Extension School Communications Officer

Do you love putting pen to paper, inspire people to develop themselves and contribute to solving today’s global challenges? Are you organised, familiar with social media and interested in education?

‘To educate the world and enhance the quality of campus and online education’ is the mission of the TU Delft Extension School for Continuing Education.  A mission that has guided all activities of our innovation-oriented organisation since its foundation in 2014.

We focus on online continuing education. Together with the TU Delft faculties and external partners, we create and deliver courses and short programmes that help learners at various stages of their professional life. We help them stay on top of their game, whether they are looking to change career, broaden their skillset, or acquire further academic qualifications. Think of international graduates who want to develop further through online education, and of people who have been in the labour market for a while and want to brush up on their skills and take the next step.

The Extension School is part of the University Corporate Office and reports directly to the Executive Board. Our international team of about forty skilled, passionate colleagues comprises over ten different nationalities - Our culture is inclusive and very diverse!

As a communication officer, you contribute to the mission and goals of the Extension School for Continuing Education and therefore to the profile of the University as a whole. You raise awareness of its education portfolio and publicise its work by putting communication plans into action, targeting and engaging different stakeholder groups: the university community (lecturers, students, alumni, support staff), education and industry partners, prospective learners, and the general public. You help create compelling content – writing and editing impactful texts, designing effective presentations, and developing qualitative print materials. You work with a number of online communication tools such as employee portals, narrowcasting systems and social media.

You work with six Marketing & Communication professionals in a wider team of about 40 people who are dedicated to developing and delivering course and programmes for lifelong learners and professionals, whilst improving and innovating campus education. Due to the size of the team – short lines of communication – there is plenty of opportunity, in addition to the executive work, to think along at a strategic/tactical level about the use of communication and the approach to projects.

The work is very varied; you are responsible for profiling activities and for supporting specific projects and events, as well as for writing texts for campaigns, newsletters, social media and impact reports – on a given day you may interview a course instructor for an article, prepare presentation slides for a conference, post engaging content on LinkedIn, participate in a brainstorming session about a project campaign or set up an evaluation survey. 

In your role you will:

• Implement the communication plans and manage, coordinate and execute various communication campaigns and processes.
• Create and deliver content and materials for a full range of digital and non-digital channels.
• Interview relevant stakeholders to write articles and produce other communication materials as necessary.
• Write communications for specific target groups, such as instructors, and submit those for publication in internal and external newsletters.
• Proactively collaborate with communication teams (corporate and faculties) at TU Delft and participate in the editorial team regular meetings.
• Help organise and participate in meeting and events (e.g. Open Education Week, Alumni Days).
• Run regular measurements of the communications activities and set up surveys as required.
• Manage communications calendars and information repositories.
• Monitor the brand identity and comply with the Creative Commons open licence guidelines.

You are proactive with a 'can do and hands on’ mentality and a passion and ability to connect with your target groups. You have an eye for detail and have excellent writing skills (regardless of the communication channel used, online and offline) to convert complex information into accessible communication. You have a relevant track record and are demonstrably service-oriented, able to work independently but also in a team. Finally, we find it important that you are willing to learn.

• Education and job experience

You have a degree in communication and/or two or more years of experience in a similar role.

You have experience of working in a communications team, delivering on communications plans. You carry out communication activities under supervision, coordinating and evaluating them.

As a story-maker you have a good command of the Dutch and English language and strong verbal, textual and visual communication skills. You take the initiative and are able to spot opportunities – such as potential stories. You are a strong writer, adept at creating and editing texts – whether that be stories, news articles, invitations, or social media post. You have a good understanding of the best channels for reaching the target audience.

Importantly, you realise that communication is a broad and evolving field with many opportunities to learn and you are eager to grasp these opportunities.

You are comfortable with being at the frontline of the Extension School, responding to a wide range of requests from stakeholders. You possess strong organisational skills and are able to prioritise and meet deadlines with high attention to detail.

A working knowledge of design packages (such as Adobe InDesign, TYPO3/WordPress) and application systems (such as Mail Plus/Spotler, Collector/Qualtrix) is an advantage. .

• Duration of contract is 1 year with prospect of permanent.
• A job of 30-40 hours per week.
• A salary based on scale 9 of the CAO for Dutch Universities with a minimum of €3.098,- and a maximum of €4.257,- gross per month based on a fulltime contract (38 hours), plus 8% holiday allowance and an end-of-year bonus of 8.3%.
• An excellent pension scheme via the ABP.
• The possibility to compile an individual employment package every year.
• Discount with health insurers.
• Flexible working week.
• Every year, 232 leave hours (at 38 hours). You can also sell or buy additional leave hours via the individual choice budget.
• Plenty of opportunities for education, training and courses.
• Partially paid parental leave
• Attention for working healthy and energetically with the vitality program.

Delft University of Technology is built on strong foundations. As creators of the world-famous Dutch waterworks and pioneers in biotech, TU Delft is a top international university combining science, engineering and design. It delivers world class results in education, research and innovation to address challenges in the areas of energy, climate, mobility, health and digital society. For generations, our engineers have proven to be entrepreneurial problem-solvers, both in business and in a social context.

At TU Delft we embrace diversity as one of our core values  and we actively engage  to be a university where you feel at home and can flourish. We value different perspectives and qualities. We believe this makes our work more innovative, the TU Delft community more vibrant and the world more just. Together, we imagine, invent and create solutions using technology to have a positive impact on a global scale. That is why we invite you to apply. Your application will receive fair consideration.

Challenge. Change. Impact!

‘Educate the World and enhance the quality of TU Delft campus and online education’. This is the mission of the TU Delft Extension School for Continuing Education. A mission that has been determining in all thinking and acting within our innovation-oriented educational organisation since its foundation in 2014.

We focus on university further education. Along with external partners and the faculties of TU Delft, we develop and provide courses and short programs for external target groups. Think of international students with a Bachelor's or Master's degree, who want to develop further through education. And to people who have been in the labour process for a while and want to brush up on their skills. Upon completion, our students receive an officially (accredited) certificate for the educational module(s) they have taken.

The Extension School has recently become an independent organisation within TU Delft. Our management team reports directly to the Executive Board. We work with about thirty colleagues from our own office on the university campus. An international team with expert and passionate employees with more than ten different nationalities. Our culture is therefore very diverse!

For more information about this vacancy, please contact Sibilla Becchetti, Manager Communications & Outreach, Extension School, [email protected] or +31(0) 15 27 85995.

Are you interested in this vacancy? Please apply before May 24th 2023 via the application button and upload your motivation and CV.

• You can apply online. We will not process applications sent by email and/or post.
• A pre-Employment screening can be part of the selection procedure.
• Please do not contact us for unsolicited services.