"Web Manager and WordPress Developer"

Job Details

Posting Details

Posting Number: N01188

Classification Title: Manager 170

Working Title: Web Manager and WordPress Developer

Employee Group: Manager

Bargaining Unit: Management

Location: Main Campus

Department: University Marketing and Communication

Pay Rate: $59,000 - $72,000 commensurate with experience

Employment Type: Regular FT

Work Schedule: Monday – Friday 8:00 – 4:30

Position Summary

The Web Manager and WordPress Developer will lead management and continuous improvement of the university web properties to drive enrollment, engagement, and alumni relations; serve as the primary WordPress technical owner, content governance lead, and accessibility steward for all public-facing web properties; and collaborate with marketing, academic units, enrollment, IT, and campus partners to translate institutional goals into measurable web outcomes.

Duties include:

• Maintain and enhance the University News WordPress environment and scale operations based upon the greatest needs of the University: deploy updates, manage plugins and themes, implement performance templates, and troubleshoot platform issues.
• Create a content refresh calendar on the primary sru.edu website as well as a governance plan for a highly distributed authorship. Develop and manage standard operating procedures for compliance and storytelling goals.
• Build and maintain modular page templates, block patterns, and reusable dynamic content components to speed content creation/syndication and ensure storytelling, user experience, and brand consistency remain at the forefront of decision making and development.
• Author, edit, and optimize high-impact content for target audiences (prospective students, families, alumni, donors, media) with an emphasis on clear calls-to-action and SEO / GEO best practices.
• Implement and monitor analytics, A/B tests, and conversion funnels to improve inquiry, application, and engagement metrics; generate monthly performance reports and action plans.
• Enforce web content governance: train content owners, manage editorial calendar, run content audits, and maintain metadata and taxonomy for discoverability.
• Ensure WCAG accessibility compliance and mobile-first design across templates and content; coordinate remediation with content authors and colleagues where needed.
• Manage integrations with CRM, LMS, calendaring, media libraries, and third-party tools; own staging and deployment workflow with version control.
• Provide tiered support: triage requests, advise campus units on content strategy, and execute priority builds or fixes when staffing is limited.
• Lead small-scale web projects (microsites for campaigns, landing pages for recruitment, event hubs) from scoping through launch and post-launch analytics.

Skills desired:

• Web Content Strategy & User Experience (UX): Understanding how students, families, alumni, and donors navigate digital spaces and what drives engagement and conversion.
• WordPress Architecture & Development: Deep knowledge of themes, plugins, custom post types, security hardening, and performance optimization.
• Accessibility & Compliance Standards: Familiarity with WCAG, ADA, and higher education digital compliance expectations, including PASSHE security and content governance requirements.
• Analytics & SEO: Knowledge of Google Analytics, search optimization, and data driven decision making to improve recruitment and donor engagement.
• Brand & Messaging Standards: Understanding how digital content supports institutional reputation, enrollment marketing, and philanthropy storytelling.
• Front End Development: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, responsive design, and the ability to troubleshoot and optimize site performance.
• Content Management & Editing: Ability to create, edit, and manage high impact content that supports enrollment pipelines and donor cultivation.
• Project Management: Coordinating timelines, stakeholders, and priorities across marketing, admissions, advancement, and IT.
• Security & Risk Mitigation: Implementing updates, patches, backups, and monitoring to protect institutional data and maintain PASSHE aligned security posture.
• Vendor & Stakeholder Communication: Translating technical needs into clear, actionable language for non technical teams and leadership.
• Strategic Thinking: Connecting digital experience decisions to enrollment goals, donor engagement, and institutional reputation.
• Rapid Response: Updating critical content quickly—especially for admissions deadlines, emergency communications, and advancement campaigns.
• Problem Solving: Diagnosing issues, preventing outages, and ensuring the website remains stable, secure, and high performing.
• Cross Functional Collaboration: Working seamlessly with admissions, advancement, marketing, IT, and executive leadership.
• Continuous Improvement: Staying ahead of digital trends, accessibility requirements, and security expectations to keep the institution competitive.

The Web Manager and WordPress Developer is expected to:

• Have the drive and ability to contribute in all facets of higher education Web endeavors for the University.
• Operate at the intersection of strategy, technology, and storytelling in a resource-constrained environment, requiring broad technical fluency and strong prioritization.
• Balance rapid tactical execution (urgent campaign pages, admissions deadlines) with medium-term platform improvements (architecture, accessibility, performance).
• Manage cross-unit stakeholders with varying technical skills and competing priorities, negotiating compromises that protect brand and functional outcomes.
• Maintain stability and security of the WordPress ecosystem while iterating quickly, often making tradeoffs between custom development and maintainability.
• Independently drive analytics-informed decisions and to explain technical implications to non-technical leaders to secure buy-in and resources.

Minimum Qualifications

A Bachelor’s degree in Digital Media, Communications / Marketing, Journalism, Web Design / Information Systems, Computer Science, Information Systems, or other technologically driven field.

3-5+ years of Web related development/coding ( HTML / CSS /JS/ PHP etc.) and hands‑on experience managing websites with regular content publishing.

1–2 years in a role with CMS ownership, Editorial workflow coordination, Cross‑functional collaboration (content, design, dev, SEO ). Experience should include ongoing optimization, not just site launches.

Working knowledge of HTML & CSS (not necessarily advanced coding); responsive design principles; accessibility basics ( WCAG 2.1 awareness) with the ability to diagnose issues and speak fluently with developers.

Successful performance in an on-campus interview.

Preferred Qualifications

A Master’s degree in a digital media or technologically driven field.

Must possess a continuous improvement mindset and platform skills that include managing content publishing workflows; taxonomy, tagging, and categories; page templates and reusable components.

The ability to operationalize and operationalize SEO best practices daily such as Metadata, Header, Internal linking, and Image optimization. Familiarity with SEO tools such as Google Search Console and SEMrush, Ahrefs, Moz, or similar.

Experience using Google Analytics 4 basic dashboards and reporting with the ability to track content performance, identify trends and underperforming pages, make recommendations based on data. Must be able to present strategic directions based upon the question What content is working, and why?

Strong editorial judgment and a comprehensive understanding of Content lifecycle management; Evergreen vs. time‑bound content; and Content governance and quality standards. Ability to edit for Web readability, SEO, and Brand voice consistency.

Strong oral and written communication skills combined with strong organizational and governance skills with the ability to translate technical issues for non‑technical stakeholders.

The ability to work in a team oriented environment and independently.

Adobe Photoshop functional experience.

Posting Detail Information

Posting Date: 02/10/2026

Closing Date:

Open Until Filled: No

Special Instructions to Applicants: Official transcripts are required prior to appointment. Recommended candidates will be required to complete criminal background check, including Act 34 Background Check and Act 151 (Child Abuse) Background Check and Federal Criminal ( FBI ) clearance prior to appointment. The recommended candidate will also be required to submit a completed Act 24 form ( PDE -6004) prior to employment. Please include three professional references within your application materials. Full consideration will be given to applications received by March 3, 2026.

Applicant Documents

Required Documents:

1. Resume
2. Cover Letter/Letter of Application

Optional Documents:

1. Unofficial Transcripts
2. Unofficial Transcripts 2
3. Unofficial Transcripts 3
4. Management Philosophy