The Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has an opening for a Communications Specialist. Share the Beckman Institute’s world-changing scientific discoveries and support the Beckman community through media releases, social media, web writing and many other forms of external and internal communications. The Beckman Institute’s Communications Office includes professionals who work in design, web development, video production and outreach. This close-knit, hybrid team shares goals and works hard each day to uphold Beckman’s mission and core values and follows the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign brand.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS (SPECIALTY FACTORS):

• Bachelor’s degree in marketing, business administration, communications, public relations or a closely related field.
• Two years (24 months) of professional work experience in marketing, public relations, communications, brand management or a related professional area.
• Demonstrated experience in writing, style editing and/or social media management in a journalistic, university, scientific research and/or business setting.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Master’s degree in communications, journalism or related field.
• 3 – 5 years of experience in a communications office.
• Experience working with or in higher education.
• Familiarity with the University of Illinois campus.
• Experience working with science and/or technology-related fields.
• Experience with online content creation and web development tools.

• Using independent judgment and discretion, work with the Executive Director of Communications to write and edit content that supports the mission of the institute for news releases, the Beckman website, internal communications, promotional materials, marketing copy and social media.
• Create and execute strategy (including paid campaigns) for Beckman’s social media channels to reach current and potential audiences of the Beckman Institute and the campus.
• Supervise student hourly workers who contribute to event promotion, scientific writing, copy writing, web updates and photo organization.
• Extend the reach of Beckman messaging through media relations. Submit news releases to EurekAlert! and working with the university’s Strategic Communications and Marketing’s media relations team to share Beckman-related stories.
• Use existing metrics and establish new metrics to monitor progress toward strategic goals in expanding awareness of the Beckman Institute and its members’ research and accomplishments.
• Work in collaboration with the Communications Office to support all communications, marketing and outreach activities and goals. This includes event planning and promotion, web initiatives, page design, photography, videography, editing and other diverse duties.
• Other duties as assigned.