Research Communications Coordinator

Department: IPR - Inst for Policy Res
Salary/Grade: EXS/5

Are you a team player passionate about bringing shareable, policy-relevant research to a wide audience? If so, the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University is looking for you. The ideal candidate has experience editing and reporting with a demonstrated interest and/or coursework in social policy or academic research. Successful candidates have typically held a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in journalism or the social sciences or come from reporting backgrounds and have covered social science or academic research. They also can deliver on deadline, take initiative, and juggle multiple projects and priorities. They have a knack for finding and telling an engrossing—and accurate—research story and an "eye" for compelling graphics and photos, including demonstrated experience using Photoshop and InDesign. Curating the IPR website, organizing events, and running our social media accounts are also integral parts of the job. For now, the job is remote, but it is expected the person will be working in IPR's physical offices on Evanston's leafy campus at some point in 2021. In addition to joining a collaborative and hard-working team that values strong relationships, Northwestern employees take advantage of excellent healthcare and retirement benefits, as well as generous paid time off. If you feel this could be a great career match, please apply today!

Job Summary:

Under the direction of the Communications Director, this position is responsible for writing and editing print and web articles for the Institute for Policy Research. The position will help maintain and grow IPR’s photo database, social media and web presence, and assist IPR’s communications director and team with event planning, publications, and execution of overall communications for the Institute. The coordinator will also be responsible for creating infographics for IPR faculty research and daily management of IPR’s social media accounts.

Specific Responsibilities:

1. Under the direction of the Communications Director and in collaboration with the Communications Team, edits analytic, informational, and/or feature web and print articles on policy-relevant, social science research topics based on academic papers/publications, and events. Must be able to grasp complex social science concepts. Writes research summaries and longer articles. Adapts existing content to other digital media and print formats.
2. Collaborates on editorial and design work for IPR publications—its newsletter (2x per year), monthly html newsletter, annual report, policy research briefs, and other materials as needed (media releases, brochures, reports, working papers, conference materials, internal communication, flyers, etc.).
3. Ensures that content is produced in accordance with assigned deadlines and respecting current copyright and libel laws. Ensures that content is free of spelling and grammatical errors, follows AP and in-house style, and meets the Institute’s high standards for accuracy and factual rigor. Identifies accompanying images, graphics, and hyperlinks; and sources/produces the related content.
4. Able to visually render complicated social science concepts as infographics by designing visually appealing charts and graphs. Necessitates basic statistical understanding and an ability to manipulate data in programs such as Excel. Able to follow existing design standards and create new templates and style guides. Collaborates with other team members in designing and producing infographics.
5. Co-manages IPR social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.) on a daily basis. Plans and manages the publishing calendar, social objectives, messaging, writing posts, sourcing or creating the visual images for these posts, aligning to the overall product and marketing plan. Monitors peer social media accounts for updates. Tracks analytics through each account and offers recommendations for improving account activity.
6. Stays abreast of the latest trends and incorporates best practices and new tools into IPR’s social media accounts as needed. Tailors content to particular channel. Grows engagement, reach, and impact through proactive campaigns and management.
7. As requested, takes digital photos of a variety of people and events, using Photoshop and iPhoto to edit and manage them. Conducts image searches. Obtains copyright and audiovisual release forms as needed. Assists hired photographers. Helps to augment and maintain the Institute’s photo database by ensuring proper storage and quick retrieval of IPR digital and paper images and other media files.
8. Collaborates with the Communications Team on events planning and organization in accordance with assigned deadlines. Attends events as needed to ensure their smooth functioning. Occasionally, events might necessitate working outside of normal working hours, in the evening, and on weekends.
9. Assists IPR’s front office, communications department, and administration as needed (photocopying, delivering and picking up documents, etc.).

Other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in journalism, communications with a social science minor; or a Bachelor’s in a social science field (political science, sociology, etc.) with a journalism or communications minor; or a Bachelor’s degree in a related field, with the equivalent combination of education, training and experience from which similar skills can be acquired.
• 1 – 2 years of experience writing for a publication and/or website (experience can also be part of an internship or other position) and experience in running social media platforms for a nonprofit or organization.
• Demonstrated interest in the social sciences, evidence-based research, and public policy.
• Good news judgment and outstanding editing and communications skills.
• Able to set priorities, organize workflow, work independently on assigned projects, and collaborate in a hard-working, small-team environment, demonstrating an exceptional work ethic and following through on initiatives.
• Punctual and reliable, with the ability to meet deadlines, strive for continuous improvement, solve problems quickly, and think outside of the box.
• Rigorous attention to detail.

Minimum Competencies: (Skills, knowledge, and abilities.)

• Well versed in AP style, with a sharp eye for grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
• Basic knowledge of current copyright and libel laws.
• Able to work in both a Mac (primary) and PC computer environment.
• Software/Platforms: Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop and InDesign), and Microsoft Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), MailChimp or other event email marketing platforms.
• Familiarity with content and photo management systems for websites and social media.
• Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
• Effectively use and summarize information from analytics tools for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google.
• Image/design experience (page designs, web layouts, editing images and graphics, etc.).
• Can work remotely effectively.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in journalism, communications with a social science minor; or a master’s in a social science field (political science, sociology, etc.) with a journalism or communications B.A.; or a Master’s degree in a related field, with the equivalent combination of education, training and experience from which similar skills can be acquired
• Software: Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator), FilemakerPro, Google Analytics, Cascade Content Management System, and Sprinklr, or equivalent.
• 2 – 3 years of full-time experience writing for a publication and/or website and experience in running social media platforms for a nonprofit or organization.

Preferred Competencies: (Skills, knowledge, and abilities)

• Knowledge of SEO and SEM.
• Multimedia production experience (audio, video)

Northwestern University is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action Employer of all protected classes, including veterans and individuals with disabilities. Women, racial and ethnic minorities, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are encouraged to apply. Hiring is contingent upon eligibility to work in the United States.