Communication Partner

Radford University•Radford, VA

3d•Onsite

About The Position

Reporting to the Director of Strategic Projects and Client Support, the Communication Partner will support the communication needs of the university’s colleges and divisions. They will focus on increasing awareness and engagement of students, employees, alumni, donors and other key audiences in the events, activities and initiatives of colleges and divisions. Each partner will work directly with several deans and vice presidents (clients) to help develop communication plans and meet their communication needs, such as formal emails to employees, important college/division announcements, event coverage with content and photos, and newsletters to key stakeholder audiences. In addition, they will help develop social media strategy and assist with content planning, posting and monitoring, as appropriate. The partners will also serve to uphold the university brand guidelines within their assigned colleges and divisions and act as liaisons to the Marketing and Communication team for larger projects that require the assistance of centralized resources. The Communication Partner is a communication generalist who will learn to work with a variety of digital platforms (related to project management, email marketing, photo management and graphic design) to support the needs of colleges and divisions, including helping them use a portfolio of communication templates to meet their own needs. The partners will become trusted colleagues for the deans and VPs they support, helping them tap into the resources and tools they need to achieve their communication goals.

Requirements

Experience developing and executing communication plans (including goals, audiences, messages and success measures).
Experience delivering key messages across a variety of platforms.
Experience measuring the effectiveness of communication efforts.
Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
Collaborating with client leaders to understand their needs and set appropriate expectations.
Excellent organizational and time management skills.
Ability to work on multiple projects and assignments simultaneously.
Demonstrated ability to work effectively as a team player and independently to produce high-quality results.
Demonstrated experience establishing strong relationships with clients or organizational leaders.
Basic understanding of developing social media strategy and editorial content.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting communications within higher education or other academic environments.
Experience supporting communications for healthcare-related academic departments or programs.
Experience using project management software, such as Lytho, Asana, Hive, Basecamp, Kantata.
Experience taking event photos and working in digital photo libraries.
Experience using email marketing software.
Familiarity with graphic design software, such as Canva, Adobe Creative Suite and InDesign.
3 to 5 years of relevant work experience in higher education, journalism or in an advertising, public relations or marketing agency setting.

Responsibilities

Support the communication needs of the university’s colleges and divisions.
Increase awareness and engagement of students, employees, alumni, donors and other key audiences in the events, activities and initiatives of colleges and divisions.
Work directly with several deans and vice presidents (clients) to help develop communication plans and meet their communication needs.
Develop formal emails to employees, important college/division announcements, event coverage with content and photos, and newsletters to key stakeholder audiences.
Develop social media strategy and assist with content planning, posting and monitoring.
Uphold the university brand guidelines within their assigned colleges and divisions.
Act as liaisons to the Marketing and Communication team for larger projects that require the assistance of centralized resources.
Learn to work with a variety of digital platforms (related to project management, email marketing, photo management and graphic design) to support the needs of colleges and divisions.
Help colleges and divisions use a portfolio of communication templates to meet their own needs.
Become trusted colleagues for the deans and VPs they support, helping them tap into the resources and tools they need to achieve their communication goals.