Outreach & Communications Specialist, UniverCity Alliance

Job Summary

Launched in 2015 with the Wisconsin Idea in mind, UniverCity Alliance is a partnership program that connects Wisconsin local governments with university resources to support community-identified priorities. UniverCity Alliance brings together instructors, students, and community members to address some of the greatest challenges facing communities across the state. UniverCity Alliance is housed within the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies.

The successful applicant will be an integral member of the UniverCity Alliance team, collaborate with units at UW–Madison, and work to expand the program’s reach on campus and across the state. The Outreach & Communications Specialist will serve a crucial role at UniverCity Alliance, supporting outreach, program management, and communications.

This position is designed with long-term leadership development in mind, and offers a potential career path that may include advancement into a managing director position based on performance and organizational needs.

Outreach (30%)

• Plan, coordinate, and promote on- and off-campus events.
• Seek opportunities to present at local government and campus conferences.
• Draft application materials for conferences, awards, and funding opportunities.
• Assist managing director in maintaining relationships with campus and community stakeholder groups.
• Represent UniverCity Alliance at campus networking meetings and campus events.
• Promote UniverCity Alliance-connected courses to students.

Program Management (30%)

• Be the point person for receiving and packaging final deliverables from instructors and students. This includes lightly editing the reports, adding front and back covers, sharing with partners, and adding them to the website.
• Manage promotion of end-of-year surveys with campus and community partners.
• Support scheduling with campus and community partners, including site visit logistics.
• Maintain internal and external databases.
• Maintain listservs of former community partners, urban-interested faculty, staff, and students, and community stakeholders.
• Support the managing director and advisory board.

Communications (40%)

• Create communications in partnership with community and campus partners and develop outreach strategies. This includes drafting and editing promotional materials, news stories, social media campaigns, newsletters, fundraising materials, and outreach documents for relevant audiences, from the general public to policy leaders.
• Find opportunities on campus to collaborate on community-based partner storytelling.
• Create communications strategies and establish criteria for assessing its effectiveness.
• Manage social media platforms.
• Oversee UniverCity Alliance’s website.

Key Job Responsibilities

• Identifies, promotes, and maintains external partnerships to support the outreach program
• May assist with the monitoring of outreach program budget spending
• Manage social media platforms and oversee UniverCity Alliance’s website
• Plan, coordinate, and promote on- and off-campus events, including site visits
• Maintain internal and external databases and listserves of stakeholders
• Delivers outreach program content and materials to community members
• Schedules and secures resources and communicates logistics in support of an outreach program
• Develops and evaluates curriculum and programs and provides recommendations for improvement
• Leads the implementation of programs, policies, and procedures through oversight of day-to-day activities for program staff and student and community volunteers
• Researches, develops, and facilitates outreach program content and materials