Communications Specialist

At our Credit Union these five core values aren’t just words on a wall, they are our daily way of life. Our purpose is to build local loyalty, connect to community and make life easier for those we serve. To accomplish this, we hire team members who demonstrate a strong desire to serve others, who embrace change, who are eager to learn and who enjoy a good laugh.   

POSITION PURPOSE

The Communication Specialist is responsible for developing, implementing, and managing communication strategies that align with the credit union's goals and promote a positive workplace culture. The Communication Specialist serves as a liaison to Marketing and Community Development to assist with managing communication to members and the community. This role works closely with leadership, HR, L D, and other departments to ensure effective communication that engages team members and stakeholders, informs them of key initiatives, and fosters collaboration at all levels of the organization. This position is deeply rooted in the core values of compassion, humor, ethics, respect, and integrity, ensuring all communication reflects these principles.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Develop Communication Strategies (25%)

• Create and execute a comprehensive internal communication plan that supports the credit union’s mission, values, organizational goals, and culture.
• Collaborate with Marketing, Community Development, and internal department leaders to support and facilitate communication outside the credit union.
• Ensure all team members are informed and engaged through effective channels of communication, fostering a sense of community and transparency.
• Incorporate change management principles into communication strategies to effectively support organizational transitions, system conversions, new product/services launch.

Enhance Stakeholder Engagement (15%)

• Develop an ongoing strategy to understand team member voice, including synthesizing feedback from engagement surveys and creating additional opportunities to solicit and assess team member sentiment.
• Lead efforts to engage team members through regular updates on organizational initiatives, changes, and successes. Ensure all communications are clear, timely, and consistent with the credit union's tone, values, and commitment to ethics.
• Collaborate with Experience Optimization, to leverage NPS data and feedback to improve member effort, transactional and relationship score, by addressing identified gaps in communication.

Content Creation (20%)

• Craft clear, engaging, and informative communications, including digital video, newsletters, email messages, scripts, flyers, take-ones, intranet posts, bulletins, and other materials, infusing humor where appropriate.
• Lead the effort to ensure our brand characteristics and values are embedded into communications inside the organization and collaborate with stakeholders on brand attributes for external messaging.
• Manage a content calendar, ensuring timely development and distribution of materials. Coordinate with key stakeholders and collaborate with subject matter experts to produce thought leadership materials that position the credit union as an employer of choice.
• Partner with Learning & Development to create curated huddle and team meeting curriculum and messages for leaders to increase credit union knowledge and alignment with strategic goals.

Intranet Management (10%)

• Maintain and update internal intranet pages and leverage communication tools within our HRIS/UKG Ready to keep team members informed about company news, events, and updates.
• Oversee content creation and ensure the intranet remains user-friendly and engaging.

Event Support (10%)

• Coordinate and promote internal events such as team member recognition programs, town halls, and other morale-boosting activities.
• Plan, execute, and host live and virtual events that engage team members and stakeholders, inform, and promote the achievement of credit union objectives. Coordinate with internal partners and speakers to provide valuable and relevant content.
• Participate as a member of the core planning team for All-Hands meetings and events, such as CW Team Day and the Annual Meeting.
• Partner with Marketing and other member facing departments to support communication and promotion of external events such as first-time home buyer seminars, wealth management seminars, business development activities, i.e. NW Art & Air.

Crisis Communication (5%)

• Develop and implement effective internal crisis communication plans to ensure team members are informed during critical events or times of change.
• Coordinate with leaders and key stakeholders to ensure alignment on messaging in and outside the organization.

Measure Effectiveness (5%)

• Regularly assess the effectiveness of communication strategies through team member feedback, surveys, and engagement metrics.
• Leverage analytics to make recommendations for improvement and to inform future strategies.

Collaboration and Stakeholder Management (10%)

• Work closely with L&D, HR, leadership, and department heads to gather and distribute important information, fostering a culture of transparency and trust across the organization.
• Support Marketing and Community Development to ensure internal and external communications are timely, comprehensive, and clear, and to validate messaging is aligned.
• Engage with internal teams to understand communication needs and develop effective solutions.
• Partner with Experience Optimization and member facing departments to address opportunities to reduce member friction through enhancing communication touchpoints and resources.
• Integrate change management strategies into cross-functional collaboration efforts to facilitate smooth transitions and acceptance of organizational changes.

QUALIFICATIONS: 

• Strong writing, editing, and proofreading skills, with an emphasis on clear, concise, and engaging content.
• Excellent verbal communication and presentation skills.
• Strong project management skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.
• Familiarity with communication tools and platforms, including email marketing software and intranet systems, particularly SharePoint.
• Experience with digital content creation and distribution, including social media.
• Proficient in content management systems and analytics tools.
• Familiarity with UKG Ready and Schoox LMS is preferred.
• Experience with grant research and writing is a plus.

KEY COMPETENCIES: 

• Creativity and Innovation: Ability to generate new ideas and approaches to internal communication.
• Attention to Detail: Ensures accuracy and consistency in all communications.
• Collaboration: Works well with other departments to ensure alignment of internal messages.
• Adaptability: Comfortable adjusting communication strategies based on employee feedback and organizational needs.
• Confidentiality: Able to handle sensitive information with discretion and professionalism.

EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelor’s degree in communications, Public Relations, Marketing, Digital Media, Business, or a related field.
• Minimum 3-5 years of experience in internal communications, corporate communications, or a related field, preferably within the financial services or credit union industry.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Full-Time hours required, with additional hours as necessary to accomplish objectives, goals and projects.
• Ability to sit or stand within proximity of a computer terminal for extended periods.
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus.
• Frequently required to stand, walk and sit.