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JOB DESCRIPTION AND POSITION REQUIREMENTS:

Penn State’s Office of Strategic Communications, the University’s central public relations and marketing division, seeks an HR Public Relations Specialist to help develop and execute strategic communications plans and collateral focused primarily, but not exclusively, on messaging related to Penn State Human Resources (HR) programs, initiatives, and policies. The individual in this position will play a significant role in communicating with more than 36,000 full- and part-time faculty and staff members across Pennsylvania and throughout the nation. This is an excellent opportunity for a communications professional who wants to affect change, progress, and continued success at a major public university.

This is a hybrid position that combines remote and on-campus work.

Reporting to Strategic Communications’ senior manager for public relations, the successful candidate will collaborate with Strategic Communications’ social, proactive media, design, and visual content teams, as well as communicators, senior leadership, and other stakeholders and subject matter experts across the University. This role will also work closely with Penn State HR. Though the focus will primarily be on HR-related communications, this position will also help support communication needs for other University priorities and initiatives.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Develop comprehensive communications plans for multiple audiences, including faculty, staff, retirees, senior leaders, and external stakeholders such as prospective employees, community members, and news media.
• Support Penn State HR’s strategic mission to attract, develop, engage, and retain a diverse workforce and promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.
• Develop communications materials to encourage current employees to engage in benefits open enrollment, annual goal setting and performance evaluations, health and wellness programs, and other HR-related activities.
• Identify avenues for internal and external storytelling to promote Penn State as a desired “employer of choice.”
• Monitor key performance indicators and metrics to evaluate the impact and effectiveness of communication strategies/initiatives, and use data analysis to refine communication approaches.
• Collaborate closely with colleagues in Strategic Communications and other units across Penn State to promote consistency in messaging and standards.
• Assist with maintaining various Penn State HR digital platforms.
• Provide communication recommendations and support to Penn State HR leaders, including the vice president and senior directors.
• Support other aspects of Penn State Strategic Communications beyond HR, including planning and writing to support presidential, institutional and unit priorities; and providing editorial review and oversight of the relevant work of others.

The ideal person for this position will:

• Be an excellent writer, editor, and communicator who has the ability to understand the needs and perspectives of target audiences and can craft appropriate audience-specific communications.
• Be able to translate complex or data-heavy topics into understandable prose with appropriate framing.
• Have excellent verbal and interpersonal skills.
• Be comfortable advising on appropriate communications-related approaches for major strategic initiatives.
• Be proficient in developing and executing large-scale communications plans.
• Be a self-starter who works effectively alone and with others.
• Possess a solid work ethic, sound judgment, and strong problem-solving skills.
• Be highly organized, detail-oriented, and able to manage multiple priorities.
• Feel comfortable operating in a fast-paced environment while participating in and contributing to integrated teams.

Education and Experience:

Minimally requires a bachelor's degree, plus three or more years of related experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Experience with human resources communications is not a requirement of this position but is a plus. This position is filled at the Advanced Professional level.

About Penn State’s Office of Strategic Communications:

As Penn State’s central public relations and marketing division, Strategic Communications is a fully integrated, award-winning, best-in-class marketing and public relations team defined by innovative strategy and breakthrough creative driven by measurable goals. We advance the University by strengthening and protecting the institution’s reputation in regional, national and international spheres of influence in ways that serve recruitment, resource and leadership goals.

Spanning Penn State’s large-scale enterprise—including campus locations across Pennsylvania, nearly 90,000 students, and an alumni base exceeding 700,000—Strategic Communications’ work encompasses all forms of communications and engagement, ranging from branding, marketing, and trademark and event management to internal communications, proactive and social media, research communications, and crisis and issues management. We’ve attracted talented and diverse team members from private and public sectors at all levels of our division, giving us the ability to build a strategic program of excellence recognized throughout the University.

The Pennsylvania State University is committed to and accountable for advancing equity, respect, and belonging in all its forms. We embrace individual uniqueness, as well as a culture of belonging that supports both broad and specific equity initiatives, leverages the educational and institutional benefits of inclusion in society, and provides opportunities for engagement intended to help all members of the community thrive.  We value belonging as a core strength and an essential element of the university’s teaching, research, and service mission.

The salary range for this position, including all possible grades is:

Salary Structure - additional information on Penn State's job and salary structure. 

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