Public Relations Associate - Workforce and Career Development

Employer: Michelle Nadeau

Location: Portland, Maine

Starts: Nov 20, 2020

Closes: Dec 6, 2020

Sector
: Staff

Location
: Maine

This job has expired

Are you passionate about writing and developing communications that strengthen the reputation and desirability of a university for its various audiences and help students achieve their career goals? Do you work in journalism and wonder what it would be like to work at a University? Do you work in higher education communications and desire more opportunities to write and develop content that compellingly tells the story of a university’s impact and illustrates the power of internships, career outcomes, and ROI associated with a college education?  Then read on — the University of Southern Maine (USM) seeks applicants for a full-time Public Relations Associate in the Office of Public Affairs to focus on workforce and career engagement messaging as well as general university communications.   The Public Relations Associate — Workforce and Career Engagement reports to USM’s Director of Strategic Messaging in the University’s Office of Public Affairs, with a dotted line to the Vice President of Workforce Engagement who oversees the USM Career & Employment Hub. The Public Relations Associate — Workforce and Career Engagement will have a particular, but not exclusive, focus on Workforce Engagement to support students’ career preparedness, with 50% of time devoted to such. The remaining 50% of time will be in support of Public Affairs project work as assigned by the Director of Strategic Messaging. The Public Relations Associate — Workforce and Career Engagement collaborates closely with the Division of Workforce Engagement and the USM Career & Employment Hub team, as well as the University’s Public Affairs team. The Public Relations Associate — Workforce and Career Engagement maintains data, collects reporting information, and creates and guides the messaging on various media platforms for the University with specific focus on promoting internal and external messages pertaining to career-related services for students and developing narratives that illustrate internship possibilities, career outcomes, and ROI associated with a USM education.   USM’s Office of Public Affairs is responsible for telling the story of the University through strategic written and digital communications, the University’s social media presence, and via the traditional print and broadcast news media. By writing and developing content that illustrates the power of a USM education, the Public Affairs team informs and engages members of the University’s audiences, particularly prospective students and their families.   USM’s Career & Employment Hub assists students in connecting to their future by offering a variety of services from their first day on campus to years after they graduate. We support USM students through guidance on career exploration, self-assessments, resume and cover letter development, the internship search, interviewing skills, and more. We help USM students identify and cultivate their interests and strengths and connect them with opportunities to acquire the knowledge, experiences, and relationships necessary to become workforce-ready and achieve employment that aligns with their interests and strengths.   By emphasizing the development of content on student success, the Office of Public Affairs and Career & Employment Hub support the University’s Service Promise to be “student-focused every day.” We live the USM Service Promise and seek a team member who understands that promise and supports our values of Respect & Care, Integrity, Equity, and Responsiveness.   USM’s Public Relations Associate is responsible for identifying, seeking out, and writing news and promotional copy, social media content, and/or media releases that illustrate student and faculty success, demonstrate the impact of a USM education, and advance USM programs, activities, and events. Working under the direction of the Director of Strategic Messaging, the position cultivates and manages relationships with students, faculty, staff, and media professionals to tell the university’s story across all channels. The position requires continuous contact with both internal and external constituents. The Public Relations Associate is expected to maintain professional contact with media and public relations organizations related to the work of the Office and stay abreast of developments in the PR, promotions, and journalism fields. Continual development of modern communications skills will be expected and supported.    For a complete job description, click here.   ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:   <ul> <li>Maintains, supports, installs, and creates data gathering programs to collect relevant data points for reporting.</li> <li>Redesigns, maintains, and updates department websites as assigned.</li> <li>Updates, develops, and supports multi-media platforms of communication for Workforce Engagement, USM’s Career & Employment Hub, and Professional Development Programs.</li> <li>Identifies, researches, writes copy and promote/distribute news to external and internal audiences through social media posts, press releases, media advisories, web news articles, and designated calendars of events. Moderates and responds to social media comments.</li> <li>Creates, authors, edits, and/or distributes information and print materials to key stakeholders on behalf of USM’s Career & Employment Hub and Professional Development Programs.</li> <li>Develops, collects, and oversees stakeholder contact information and database.</li> <li>Develops all stakeholder resources for Workforce Engagement, such as resource guides, reports, data, and collateral materials.</li> <li>Provides professional-level support for special projects related to USM’s Career & Employment Hub, Professional Development Programs, and Public Affairs.</li> <li>Provides general administrative support to the Vice President of Workforce Engagement, the Career & Employment Hub, Professional Development Programs, and Public Affairs.</li> </ul>   SPECIAL ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS/RESPONSIBILITIES*:   <ul> <li>Proven experience with Desktop publishing software and graphic design.</li> <li>Excellent writing skills as evinced by a portfolio of journalism, marketing, or public relations work.</li> </ul>     Required: <ul> <li>Bachelor’s degree  and four or more years of related experience</li> <li>Some experience with Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign, Illustrator, Acrobat, and Photoshop).</li> <li>Experience building out a database and monitoring/updating web page content.</li> <li>Project management skills and the ability to balance several projects with tight deadlines simultaneously with prioritization guidance from supervisor.</li> <li>Familiarity with web design and social media platforms.</li> <li>Ability to provide status updates to the team as needed to ensure timely and successful completion of projects.</li> <li>Strong verbal and written communication skills.</li> </ul>   Preferred: <ul> <li>Experience with project coordination in an academic setting or equally complex setting.</li> <li>Experience using CMS (Content Management Systems)</li> </ul>   Other Information:   Salary & Benefits: The annual salary for this position is in the low $40s. The University of Southern Maine provides a highly competitive benefits package that includes holidays, vacation, and sick time; health, dental, and vision insurance; life insurance; short and long term disability insurance; a tuition waiver program for employee and eligible dependents; a 403(b) retirement plan; and more.   <a href="https://usm.hiretouch.com/uploads/457/file/UMPSA_One-Pager_9.12.19.pdf">Benefits Information Summary</a>   Schedule: The schedule for this position is Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Occasional evening and weekend work will be required. This position will be based on our USM Portland Campus with travel in-state and to other USM campuses in Gorham and Lewiston-Auburn as necessary.   Want to know more about employment, benefits, and local resources? Our <a href="https://usm.maine.edu/employment">Employment</a> webpage has additional information to help you become more familiar with developing a new career at USM as well as exploring everything the Greater Southern Maine area has to offer.   To Apply:   Apply online at <a href="https://usm.hiretouch.com/view-all-jobs">https://usm.hiretouch.com/view-all-jobs</a>. You will need to create an applicant profile and complete an application. You will also need to upload a cover letter and resume/curriculum vitae.   All required materials must be submitted by December 6, 2020.  We are not able to consider applicants who require Visa sponsorship support.   Appropriate background screening will be conducted for the successful candidate.   The University of Southern Maine is an EEO/AA employer, and does not discriminate on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, transgender status, gender expression, national origin, citizenship status, age, disability, genetic information or veteran’s status in employment, education, and all other programs and activities. For inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies, please contact: Equal Opportunity Office, 101 North Stevens Hall, University of Maine, Orono, ME  04469-5754, 207.581.1226, TTY 711 (Maine Relay System).