Communications and Outreach Coordinator - Military Veterans

Position Overview:

The Economics Department seeks to hire a Communications and Outreach Coordinator (8341CG: M&C Pro 1-Comm Gen) responsible for overseeing the department communications and events management. The Communications and Outreach Coordinator is primarily responsible for website maintenance, alumni communications, and assisting with donor relations. This position also provides support for the Heller Hurwicz Economics Institute and the Minnesota Economics Big Data Institute. A successful candidate will be self-motivated, attentive to detail, and interested in planning and executing complex events and innovative communication strategies. This role requires onsite work 4 days per week with 1 day being remote.

The priority deadline for applications is 03/18/2025. A cover letter is required for consideration .

Job Duties/Responsibilities:

Communications Development and Management (40%):

Communications planning and strategy

• Oversees all matters relating to the department websites, social media, alumni newsletter, and intranet and delegates tasks with approval from the Chief of Staff. Respond to requests from internal and external constituencies, policy and procedure questions, and problem resolution.
• Develop internal and external communication strategies and messages to support website and social media content and increase user traffic. Implement and review web and social media analytics to measure success and identify trends; initiate recommendations for improvement based on data to the Chief of Staff and department chair. Stay up-to-date on the latest communication tools and best practices.
• Establishes communications goals and works with department leadership and staff to ensure implementation.
• Responsible for all communications content to be correct, up-to-date, and compliant with accessibility standards, University and College of Liberal Arts (CLA) brand and style standards. Conduct content research to inform content development. Translate large volumes of information into clear, concise, user-friendly language and formats. Collaborate regularly with stakeholders to ensure accuracy and clear organization of information.
• Field media inquiries, directing to appropriate faculty or staff members as necessary. Assist as requested in creating materials in support of alumni/donor relations.
• Train undergraduate student workers to update department websites and social media, as well as assist with undergraduate newsletter creation. Supervise their work on these tasks.

Website

• Maintain websites for the Department of Economics and the Heller-Hurwicz Economics Institute (HHEI) that fit within the set format of the CLA content management system (CMS). Create and consult on content, including profiles of research, faculty, graduate and undergraduate students, and alumni.
• Act as a primary editor for those websites, maintaining all resources (faculty, graduate, undergraduate, events, etc.) in collaboration with other department staff as needed. Develop a schedule of website updates, including updating photos, publications, awards, graduate student placement, etc.
• Act as the primary editor for the intranet and collaborate with department staff to regularly update all resources. Create and consult on content with staff subject matter experts.
• Maintain Minnesota Economics Big Data Institute (MEBDI) website. Collaborate with department staff and external contractors for updates to this website as needed.

Social Media

• Create, edit, publish, and share content via social media accounts for the Department, HHEI, and MEBDI as appropriate. Platforms include Facebook, X, LinkedIn, Bluesky, and YouTube.
• Train and collaborate with other department staff to update social media as required.

Alumni and donor Communications

• Alumni newsletters: Create and consult on content for the alumni newsletters. Maintain up-to-date list of topics for features, including the Chair's letter. Coordinate with the CLA Office of Institutional Advancement to manage production of alumni newsletters, including the distribution schedule.
• Assist the Department Chair with the creation of the monthly donor acknowledgement letters.

Communications Support for the Heller-Hurwicz Economics Institute (HHEI).

• Provide support to HHEI for communications initiatives, including podcasts, policy briefs, annual impact report and other projects, as directed by the Associate Director.
• Provide support for other HHEI Engagement activities.

Other duties as assigned/required.

Event coordination (35%)

• Pre-event planning and coordination: consult and work closely with stakeholders to determine needs; make detailed recommendations; create a comprehensive plan for the event, develop event budgets and track ongoing expenses for financial reports; independently identify and schedule venues; make catering selections and arrangements; secure any necessary permits and permissions; make travel and hospitality arrangements for visitors; research and make conference registration arrangements; make A/V and technology arrangements; create and develop publicity plans.
• Event Management: Be present at events to meet caterers; assist with A/V; anticipate and troubleshoot problems. Create and maintain attendance records; event set-up and take down; clean up.
• Post-Event: Secure required paperwork from visitors to process honorarium payments and expense reimbursements; Work with department preparer to reimburse participants and pay vendors in a timely fashion. Meet with stakeholders to get feedback on event. Provide post-event publicity when appropriate. Share post-event budget with Chief of Staff and other stakeholders.
• Adhere to and provide information about University policies and procedures; particularly those relating to hospitality and travel expenses. Direct the work of student workers and other staff assigned to assist in event preparation and execution.
• Establish productive working relationships with internal and external vendors while professionally representing the culture and mission of the Department of Economics, CLA, and the University of Minnesota.
• Other duties as assigned/required.

Support Department Seminars (10%)

• Primary responsibility for planning and executing all department seminars including the weekly Minnesota Economics seminar series.
• Serve as the primary contact for visiting speakers, plan meetings for visitors. Advise visitors of reimbursement procedures.
• Update and maintain the Department Seminar Calendar and send out weekly seminar emails.

Marketing and Publicity (10%)

• Publicized department, HHEI and MEBDI events, including alumni and public engagement events, visiting speakers, research seminars, and undergraduate events. Develop marketing plans and coordinate with faculty, staff, students, and organizations as necessary.
• Design announcements, flyers, event posting and other promotional materials, both digital and in print. Ensure up-to-date event information is posted on the University's event calendar and CLA's Upcoming Events listing.
• Promote events using Salesforce and EventBrite when appropriate.

Other (5%)

• Monitor and meet all applicable deadlines. Independently troubleshoot and manage day-to-day functions associated with the position.
• Identifies data collection and operational problems and develops solutions as appropriate. Creates, updates, and/or keeps current documentation of all processes for future references. Maintains departmental files associated with the position as required to ensure continuity of institutional knowledge and ease-of-access for staff members and faculty officers.
• Work independently and as a team member with limited supervision. Coordinate and work collaboratively with other department staff.
• Participate in and assist in planning department diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
• Attend and participate in department staff meetings and strategic planning.
• Other departmental duties as assigned and/or required.

Required Qualifications:

• BA/BS or a combination of related education and work experience to total four years
• Proficiency with email, Google Applications, MS Word, and Excel
• Ability to work occasional evenings or weekends

Preferred Qualifications:

• Undergraduate degree in Journalism, Mass Communications or a closely-related field
• Experience planning and executing events, programs and/or conferences
• Experience with promoting organizations on social media
• Experience with graphic design using InDesign and/or Adobe Illustrator
• Experience successfully executing complex projects from inception to completion with minimal supervision
• Demonstrated commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion