding of principles of design; experience working within established brand standards preferred.
- Basic understanding of measurement tools (e.g., Google Analytics) and how to translate data insights into action.
- Excellent attention to detail; ability to think creatively, strategically, and analytically.
- Excellent interpersonal skills, cultural responsiveness, and the ability to work collaboratively with multiple groups, including students, staff, and administrators.
- Self-motivated with excellent problem-solving and time management skills.
- Ability to work effectively under deadlines and simultaneously juggle several assignments.
- Technical qualifications or specialized certifications.
- Solid skill in graphic design, photography, or videography preferred.
- Familiarity with design tools such as Canva or Adobe Express; working knowledge of the Adobe Creative Cloud especially Photoshop and Illustrator preferred.
- Basic understanding of web accessibility standards as well as best practices for usability, content styling and presentation, and search engine optimization preferred; familiarity with HTML/CSS a plus.
Supervisory responsibility: Up to 2 student workers.
About JHU
The Johns Hopkins University was Americas first research university, founded for the express purpose of expanding knowledge and putting that knowledge to work for the good of humanity. Today, Johns Hopkins has approximately 6,500 faculty, 6,200 undergraduate students, and 17,600 graduate students across 230-degree programs at the baccalaureate, masters, and doctoral levels. JHU has multiple campuses in Baltimore and campuses serving graduate students in DC, Italy, and China. Johns Hopkins stands alone among top research universities in its extraordinary commitment of attention and resources to ensuring student success and particularly those from first-generation or limited income (FLI) backgrounds, making bold, sustained, and dramatic investments in the student experience over the last 15 years.
Student Affairs at JHU
Student Affairs on the Homewood campus is made up of 23 departments ranging from Residential Life, Dining, Athletics and Campus Recreation to Student Engagement, Student Conduct, Student Transitions and Family Programs, Center for Student Success, Center for Social Concern, and University Student Services administrative units like Human Resources, IT, and Communications. Student Affairs at Johns Hopkins educates beyond the classrooms, helping students to deepen their self-awareness, develop relationships, nurture inclusion, and find fulfillment in the collegiate experience to ensure lifelong success and meaningful contributions to our global community. Our culture is defined by our commitment to the 'Aspirations for Student Learning,' which play a critical role in helping us fulfill our mission. We challenge, encourage, and support students to:
- Live with curiosity.
- Deepen self-awareness.
- Engage in meaningful collaboration.
- Grow in confidence.
- Practice responsible leadership.
Student Affairs enjoys a close relationship with Academic Affairs at JHU, and with shared responsibility for delivering on one of the University's highest priorities: ensuring that highly talented students from a wide range of backgrounds, regardless of their ability to pay, thrive during and after their time at JHU. We work closely with our colleagues in Student Health and Well-Being, Academic Affairs, Integrated Learning and Life Design, and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion to ensure students can take full advantage of all that JHU has to offer.
Our team is seeking student-centered, success-oriented professionals who want to make a difference in students' lives. Ideal candidates in Student Affairs are curious, solution-seeking, have a can-do attitude, and are committed to the dignity and equity of all persons. If you enjoy student-centered work, work focused on building relationships and fostering community, that is rarely the same day-to-day, engaging with both college students and colleagues in-person as well as virtually, and have an entrepreneurial spirit, we want you to join us!
Hopkins Student Affairs Statement on Inclusion, Community, and Excellence
At Johns Hopkins we strive to be a model of a pluralistic society in which we acknowledge, embrace, and engage diverse identities, perspectives, and experiences. We seek to build and buttress an inclusive intellectual and physical environment to ensure that all members of our community know with certainty that they belong at Johns Hopkins and we aspire to equitably share the benefits and burdens of dismantling persistent systemic barriers to individual and communal success.
Hopkins Student Affairs is committed to fostering a welcoming and inclusive community for students, faculty, and staff of all backgrounds:
- We believe that diversity is inherent to excellence and that the broad diversity of talents, cultures, identities, and experiences of our community members are core to our ability to deliver exceptional student development and learning experiences.
- We strive to support a student experience where academic, leadership, and community engagement opportunities spur discovery and learning; encourage a respect for and valuing of the perspectives of others; and foster a sense of belonging and connection across our student, broader university, and Baltimore community.
