The University of Washington’s Center for an Informed Public is seeking a Communications Specialist to join our team as a key leader to help steward this new multidisciplinary institute, housed in the Information School. The Communications Specialist will report to the Director of Strategy and Operations and form an integral part in furthering CIP’s mission.

CIP is a new, collaborative effort that brings together faculty, staff, students and community partners in service of a core mission to resist strategic misinformation, promote an informed society, and strengthen democratic discourse. Located at the University of Washington, a world-class research university and embedded within the local community in the Pacific Northwest, this new Center will lead programs that span research, education, policy and outreach.

As a member of the Information School (iSchool), the Specialist is expected to step up where they see an opportunity to apply their special expertise or talents, speak up when they identify opportunities or concerns, and lead by taking actions that exemplify the iSchool’s core values, as are all faculty and staff. Leadership within the iSchool is expressed in diverse ways reflecting the variety of styles and cultures that are represented by our faculty and staff.

What you’ll be doing

Strategy and Analysis:

• Oversee development and implementation of communications and outreach strategy.
• Evaluate efficacy of outreach and engagement efforts to different priority audiences.

Website Management:

• Oversee ongoing development and management of the Center’s website.
• Manage website maintenance.
• Manage upgrades to website functionality.

Outreach and Engagement:

• Support external engagement with partners and other stakeholders through regular communications (e.g., newsletter) and the development of a system for review and routing of external communications.
• Build capacity of researchers to communicate and engage beyond academic journals (e.g. op-eds, media interviews, digital channels).
• Organize events and other activities focused on key constituencies
• Raise visibility of the Center.

Content:

• Oversee content development for the Center’s website and social media handles.

• In collaboration with researchers, develop external messaging for research projects and outputs to increase their use and impact.
• Work with Communications and Advancement colleagues within the iSchool, Law School, HCDE and other UW teams to amplify the CIP’s work.
• Support development efforts by tailoring communications for specific funders.

Operations:

• Ensure all CIP content complies with UW brand guidelines. 
• Oversee communications operations including publication production (workflows) of reports and other written outputs; managing use of CRM; overseeing graphic design; and coordinating with UW communications and IT as well as colleagues within the iSchool, School of Law and HCDE/Engineering.
• Ensure contractors are vetted and oriented to enable workflow for operations; manage contractors for services including UX, graphic design, editing, and web development.

Other duties as required:

• May supervise student employees or volunteers.  Hire and manage contractors for various communication-related services.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Marketing, Public Affairs, Library Sciences or related field. Equivalent combination of comparable knowledge and skills may substitute for education and/or experience.
• At least 5 years of communications experience, including direct experience with media relations and social media management.
• Demonstrated strong computer skills, including proficiency with MS Office Suite.
• Strong writing skills for both technical and non-expert audiences (writing samples required).
• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills.
• Experience managing website development and maintenance.
• Demonstrated success in delivering results and desired outcomes.

Desired Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Communications, Marketing, Public Affairs, Library Sciences or related field.  
• Experience with content management systems such as Wordpress.
• Familiarity and comfort with Photoshop or other image-editing software and InDesign. Sound understanding of digital media platforms and the importance of working collaboratively across channels.
• Understanding of web analytics, SEO and related tools; experience applying analytics to improve the performance of online properties.
• Familiarity with digital marketing services like Marketo or MailChimp.
• Experience using project management tools such as MS Teams, Slack, Smartsheet, Trello and ticketing systems.
• Familiarity with research communications and approaches to boost utilization.
• Familiarity with the field of misinformation.
• Crisis management experience.
• Experience successfully fostering digital community engagement.  

The University of Washington’s Information School is seeking an Assistant to the Associate Dean for Research to provide complex, confidential administrative support to the Associate Dean for Research (ADR) and coordination of Research Services activities. This role requires the Assistant to the Associate Dean to understand the unit’s responsibilities and relationships and to manage and facilitate the work of the Office of the ADR in areas including workflow, communications, policy, and procedures. The Assistant is essential to maintaining a fluid office environment that responds to the changing needs and foci of research in the Information School.

The Assistant is expected to be proactive in applying their special expertise or talents, speak up when they identify opportunities or concerns, and lead by taking actions that exemplify the Associate Dean for Research and the iSchool’s core leadership values. This leadership may be expressed in diverse ways, reflecting the variety of styles and cultures that are represented by iSchool faculty and staff.

