Employee Engagement Senior Specialist

The Senior Specialist, Employee Engagement is a dynamic, highly motivated, creative, strategic professional. They are responsible for designing and delivering global employee communications, employee engagement programs, and employee events that nurture our strong culture, connect people to each other, celebrate successes, and instill our people with our purpose. With a passion for storytelling, internal communication, organizational culture, people engagement, and employee recognition, this individual will combine the design and execution of creative, compelling internal communications channels and thoughtfully curated employee experiences that bring our ideas, values, and shared global purpose to life.

As an influential engagement champion, this position plays a critical role in aligning people strategies with business objectives. Success in the role requires strong relationship management, copywriting expertise, exceptional communication skills that grab the attention of the reader, the ability to develop and manage channels of employee communication, keen attention to detail, a strong sense of ownership, and a deep commitment to making every touchpoint in the employee journey meaningful and memorable. This individual serves as the voice, connector, and steward of our employee experience. They collaborate with passionate colleagues, shape impactful programs, and help us write the next chapter of our story, together.

Key Responsibilities:
 

Employee Engagement & Events

• Own the strategy, design, and execution of employee engagement initiatives that support organizational goals, elevate the employee experience, and reinforce a culture of appreciation.
• Deliver in-person, hybrid, and virtual employee events, while partnering with the Marketing department on logistics including venue selection, vendor negotiation, catering, A/V, branding, budget management, safety compliance, and day-of execution.
• Support HR department leaders in designing or co-creating compelling onboarding experiences, reward and recognition platforms, employee perks and discount tickets, OCLC-branded apparel vendor, employee engagement surveys, and similar programming to promote a positive employee experience.
• Research and recommend local community outreach and philanthropic programs, with a focus on creating company-wide volunteer and giving opportunities that align with our organizational values.
• Measure and analyze event effectiveness through post-event feedback and engagement data to continuously improve impact.

Internal Communications

• Lead the global internal communications strategy to promote clarity, alignment, and connection for employees across all functions and regions.
• Develop, curate and execute multi-channel communications campaigns including digital newsletters, intranet content, email communications, digital signage, and video messages. May include creating editorial calendars, partnering with departments to source stories, or managing employee spotlight features.
• Draft and support executive-level messaging and leadership communications as needed.
• Serve as the lead communications consultant for major initiatives and change efforts across the business.
• Partner with Talent Acquisition to strengthen and steward our employment brand. Collaborate on the creation and execution of culture-focused campaigns that elevate employee voices, celebrate traditions, and showcase global events fostering connection and engagement across the organization.
• Partner with ODL and HRIS to track sentiment trends and use both qualitative and quantitative data to inform communication and engagement strategies.

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Communications, Marketing, Human Resources, or related field required.
• Minimum 5 years of experience in employee event planning, engagement, and communications, or related functions.
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional initiatives that drive culture, connection, and business results.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills that drive interest and engagement with employees; able to distill complex information into compelling, clear messaging.
• Ability to balance big-picture strategic visualization with tactical execution and delivery.
• High proficiency using tools such as SharePoint, Canva, Adobe, Airtable, MS Copilot, Omnivex, and virtual event platforms (Zoom, Teams, etc.).
• Strong project management skills: highly organized with ability to juggle multiple priorities and meet deadlines.
• Experience in budget development and vendor/contractor management.
• Culturally aware, with a global mindset and appreciation for diverse audiences.
• Passion for storytelling, creative problem-solving, and building community, both internally and externally.
• Comfortable navigating organizational dynamics and approval processes, with the ability to collaborate professionally and remain flexible when communications require stakeholder input or leadership approval.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting a global workforce.
• Previous experience with employee recognition programs or employer branding is a plus.
• Demonstrated experience collecting, analyzing, and reporting on engagement, attendance, and communications data to evaluate event success and inform future strategies.
• Proficiency in using analytics tools (e.g., Excel, Power BI, or similar platforms) to create dashboards, reports, and data visualizations that translate insights into actionable recommendations.

Working Conditions: Normal office environment.

ADA/EAA: The above statements cover what are generally believed to be the principal and essential functions of this job. Specific circumstances may allow or require some people assigned to the job to perform a somewhat different combination of duties.