Web Communications Specialist

Position Summary

The Web & Communications Specialist is a dynamic and creative professional responsible for internal and external marketing and communications, brand visibility and showcasing the distinctive value to students, families, alumni, and industry and community the college to which the staff member is assigned. The position blends exceptional professional writing skills, strategic communications, social media marketing, and student recruitment support to attract and engage prospective undergraduate and graduate students. This individual develops and executes writing, content and media relations projects, digital campaigns, manages content across platforms, and ensures cohesive messaging aligned with marketing and communications goals for UDM.

Specifically, the Web & Communications Specialist writes, edits, designs, research, develops and publishes professional level feature stories, press releases, website content, collateral marketing and communications materials, and other communication-related materials for electronic communications, websites, print collateral and multi-media projects. A major focus of this position is on the creation and curation of video content for marketing use. The specialist will report to and work under the direct supervision of the University’s Marketing & Communications Department (MarCom) to support the communications needs of the College of Health Professions to which individual will be assigned. This individual will also have dotted line reporting and work closely with the college dean to support the day-to-day operations of the college. Tactical leads in MarCom will serve as support leads for the specialist. The Web & Communications specialist will also perform editing duties as assigned and track the effectiveness of electronic communications, media penetration, marketing campaign performance and return-on-investment via data analytics. Additionally, the staff member will undergo a comprehensive orientation training/onboarding with Human Resources and MarCom in the first week or more, followed by an orientation training/onboarding with the College of Health Professions.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Research, interview and draft professional-grade, error-free feature articles for magazines, marketing and communications collateral content and press releases for media distribution in support of the College of Health Professions to which staff member is assigned.
• Assist in story generation, including identification of potential story ideas with general public consumption value, generation of copy, and assisting in University strategy for media relations release and distribution to support college.
• Write, edit and develop a variety of digital communication products for UDM websites, including content and formatting for digital publications, academic unit websites, digital portals and other assets as assigned. This includes comprehensive, multi-tiered writing projects, associated website content and marketing content as assigned by MarCom and assigned college.
• Assist in reviewing press releases, stories, collateral and website content for assigned academic college/department and when available, across the University. This includes assistance in shepherding releases through the MarCom approval process.
• Lead the College of Health Career’s multi-platform social media presence across all relevant platforms in accordance with UDM approved social media guidelines and standards. This includes regularly posting, monitoring of engagement, responding to comments/messages, and other efforts to grow the college’s digital audience. The specialist will also maintain/manage assigned academic college social media platforms (Facebook, TikTok, X, You Tube, LinkedIn, Instagram and Snapchat).
• Under the supervision of MarCom and in alignment with college goals, build and manage student content influencer teams to assist in content creation and distribution.
• Assist with marketing campaign development for assigned college under direction of MarCom and in consultation with University Advancement leadership.
• Assist with public relations and media relations, including generation of press releases and media pitches, generation of media distribution reports, as well as visibility reports from PR Newswire for MarCom and College of Health Careers.
• Assist in developing/updating college and program marketing webpages as directed by MarCom and college/school leadership for various academic programs, including copy, photos, video, statistics and infographics for assigned academic college/department. This includes working with internal University and college partners to identify and assess communication needs for website updates and online content, based on established strategic objectives.
• Ensure alignment of College of Health Professions department and program websites with all applicable federal Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 and 2.2. Level AA and AAA accessibility requirements and federal mandates.
• Assist in developing strategy and management of video content for websites, assigned in consultation with MarCom and as aligned with College of Health Professions marketing and communications needs.
• Ensure college’s alignment with UDM brand standards as well as consistency in use of UDM brand and college sub-identities.
• Assist in obtaining data analytics for board reporting and other reporting requirements for the University as a whole, MarCom and the college.
• Provide communications support for special events for the College of Health Careers.
• Engage in periodic travel to sites for meetings and project work with College of Health Professions affiliated programs and partner organizations. This travel includes, but is not limited to, Grand Rapids, locales throughout SE Michigan and other areas in Michigan.
• Participate in strategic short- and long-term planning in collaboration with MarCom and College of Health Professions.
• Support the day-to-day operations of the College of Health Professions.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in English, communications, journalism, digital media studies or related field with 3-6 years of professional experience in feature writing/journalism, editing, web content strategy and development, business communications, digital media studies and social media.
• Exceptional writing and editing experience, including press releases, website content and expertise with Associated Press style.
• Advanced level of videography and photography skills.
• Experience or aptitude to learn content management tools such as Cascade CMS, Ellucian CMS, or similar tools.
• Experience with Microsoft Office, OneDrive and video and photography editing software.
• Experience with Adobe, including Photoshop, Premier video editing software and others.
• Experience with social media campaigns, strategy development, management and application of national best practices and trends back on research.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience working in health care industry is a benefit, specifically in the communications field.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Experience with health care industry communications and employment settings is a plus.
• Willingness to learn new strategies, creative expressions and techniques from tactical marketing and communications experts.
• Strong writing, editing, photography, videography and media relations skills as demonstrated by portfolio of published work and testing results.
• Strong management skills and ability to manage multiple tight deadlines with coolness and emotional balance.
• Ability and professional confidence to deal professionally with non-expert stakeholders.
• Knowledge of XHTML and CSS is helpful.
• Ability to use or learn how to use AI tools to help enhance writing and content projects in accordance with University AI guidelines and policies.
• Familiarity with Google Analytics or similar very helpful; familiarity with Mac platforms helpful. Note that department uses a mix of Mac and Windows platforms.
• Familiarity with all applicable federal Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 and 2.2. Level AA and AAA accessibility requirements and federal mandates.