What you’ll be doing:
Administrative support for Associate Dean for Research:

Provide primary administrative support to the ADR, requiring a high level of discretion and independent decision making, to ensure effectiveness in the ADR’s areas of responsibility.

• Serve as the initial point of contact for all inquiries to the Office of the Associate Dean for Research.  Attend to requests not requiring the specific attention of the Associate Dean. Monitor activities and communication, and assist with prioritizing time sensitive issues and responding to all requests in a timely matter.
• Prepare and manage regular Research Services meeting agendas, presentation materials, spreadsheets, figures, and other documents as needed.
• Coordinate ADR calendar and meeting schedule.
• Provide meeting support and coordination for planning, agendas, background materials, minutes, and reports. Ensure technical needs, food, and other resources are properly authorized and coordinated. Manage and reconcile budgets allocated for meetings.
• Coordinate travel arrangements for the Associate Dean. Determine and prepare itineraries and support materials. Complete supporting documents for reimbursement.
• Liaise with Human Resources to advise ADR on personnel issues, with a high level of confidentiality, and attend to issues needing immediate attention.
• Facilitate annual and ongoing employee review process for all faculty and staff reporting to the Associate Dean for Research.
• Facilitate and manage internal reporting coordinated within the Office of the ADR.
• Lead and manage Research Services special projects as assigned and delegated by the Associate Dean for Research or the Dean.

Research Services Coordination:

Provide coordination and reporting support for Research Services activities and management of Research Services budgets, ensuring that activities are initiated and brought to completion in a timely manner, while adhering to iSchool, University, state, and federal guidelines.

• Manage the calendar for Research Services schedule of activities.
• Develop and manage SharePoint and other web-based administrative sites for Research Services. Organize and manage information resources developed for Information School researchers and internal resources for the Research Services team.
• Provide event coordination support for annual Research Fair, weekly Research Symposium, and ad-hoc research events.
• In review of grant and contract proposals, liaise with Research Services personnel to analyze and flag issues to bring to the attention of the Associate Dean for Research.
• Following full Research Services review and approval of grant and contract proposals, may approve grant submissions in electronic grant administration systems (SAGE) on behalf of the ADR.
• Create regular and ad-hoc reports of research activity and outcomes using information from a variety of administrative database sources.
• Manage and reconcile Research Services budgets, including the, Research Seed Fund, Strategic Research Fund, and events budgets, totaling over $80,000 annually.
• Coordinate activities of the iSchool Research Committee.
• Support policy and procedure development and manage implementation and reporting.
• Monitor Research Services web pages, contributing to content and keeping content up to date.

Other Duties:

• Attend All-School and staff meetings.
• Attend research administrative-related campus presentations, workshops, and trainings.
• Participate in iSchool events and activities as needed and appropriate.
• Perform other related duties as needed.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Communications, English, Business, Human Resources, Information Science or related field.
• Three years of increasingly responsible administrative experience, involving coordination of activities and events, communication and reporting, and project management. 
• Must show demonstrated ability to function independently while exercising skill and informed professional judgment.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills: demonstrated experience in proof reading and editing; the ability to communicate and be comfortable with a variety of individuals ranging from undergraduate students to corporate-level executives.
• Must show demonstrated success in working with diverse populations.
• Proficiency in the use of MS Office Suite (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and Adobe applications (Acrobat).
• Familiarity with online calendaring or scheduling system.
• Must be highly organized and show a high level of attention to detail.

Desired Qualifications

• Prior work experience at the University of Washington or another institute of higher education.
• Proficiency in the use of MS SharePoint
• Project management experience.
• Event planning and coordination experience.
• Knowledge of University of Washington policies and procedures, including those related to grants and contracts. Experience with UW Systems particularly SAGE and MyFD.
• Experience with federal grants and contracts policies and procedures.
• Understanding of the academic research process and funding environment.

What’s in it for you

• Full benefits, including medical and dental insurance and retirement plan.
• Paid vacation and sick leave, as well as 10 paid holidays a year and one personal day.
• Subsidized transit.
• Work for an exciting, cutting-edge center within the University of Washington.

Conditions of Employment

A satisfactory outcome of a reference check of previous employment.