UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATION - Digital and Social Media Coordinator

Job Classification

  

Position summary

The Digital and Social Media Coordinator will oversee Andrews University’s primary social media platforms, developing and implementing social media strategy and creating appropriate content. Works collaboratively with the Media Relations Manager and with colleagues in the Division of Marketing & Enrollment Management (MEM), including the Office of University Communication.

Qualifications summary

• Bachelor’s degree, preferably in marking, public relations, communication, graphic design or related field 


• Two years of experience with social media content creation

Must be a Seventh-day Adventist in good and regular standing.

Duties and responsibilities

Strategic Planning & Leadership

• Collaborates with colleagues in the Division of Marketing & Enrollment Management (MEM), specifically with the Media Relations Manager and University Communication, to develop and implement a strategic social media plan and digital/social marketing tactics that shape the University’s presence on social media and set clear, measurable objectives to determine effectiveness. 


• Leads the weekly Social Media Council meeting.


• Maintains and updates the University’s social media policy. 


• Leads the planning of social media strategies around significant University events, such as Commencement, the arrival of new students, Change Day and Homecoming Weekend.


• Researches industry and competitor trends and best practices to develop innovative new content ideas and strategies. 


• Makes recommendations to shift presence on social media platforms by staying up-to-date on trends.


• Plans and directs development and communication of information designed to keep the public informed of the University’s mission, programs, accomplishments and/or point of view. This includes monitoring campus, local and church media via traditional and electronic platforms to keep appropriate campus entities informed and responding to issues as necessary.


• Proactively seeks opportunities to celebrate Andrews University’s accomplishments, milestones and success. 


•  Builds and executes a social media strategy and schedule through competitive research, benchmarking, and message identification for key audiences including alumni, church members, local community, parents, current students, and prospective students.


• Serves as a key member of the crisis communication team to craft crisis-related responses for social media and monitor key channels for information gathering and sentiment analysis.

Content Creation

• Leads the creation and publishing of relevant, original, high-quality content for the University’s primary social media platforms. Produces original content, as needed. Collaborates with the art director and designers to ensure designs are (a) consistent with University branding guidelines and (b) aligned with current marketing efforts. 


• Creates and implements a regular social media publishing schedule through an editorial calendar in collaboration with colleagues in MEM. 


• Interviews individuals and attends meetings and events to obtain content for posts. 


• Collaborates with campus colleagues to collect and share photos, videos and graphic design content that supports the University’s social media plan; works with external partners to develop content, as budgets allow. 


• Monitors University calendars to maximize opportunities to celebrate academic life and student life.


• Circulates frequently around campus in search of new opportunities for content development.


• Assists with writing titles, descriptions, captioning and SEO tags for photos and videos.


• Designs, builds and maintains our social media presence to promote the University for recruitment and retention efforts as well as alumni and public relations.


• Generates, edits, publishes and shares content (including original copy, images, video, or basic HTML) that builds meaningful connections and encourages online community members to take action.

Reports & Analytics

• Develops and monitors metrics to demonstrate effectiveness and refine strategies to ensure maximum reach and impact; provides reports/analytics of these metrics. 


• Analyzes engagement, interactions, and response rates across social media platforms.


• Continuously captures and analyzes the appropriate social media metrics, insights and best practices, and then acts on that data to increase audience engagement.


• Collaborates with other departments (e.g. Advancement, Admissions, academic areas) to identify stories and event opportunities for use in social media.

Engagement

• Develops a process that ensures timely responses from appropriate individuals to social media messages. 


• Identifies threats and opportunities in user-generated content surrounding the University through continual monitoring, responding to routine concerns and reporting notable reputational threats to appropriate administrators; monitors online review platforms to protect the University’s brand. 


• Develops and expands community and/or influencer outreach efforts. 


• Monitors social media accounts from various Andrews University entities to provide support and training and to ensure compliance of the Andrews brand and the social media policy. 


• Performs other duties as assigned.

Supervisory responsibilities

• Supervises and trains social media student workers as needed.


• Oversees the coordination of official University social media communication carried out by a student intern. This oversight includes the continued understanding and monitoring of news and information on social media channels, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube and others.


• Oversees student workers’ responsibility to respond to social media-based inquiries.


• Coordinates with supervisor to establish student workers’ priorities for social media dissemination, including both original content and cross-post messaging.


• Utilizes appropriate tools to track other University channels, as possible.


• Collaborates with University administration in the implementation of the University’s Social Media Policy. 

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree, preferably in marketing, public relations, communication, graphic design or related field.


• Two years of experience with social media. 


• Demonstrated ability to manage social analytics through testing and research.


• Awareness of the latest trends and tools for developing and managing social media content including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.


• Sound judgment; ability to solve problems and resolve issues while enhancing the University’s reputation through world-class customer service. 


• Strong organizational skills 


• Strong self-motivation and self-starter 


• High level of professionalism 


• Be comfortable working collaboratively with other members of the team


• Creativity and documented immersion in social media


• Excellent writing skills and an appreciation for brevity


• Strong client services skills


• Superior time management skills


• Attention to detail and an ability to consistently meet deadlines

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• More than two years of professional experience curating an organization’s social media presence. Experience is defined as hands-on work producing content for websites and social media platforms. Experience managing a social media program for an organization is a plus.


• Proficiency with advanced analytics


• Working knowledge of basic video production and graphic design 

Must be a Seventh-day Adventist in good and regular standing.

Technical competencies

• Social media platform management


• Adobe Creative Suite 


• Microsoft Office 

Interpersonal interactions

• Collaboration with team members and the campus community 


• Verbal and written communication with students, faculty, staff, alumni and the public in a variety of sometimes challenging scenarios 

Physical demands

• The job requires the ability to carry a camera and camera bag and to sit at a computer to write and edit photos and videos.


• Must have own transportation 


• May require planned evening/weekend work or unexpected crisis communication. Communication activities, responses and support can and will occur outside of regular work hours, including weekends.  

Work environment

• Office setting and public events (both indoor and outdoor)