About the Department

Salary is competitive and commensurate with qualifications and experience, while also considering internal equity.

Employees in this classification perform duties involved in the dissemination of information about or affecting university activities, programs, or events to news media, social media, the public, or university community. They plan, coordinate, and manage the activities of (a) a division (such as radio and television, news bureau, social media, or campus affairs) of a large centralized, multi-unit public information operation or (b) all activities of a smaller, independent public information operation, including, in either instance, serves as a lead worker or supervises subordinates and clerical support staff. They work under administrative supervision/direction of a designated supervisor.

Position Duties

researches and gathers information about university activities, programs, policies, events or external actions affecting the university (such as new legislation or governmental regulations); maintains a database of such information;

plans, compiles, verifies, composes, and/or edits informational materials; collects, prepares, interprets, and communicates informational material to support and/or promote university programs and services;

plans and coordinates informational and public relations activities and researches media markets to determine proper audience;

serves as liaison between campus news sources and outside media and partners with public relations groups in responding to inquiries from the news media and the public concerning university activities, programs, or events;

determines method of dissemination regarding information provided to local, regional, state, and national media and multimedia sources; researches, compiles, and/or disseminates information with regards to Freedom of Information Act requests;

provides leadership, project support, and counsels university staff officials in the planning, design, development, and management of strategic internal and external communication projects, initiatives, and events; analyzes and evaluates the assigned informational program and recommends changes;

establishes and maintains media and public information contacts; records, edits and produces multimedia content for university events;

develops, coordinates, and implements press conferences, photo sessions, and/or other press and media events, to include executive and corporate communications materials; represents the university through public presentations, informal speaking engagements, etc.;

manages web, photo, and video communication projects;

coordinates and supervises internal and external branding; serves as liaison with university and media, graphic contacts and/or external stakeholders;

manages and monitors the university's online presence; develops and manages social media strategies; creates and launches geo-targeted and paid social media campaigns; creates and administers content for various campaigns across multiple social media platforms; organizes and manages live online events;

measures and tracks university social media growth, campaigns and advertisements for communications, recruitment, and expansion; recommends changes in social media strategy; works with other university social media communicators in order to advise best practices, provide content, troubleshoot, and coordinate and execute campaigns;

formulates, initiates, implements, and interprets policies relating to utilization of social media resources;

oversees emergency response; develops and manages communication material and strategies for handling communication around issues and crises, as well as emergencies; develops and implements communication protocols for use in specific crisis situations; works with outside communications counsel;

hires, trains, evaluates and supervises public information, clerical, technical, and/or student employees;

coordinates the work of subordinate writers; establishes work flow for requesting, creating, editing, publishing, and retiring content;

prepares and manages the communications budget;

performs other related duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in communications, journalism, radio/television broadcasting, web/digital media, or a related field.
One (1) year (12 months) of professional work experience in public relations, journalism, social media communications, newspaper reporting, radio/television broadcasting with emphasis on production, or web/digital media.

Note: Master's Degree in an area consistent with the duties of the position may be substituted for one (1) year (12 months) of work experience.

Preferred: strong writing and editing abilities and knowledge of AP style, and the ability to handle several projects at the same time.

Other Qualifications

Illinois Residency Requirement: Pursuant to the State Universities Civil Service System, out-of-state candidates must establish Illinois residency within 180 calendar days of the start date for this position.

Tips for Completing a Civil Service Application:
1. To be eligible for the role, ensure that your application includes a complete and detailed employment history that highlights your relevant full-time and part-time work experience, including start and end dates of employment.
2. Relevant part-time work experience will count towards the qualifications for this position and will be converted to full-time equivalence to calculate the total length of experience.
3. Upload all official transcripts to meet the educational requirements. If the job description specifies a minimum number of college hours, transcripts are mandatory for the successful processing of your application.
4. Veterans who qualify for preference must provide proof of eligibility within ten (10) working days of submitting an application, unless the same proof has already been submitted in a previous application. The required proof of eligibility includes, at a minimum, a copy of the veteran's DD214/DD215 form (Department of Defense), NGB22 form (National Guard), or Discharge Orders or DD256 Discharge Certificate (Reserves).
5. After the position has closed, your application and supporting materials will be reviewed to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications, including any specialty factors associated with this position. Those who qualify will move forward for Civil Service Examination/Testing.
6. Please monitor your e-mail for further information regarding your application. Emails will be generated from [email protected].
7. For more information on Civil Service classifications, please visit the SUCSS web site at sucss.illinois.gov

About Civil Service Examination/Testing: The Civil Service examination for this classification is based on your application materials and responses to the supplemental questions. No participation other than submission of application materials is required from applicants that qualify to take the exam. If you meet the minimum required qualifications for this position, your application will move forward for examination/testing in which you will receive a score calculated based on your education and experience, and your name will be placed on the active employment register by exam score. This score will be emailed to the email address noted on your application. After the application deadline, the names within the top three scores will be referred to the department for interview.

Sponsorship for Work Authorization is not available. For more information visit https://policies.siu.edu/policies/employment-non-us-citizens.php

Benefits

University employees may be eligible for a variety of State of Illinois benefits. These benefits are administered through the Illinois Department of Central Management Service (CMS). These benefits include: Health Insurance plans (HMOs, OAPs, QCHP and CDHP), Dental Insurance, Vision Plan, Life Insurance, Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D), Supplemental Long Term Disability (LTD), Flex Spending Accounts, MCAP and DCAP, and 457(b) Deferred Compensation Plan.

Eligible employees are required to participate in the State Universities Retirement System (SURS). SURS is the retirement administrator for employees in public higher education in the State of Illinois.

Other benefits available to eligible employees include: Generous paid time-off, 403(b) Supplemental Retirement Plans, and Employee Assistance Program.

SIUC also provides extensive tuition benefits for its employees and their families such as: tuition waiver/application fee waiver for the employee and their dependents, a Legacy tuition rate for children of SIU Alumni, and Civil Service Employee Counsel (CSEC) Education Assistance Program (EAP).

For more information please visit: https://hr.siu.edu/benefits/

Agency Information

Employer: Southern Illinois University - Carbondale
Address: 900 S. Normal Ave

Carbondale, Illinois, 62901
Website: https://siu.edu/