Physical Requirements

Job may require lifting light weight objects (1 to 10 pounds) with no repetitive bending or stooping. Occasionally lift average weight objects (1 to 10 pounds).

Work Environment

Regular exposure to favorable conditions such as those found in a normal office.

Salary/Pay Information

Commensurate with experience

Anticipated Schedule

Monday to Friday 8.00 AM to 5.00 PM

Additional Information

Experience using Adobe products (Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, etc.), Microsoft 365 and related products (Excel, Word, Project Planner, etc.).

Employee Benefits

At the University of Detroit Mercy we continually strive to provide a high-quality, comprehensive benefits package to our valued employees. We offer our employees the following:

• Medical -
  • Three health plans to choose from with a large national provider network
• Dental -
  • Option to purchase additional dental plan through Sun Life
  • Dental Care is available at the School of Dentistry to the employee, the employee's spouse or legally domiciled adult and dependents (dependents shall be as defined for Internal Revenue Service purposes).
  • The fee for such services shall be waived for the employee, the employee's spouse or legally domiciled adult and dependents, up to a cap of $3,000 per individual per calendar year. Beyond the $3,000 cap amount, employees will be responsible to pay 25% of any remaining fees for the balance of that year.
• Vision -
  • Option to purchase additional vision plan through Heritage
  • Vision benefits available at Detroit Mercy Eye Institute
  • $35 Comprehensive Eye Exam
  • Contact Lens Exam starting at $7o
  • 50% off Optical Frames
  • 25% off Sun Frames
  • 30% off Prescription Lenses
  • 20% off Prescription Contact Lenses
  • *Cannot be combined with insurance*
• Health Savings Account and Flexible Spending Account options
• Employee Assistance Program -
  • Provided to everyone in your household
• Short-Term and Long-Term Disability
• Life and AD&D -
  • One times base salary up to a hundred thousand dollars
• Option to purchase additional life insurance, accident insurance, and/or critical illness insurance
• Tuition Remission Benefit for you, your spouse, and children
• Retirement Plan -

  Employees have a choice of the following:

  Employees who contribute 3% shall receive an Employer contribution of 6%, and employees who contribute 4% in the plan shall receive an Employer contribution of 8%.