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Communications Manager - Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology (140898)

Employer
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Location
Champaign, IL

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Administrative Jobs
Institutional & Business Affairs, Alumni Relations & Development, Communications & Marketing, Community & Government Relations
Employment Type
Full Time
Institution Type
Four-Year Institution
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Job Details

Description:

Communications Manager

Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE) is an international research project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, and U.K. Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office. This ground-breaking project is engineering crops to be more productive by improving photosynthesis, the natural process all plants use to convert sunlight into energy and yields. By equipping farmers with higher-yielding crops, RIPE hopes to ensure that everyone has enough food to lead a healthy, productive life. The RIPE project is led by the University of Illinois at the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology.

The Communications Manager is a key member of the RIPE project administrative team and is responsible for the project’s strategic communications which promote our research successes and increases project visibility with the RIPE team, sponsors, media, the plant science community, governmental agencies, and the general public.

We are looking for a dynamic individual with a driven spirit who is innovative, self-motivated, can effectively communicate and strategically connect with the RIPE stakeholders and diverse audiences, and an independent thinker who also works well in a collaborative team environment.

The University of Illinois is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action employer that recruits and hires qualified candidates without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, disability or veteran status. For more information, visit http://go.illinois.edu/EEO.

PRIMARY POSITION FUNCTION:

This position will develop and implement a comprehensive communications strategy for multiple research projects. This strategy will build both national and international recognition amongst the scientific community, the general public, and funding agencies.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

    Develop and implement a comprehensive communications strategy for multiple research projects, the largest being the research project Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE). These strategies include producing and distributing a variety of communications to promote research successes and publications to increase visibility, ensuring that all materials have a consistent and effective message.Proactively identify compelling stories and create dynamic multimedia content highlighting project research, scientific achievements, and publications, ensuring the communications are timely, accurate, and relevant. Manage the development of all promotional materials for the research projects including news releases, press kits, project websites, social media, videos, documentaries, conference and annual meeting materials, announcements, digital signage, and invitations, as well as project team photoshoots.
  • Build a social media presence for each of the research projects including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Wikipedia. Monitor social media and news outlets to evaluate the effectiveness of our media coverage
  • Recruit, hire and supervise communications interns and a communications specialist as well as manage external service providers including freelance graphic designers, printers, and other independent contractors.
  • Serve as the liaison and primary contact with all news outlets, campus departments, the sponsors’ key communications professionals, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, Division of International Development, and Department of Energy, and all researchers to coordinate the dissemination of research activities.
  • Provide a suite of tools, products, and services to assist the researchers in communicating more effectively both internally and externally, including standardized templates for presentations, posters, and other project communications. Assist researchers in designing and preparing materials for scientific meetings and other presentations. Provide media training as needed.
    • Organize and coordinate high-profile visits of members of Congress, news and television reporters, high-profile sponsors, and distinguished visitors to the University of Illinois as well as in conjunction with communication-related events. Responsible for managing all communication materials for project meetings.Represent communications as a member of the research project administrative team and project executive committee.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required: Bachelor’s degree in public relations, advertising, communications, or a related field. One (1) year (12 months) of professional work experience in communications, promotions, public relations, or advertising. Demonstrated experience in higher-education communications. Demonstrated experience with computer software used in generating promotional materials. Demonstrated experience in developing a social media presence.

Preferred: Successful Candidates will have Bachelor’s degree in Journalism or Marketing. Five years of experience in a research-intensive environment and/or experience with scientific writing and promotional materials development is highly desirable. Previous communication experience in agricultural research and/or agricultural background.

SALARY AND APPOINTMENT INFORMATION

This is a full-time Civil Service Publicity-Promotion Associate position appointed on a [12]-month service basic. The expected start date is as soon as possible after the close of the search. Salary will be commensurate with experience.

To Apply:

Applications must be received by February 15, 2021. Apply for this position using the “Apply for Position” button below. If you have not applied before, you must create your candidate profile at http://jobs.illinois.edu. If you already have a profile, you will be redirected to that existing profile via email notification. To complete the application process:

Step 1) Submit the Staff Vacancy Application.

Step 2) Submit the Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability forms.

Step 3) Upload the following documents:

  • Cover letter
  • Resume (months and years of employment must be included)
  • Academic credentials (unofficial transcripts or copy of diploma may be acceptable) for all degrees attained
  • Names/contact information for three references

    • In order to be considered as a transfer candidate, you must apply for this position using the “Apply for Position” button below. Applications not submitted through this website will not be considered. For further information about this specific position, contact Lisa Emerson, RIPE Senior Project Manager, at 217-333-9107. For questions about the application process, please contact 217-333-2137.

    The University of Illinois conducts criminal background checks on all job candidates upon acceptance of a contingent offer.

    As a qualifying federal contractor, the University of Illinois System uses E-Verify to verify employment eligibility.

    The University of Illinois System requires candidates selected for hire to disclose any documented finding of sexual misconduct or sexual harassment and to authorize inquiries to current and former employers regarding findings of sexual misconduct or sexual harassment. For more information, visit Policy on Consideration of Sexual Misconduct in Prior Employment

    College Name or Administrative Unit:OVCRI Category:2-Administrative Title:Communications Manager - Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology (140898) Open Date:01/25/2021 Close Date:02/15/2021 Organization Name:Institute for Genomic Biology

    Organization

    Since its founding in 1867, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has earned a reputation as a world-class leader in research, teaching, and public engagement.

