Digital Communication Specialist (CC: 24112)

TITLE: Digital Communication Specialist

REPORTS TO: Superintendent

JOB SUMMARY: The Digital Communication Specialist will work in close collaboration with Senior Leadership, the Directors of Community Relations and Technology, other key District leaders to strengthen digital communication and innovation throughout the entire organization. The Digital Communication Specialist will support the development of strong branding, marketing, and internal and external communication through transformative digital and print content, strategic distribution, and focused partnerships and engagement to improve connections with students, parents, staff, and community members.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS: Digital Communication Specialist will work collaboratively with other team members to fulfill the following job functions:

• Manage the district’s digital presence to position the District to increase digital engagement with students and community; Support staff to effectively tell our story through student and staff success.
• Assist District department staff with communication and rollout of Strategic Plan information to staff, families, students and stakeholders by utilizing a variety of media for dissemination.
• Coordinate with the Director of Community Relations to develop and implement strategies that build and strengthen the district's brand in the digital space.
• Manage and maintain the District's website; Oversee the development of building websites.
• Assist in drafting digital content for highly active social media channels; Develop various print and electronic communications (ie: brochures, marketing materials) as needed.
• Support effective use of all social media to support internal and external communication efforts adhering to all applicable board policies governing social media and digital communications.
• Compile data across several social media platforms and create weekly/monthly reports, including analysis for insights, optimizations and future strategy development.
• Provide staff with innovative and effective ways to reach their target audience, using data and evidence from district surveys, feedback from user groups and technology trends.
• Provide secure, efficient and responsive support of district technology applications utilized by the organization to end users and district stakeholders; Support and collaborate with the Educational Services and Administrative Services Departments to experiment with new content formats and platforms to drive innovation of applications and technologies utilized by the organization.
• Collaborate with the communications team, administrators and educators to identify where opportunities for digital stories exist.
• Research, create, and update road maps for communication resources, including instructional support documents/media for all staff.
• Communicate with department leadership team and stakeholders regarding project and product status to ensure that system health, timeframe and budget parameters are met.
• Have a clear understanding of the data requirements of the organization and create and manage processes accordingly; utilize data to ensure instructional goals, performance metrics and capacity planning are met.
• Perform other job related duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS:
EDUCATION

• Bachelor of Arts in Marketing, Graphic Design or related field.

OTHER SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Social media, graphic design, and video production experience in an educational organization
• Preferred application proficiencies: Google Apps for Education, Microsoft Office, Adobe Creative Suite, Blackboard Web Community Manager, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
• Fluency with social media platforms and a nuanced understanding of the current social media landscape and trends
• Excellent organization and time management skills necessary to work in a fast-paced environment that requires rapid response;
• Effective oral and written communication skills to create, compose, and edit written materials.
• A passion for storytelling and public education
• Ability to evaluate, interpret end-user needs and to develop / recommend appropriate solutions.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, interpersonal, and communication skills (written and verbal as well as technical and non-technical communication skills).
• Ability to work successfully under direction, independently and in conjunction with other departmental team members that have varying levels of technical expertise.
• Ability to provide technical support and training to end users in “laypersons’ terms” at their technical level and often on their schedule; Provide support to the workforce on digital content creation
• Must be able to prioritize tasks and juggle multiple activities and projects and make establish deadlines.
• Ability to perform active field work, including lifting and other physical activities.

WORK ENVIRONMENT AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY:
Work is performed in an environment where unusual temperature, noise and hazards are relatively nonexistent. Work requires the employee to perform the following critical physical demands of the job:

• Ability to regularly talk, see and hear.
• Ability to lift, pull, push, walk, stand, sit, and use of hands for fine manipulation during the normal performance of tasks and responsibilities.
• Ability to occasionally stoop, kneel, crouch, and lift or move up to twenty-five (25) pounds.
• Ability to drive from building to building

TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT: The work year for this position is 12 months. The salary is based on experience and comparisons to surrounding districts as determined by the Superintendent or his/her designee.

• Medical/Vision and Dental coverage through BCBSIL
• FSA and Dependent DayCare accounts
• Life, AD&D, and Long Term Disability insurance
• IMRF contribution included in base salary
• 403B
• Yearly professional development allotment
• Mileage reimbursement
• Vacation payout

EVALUATION: Performance of this job will be evaluated in accordance with the District Professional Technical Performance Evaluation process.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER