Senior Public Relations Specialist

• Lead and partner with department heads, staff, and external partners on the development and delivery of universitywide initiative and project strategies that convey key messages, raise awareness, deepen understanding, and increase engagement and adoption among members of the university community as well as external stakeholders
• Oversight of aspects of initiatives and projects from concept through launch/delivery, establishing and adhering to timelines, and prioritizing competing initiatives; including being thoughtful about linkages among projects in the UFA communications ecosystem to tell a cohesive narrative.
• Provide direction on and have oversight of relevant communications activities managed by internal and external partners who support universitywide/division initiatives and projects led by University Finance and Administration departments.
• Research, write, fact check, edit, and curate original, compelling stories of UFA people, culture, core purpose, and guiding principles that can be adapted across multiple platforms, including web, intranet, publications, social media, and video; produce copy that is engaging, brand-compliant and search engine-optimized.
• Serve as a representative of the UFA Communications department on committees pertaining to the department’s core functions, as well as the division’s culture and/or diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Assess and execute existing, new, and emerging communication channels and opportunities for compatibility with universitywide and division initiatives and projects.
• Leverage and build on expertise to drive decision making on how to engage and expand our audiences through tracking and analysis of data, analytics, and key performance indicators; gauge the effectiveness of communication activities, including the assessment, development, and application of appropriate metrics to measure impact.
• Arrange interviews, photo and video shoots; edit and publish deliverables
• Effectively manage feedback and input from diverse groups of stakeholders to reach decisions on best path forward to implement plans. 
• Support event management activities for universitywide and division meetings, department staff meetings (ad hoc) and other UFA virtual, in-person, and hybrid events/
• Provide supervision and/or oversight of work product for junior and student team members, as needed. 

Rutgers offers a comprehensive benefit program to eligible employees. For details, please go to http://uhr.rutgers.edu/benefits/benefits-overview .
Rutgers also offers a benefit program to eligible full-time postdoctoral fellow students. For details, please go to https://finance.rutgers.edu/healthcare-risk/insurance/postdoctoral-health-insurance.

• Bachelor’s degree in English, journalism, communication, marketing, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and/or experience that demonstrates comprehensive knowledge, skill, and understanding of writing, formatting, editing, proofreading, publishing, promotional advertising, organization coordination, and/or facilitation.
• A minimum of five years of relevant experience in a public relations and/or communications function. 

• Has thorough knowledge of MS Office, and working knowledge of platforms that support intranet and web development, content management, social media, publications, marketing, and event management, including Drupal, WordPress, Qualtrics, Prezi, YouTube, Constant Contact, Eventbrite, SharePoint, and Mentimeter.
• Demonstrated capability to write, edit, and proofread high-quality copy applying standard published style guides such as The Chicago Manual of Style or The Associated Press Stylebook and the Rutgers Editorial Style Guide; maintain high publication standards, ensuring consistency and quality of messaging for all content.
• Completes work independently, proactively, and collaboratively, with broadly defined objectives and limited review of overall results.
• Exhibits strong attention to detail, is highly organized, responsive, and dependable
• Strong problem solving, decision making, and project management skills, capable of hands-on execution of program deliverables.
• Able to prioritize and manage multiple projects in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment while maintaining quality of work and meeting deadlines required.
• Communicates risks and mitigation plans timely and thoroughly.
• Is creative, flexible, and able to communicate and collaborate well with diverse members of the university community, such as students, faculty, staff, and administrators
• Leads through influence to foster collaboration, alignment, and engagement
• Embodies University Finance and Administration guiding principles of support and collaboration, understanding and trust, how we work, strategic alignment, and accountability.. Has a professional demeanor, positive disposition, is internally motivated and capable of managing confidential information. 

• Experience working in a higher education setting is a plus.
• Prior experience having oversight of others is helpful.