Job Description

The Office of Undergraduate Education for the College of Arts & Sciences is looking to fill an inaugural position: Communications Manager. The Communications Manager serves a critical role in developing the Office of Undergraduate Education’s internal and external communications strategy and executional excellence for various purposes and audiences. The Communications Manager will help create cohesive messaging regarding the College’s mission and values for students, faculty, staff, and stakeholders. In addition, the Communications Manager will plan and execute an ongoing cycle of communications with 11,000 Arts & Sciences undergraduate students. The work of the Communication Manager will directly support the first priority of A&S: to create an undergraduate experience second-to-none. The Communications Manager will report to the Strategic Communications and Project Manager and will work closely with the College leadership team.

The successful candidate will be expected to:

Create strategy and an implementation plan for internal and external messaging

• Collaborate with the College’s leadership team to develop cohesive narratives
• Write professional content to educate stakeholders on programmatic issues
• Serve as a liaison/advocate to the Dean’s Marketing team

Develop and execute the cycle of communications with matriculated students

• Create proactive communications campaigns for students
• Manage “ask the college” inbox, and create template answers for recurring topics
• Collect data to inform future communications campaigns

Manage the College Website.

• Tailor the College website to best communicate with and serve the needs of the primary and secondary audiences.
• Make recommendations on best practices, website functionality, and how to improve the user experience.

Draft presentations and correspondence for senior leaders within the College.

• Create PowerPoint presentations for internal and external purposes as needed; leverage best practices from A&S Marketing team to do so.
• Develop talking points for the Office of Undergraduate Education for various modes of delivery.

Assist with the communication needs for special events and special projects.

• Assist with general planning and event hosting for College-run special events; collaborate with A&S Marketing team for end-to-end event management.
• Determine venues and speaker availability; coordinate speaker schedules and handle logistics for speakers.
• Conduct outreach and planning with external speakers for events or off-sites.

Minimum Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree required
• At least three years of experience required, experience in communications, marketing, journalism, or public relations experience preferred.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Exceptional written and oral communication skills, with ability to synthesize complex concepts and translate into simple and clear communications
• A master’s degree
• Experience in digital storytelling
• Proven track record creating and delivering effective internal communications programs
• Demonstrate critical thinking skills and strong problem-solving capabilities.
• Strong attention to detail
• Ability to work with stakeholders to gather insights and feedback on communications efforts
• Experience in higher education

This position is located in Charlottesville, VA. A hybrid work schedule may be available for this position, dependent upon needs of the department and incumbent's performance.

This is an Exempt level, benefited position. For information on the benefits at UVA, visit hr.virginia.edu/benefits.

This position will remain open until filled. Review of applicants will begin October 7, 2024. This position will not sponsor applicants for work visas. The University will perform background checks on all new hires prior to employment.

To Apply:

Apply here. Internal applicants must apply through their UVA Workday profile by searching ‘Find Jobs.’ Complete an application online with the following documents:

• CV
• Cover letter

Upload all materials into the resume submission field, multiple documents can be submitted into this one field. Alternatively, merge all documents into one PDF for submission. Applications that do not contain all required documents will not receive full consideration.

References will be completed via UVA’s standardized process Skill Survey. A total of five references will be requested via SkillSurvey during the final phase of the interview process.

For questions about the application process, please contact Melanie Sponaugle at unw5dq@virginia.edu.

For more information about UVA and the Charlottesville community please see http://www.virginia.edu/life/charlottesville and https://embarkcva.com/.

This is primarily a sedentary job involving extensive use of desktop computers. The job does occasionally require traveling some distance to attend meetings, and programs.

The University of Virginia, including the UVA Health System which represents the UVA Medical Center, Schools of Medicine and Nursing, UVA Physician’s Group and the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, are fundamentally committed to the diversity of our faculty and staff. We believe diversity is excellence expressing itself through every person's perspectives and lived experiences. We are equal opportunity and affirmative action employers. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, marital status, national or ethnic origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, veteran or military status, and family medical or genetic information.

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