Communications Specialist II

Responsibilities

• Develops and writes clear, audience-appropriate content to support the School of Nursing’s publications and digital channels, including NURSING magazine stories, news releases, and web features.
• Interviews faculty, staff, students, alumni, and partners to identify and shape newsworthy stories that advance the School’s strategic priorities, reputation, and recruitment goals.
• Adapts content for multiple formats and platforms, ensuring accuracy, consistency with key messages, and alignment with University and SON editorial standards.
• Implements social media and digital content plans that support engagement, recruitment, and visibility goals for the School of Nursing.
• Manages day-to-day content creation, including video and photography, for posting, across SON’s primary social media platforms.
• Maintains a content calendar, monitors activity and reports on basic engagement metrics.
• Collaborates with SON and URMC communications and marketing colleagues to align posts with broader campaigns, create simple branded graphics, and contribute content for URMC and University-level channels.
• Affords assistance with the production of recurring publications and email communications, including the School’s monthly e-newsletter, and weekly internal newsletter, and other targeted email updates.
• Coordinates content gathering and routing, provides input on layout and imagery, and proofreads materials for clarity, tone, and adherence to brand standards.
• Partners with designers, photographers, and other vendors or internal resources as needed to keep projects on schedule and within scope.
• Supports media relations activities and leadership communications designed to increase the School’s local and regional visibility.
• Affords assistance with identifying and developing newsworthy story ideas, drafting media materials, and coordinating media interviews.
• Affords assistance at presentations, conferences, and public events.
• Tracks media mentions and placements, maintains up-to-date media log entries, and works with senior staff to ensure consistent, accurate messaging in responses to media inquiries.
• Serves as an assistant editor for the School’s biannual alumni magazine, coordinating photo shoots, working with graphic designers, editing copy, and coordinating with printers on production and distribution.
• Provides additional communications support as needed, which may include event promotion, basic website content updates, photography coordination, or support for special projects and priority initiatives.
• Participates in team meetings and planning sessions and contributes ideas to improve communications processes and outcomes.

Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree in Journalism, Communications, or similar required
• 3 years of relevant experience required

Qualifications

• Ability to write and edit content based on target audience required
• Ability to provide context and/or reshape material as needed in a fast-paced, high-demand environment required
• Understanding and compliance with HIPAA requirements and URMC policies for protecting patient privacy and other confidential information required
• Knowledge of or experience in contributing to social media platforms required
• Strong organization and project management skills required
• Strong oral, written, and interpersonal communications skills; comfortable talking to all levels of faculty/staff, and in front of groups required
• Ability to work independently and within a collaborative team required
• Occasional night or weekend work required
• Position is expected to be available on-call for responding to overnight or weekend social media monitoring on a rotating basis—approximately one out of every six weeks required

Skills

• Some experience with HTML programming, content management systems, data analysis, metrics presentations, photo and video capture/editing, and/or graphic design preferred