- We strive to create a learning environment where our students feel invited to learn from and contribute to the learning of others through the sharing and honoring of each other's perspectives, identities, cultures, talents, and experiences.
Hopkins Student Affairs seeks to hire, and support the professional development of, colleagues who: are equity-minded; demonstrate a commitment to inclusion; share a keen understanding of the importance of our identity as a diverse community of learners; are poised to contribute to our efforts to support student learning and offer robust leadership development and community engagement opportunities; and can contribute to our efforts to foster student connection and a sense of belonging across our university.
Minimum Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in communications, marketing or related field
- Two years related experience
- Advanced degree may substitute for required experience, to the extent permitted by the JHU equivalency formula
Preferred Qualifications
- A minimum of two years experience in communications, marketing or a related field; experience in a higher education setting preferred
Classified Title: Communications Specialist
Role/Level/Range: ATP/03/PB
Starting Salary Range: $44,850.00 - $61,600.00 - $78,360.00 Annually (Commensurate with experience)
Employee group: Full Time
Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Exempt Status: Exempt
Location: Hybrid/Homewood Campus
Department name: Student Affairs
Personnel area: University Student Services
Total Rewards
The referenced salary range is based on Johns Hopkins University's good faith belief at the time of posting. Actual compensation may vary based on factors such as geographic location, work experience, market conditions, education/training and skill level. Johns Hopkins offers a total rewards package that supports our employees' health, life, career and retirement. More information can be found here: https://hr.jhu.edu/benefits-worklife/
Please refer to the job description above to see which forms of equivalency are permitted for this position. If permitted, equivalencies will follow these guidelines:
JHU Equivalency Formula: 30 undergraduate degree credits (semester hours) or 18 graduate degree credits may substitute for one year of experience. Additional related experience may substitute for required education on the same basis. For jobs where equivalency is permitted, up to two years of non-related college course work may be applied towards the total minimum education/experience required for the respective job.
**Applicants who do not meet the posted requirements but are completing their final academic semester/quarter will be considered eligible for employment and may be asked to provide additional information confirming their academic completion date.
The successful candidate(s) for this position will be subject to a pre-employment background check. Johns Hopkins is committed to hiring individuals with a justice-involved background, consistent with applicable policies and current practice. A prior criminal history does not automatically preclude candidates from employment at Johns Hopkins University. In accordance with applicable law, the university will review, on an individual basis, the date of a candidate's conviction, the nature of the conviction and how the conviction relates to an essential job-related qualification or function.
The Johns Hopkins University values diversity, equity and inclusion and advances these through our key strategic framework, the JHU Roadmap on Diversity and Inclusion.
Equal Opportunity Employer
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.
EEO is the Law
Learn more:
https://www.eeoc.gov/sites/default/files/migrated_files/employers/poster_screen_reader_optimized.pdf
Accommodation Information
If you are interested in applying for employment with The Johns Hopkins University and require special assistance or accommodation during any part of the pre-employment process, please contact the Talent Acquisition Office at jhurecruitment@jhu.edu. For TTY users, call via Maryland Relay or dial 711. For more information about workplace accommodations or accessibility at Johns Hopkins University, please visit accessibility.jhu.edu.
Johns Hopkins has mandated COVID-19 and influenza vaccines, as applicable. Exceptions to the COVID and flu vaccine requirements may be provided to individuals for religious beliefs or medical reasons. Requests for an exception must be submitted to the JHU vaccination registry. For additional information, applicants for SOM positions should visit https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/coronavirus/covid-19-vaccine/ and all other JHU applicants should visit https://covidinfo.jhu.edu/health-safety/covid-vaccination-information/.
The following additional provisions may apply, depending on campus. Your recruiter will advise accordingly.
The pre-employment physical for positions in clinical areas, laboratories, working with research subjects, or involving community contact requires documentation of immune status against Rubella (German measles), Rubeola (Measles), Mumps, Varicella (chickenpox), Hepatitis B and documentation of having received the Tdap (Tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis) vaccination. This may include documentation of having two (2) MMR vaccines; two (2) Varicella vaccines; or antibody status to these diseases from laboratory testing. Blood tests for immunities to these diseases are ordinarily included in the pre-employment physical exam except for those employees who provide results of blood tests or immunization documentation from their own health care providers. Any vaccinations required for these diseases will be given at no cost in our Occupational Health office.
Note: Job Postings are updated daily and remain online until filled.