    Faculty

    A talented and highly respected faculty is the University's most significant resource. Many are recognized for exceptional scholarship with memberships in such organizations as the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences, and the National Academy of Engineering. 

    Our faculty have been awarded Nobel Prizes, Pulitzer Prizes, and the Fields Medal in Mathematics.The success of our faculty is matched by that of our alumni: 11 are Nobel laureates and another 18 have won Pulitzer Prizes.

    Academic Resources

    Academic resources on campus are among the finest in the world. The University Library is one of the largest public university collections in the world with 11 million volumes in its 37 unit libraries. Annually, 53,000,000 people visit its online catalog. Students have access to thousands of computer terminals in classrooms, residence halls, and campus libraries for use in classroom instruction, study, and research.

    Research

    Students and scholars find the University an ideal place to conduct research. The Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology is a model for interdisciplinary research, where eighteen research groups from sixteen University departments work within and across three broadly defined themes: biological intelligence, human-computer intelligent interaction, and molecular and electronic nanostructures. The University is also home to the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA).

    Undergraduate Education

    The University has a fundamental commitment to undergraduate education. Nearly 28,000 undergraduate students are enrolled in nine undergraduate divisions, which together offer some 4,000 courses in more than 150 fields of study.

    Undergraduate admission is highly selective. In the 2001 freshman class, students in the middle 50% had ACT scores between 25 and 30 and ranked between the 83rd and 96th percentiles of their high school graduating classes.

    The University enrolls over 9,000 graduate and professional students in more than 100 disciplines. It is among the top five universities in number of earned doctorates awarded annually in the United States.

    Also integral to the University's mission is a commitment to public engagement. Each year about 65,000 Illinois residents participate in scores of conferences, institutes, courses, and workshops presented statewide. Research and class projects take students and professors off campus to share expertise and technical support with Illinois farmers, manufacturing firms, and businesses. In a typical year, student volunteers log more than 60,000 volunteer hours.

    The Arts

    A major center for the arts, the campus attracts dozens of nationally and internationally renowned artists each year to its widely acclaimed Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. The University also supports two major museums: the Krannert Art Museum and Kinkead Pavilion; and the Spurlock Museum, a museum of world history and culture. 

    Other major facilities include the multipurpose Assembly Hall (16,500 seats); Memorial Stadium (70,000 seats), site of Big Ten Conference football games; and the Intramural-Physical Education Building, one of the largest recreational facilities of its kind on a university campus.

    Inclusive Illinois, one campus, many voices

    Inclusive Illinois is the University’s commitment to cultivating a community at Illinois where everyone is welcomed, celebrated, and respected. Illinois is about how we value difference to make a difference. http://www.inclusiveillinois.illinois.edu/

    As evidence of the University’s commitment to enhance the working, living, and learning environment for faculty, staff, and students, the University will encourage a standard of conduct and behavior that is consistent with the values of inclusivity. In an environment of inclusivity, there is no place for acts of hatred, intolerance, insensitivity, bigotry, threats of violence, harassment or discrimination.

    Inclusive Illinois, one campus, many voices

    Inclusive Illinois is the University’s commitment to cultivating a community at Illinois where everyone is welcomed, celebrated, and respected. Through education, engagement, and excellence, each voice creates the Inclusive Illinois Experience.

    How can we appreciate difference to make a difference?

    Illinois is the place where we embrace difference. We embrace it because we value it. We value it because we know that we have so much to learn from each other in our living, learning, and working environment.

    Illinois is the place where we recognize the power of possibility and where great potential is realized. Inclusive Illinois is the vision of that place: a vision made real by leadership and commitment.

    Illinois is the place where consensus is forged by discourse and where everyone’s contributions are recognized: significant contributions that elevate us because they are informed and enhanced by race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and gender identity, age, physical ability, religion, class, and national origin. We are enriched by these perspectives, and we are united by the very discourse that brings these views together.

    It is a process. It is transformative. And we celebrate the remarkable changes we set in motion here … taking an important step … crossing boundaries … starting with our own.

    It all starts with each of us: with our willingness to embark on the journey in the search for answers, and with our openness and acceptance of the answers we find. Illinois is the place where it all comes together.

    Learn more about how Inclusive Illinois promotes diversity here.

    Commitment to Equal Opportunity

    The commitment of the University to the most fundamental principles of academic freedom, equality of opportunity, and human dignity requires that decisions involving students and employees be based on individual merit and be free from invidious discrimination in all its forms, whether or not specifically prohibited by law. Among the forms of invidious discrimination prohibited by the University policy but not law is discrimination, including harassment, on the basis of sexual orientation. Complaints of invidious discrimination in violation of University policy are to be resolved within existing University procedures. The policy of the University of Illinois is to comply with all federal and state nondiscrimination, equal opportunity, and affirmative action laws, orders, and regulations. The University will not engage in discrimination or harassment against any person because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, disability, unfavorable discharge from the military, or status as a disabled veteran or a veteran of the Vietnam era. This nondiscrimination policy applies to admissions, employment, and access to and treatment in University programs and activities

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