Senior Internal Communications Specialist

Overview

Responsible for planning, developing and directly managing Gift of Hope’s internal communications to ensure employee knowledge and engagement with organizational goals, business objectives, programs and initiatives. Develops effective relationships at all organizational levels to ensure alignment and integration of messaging, including with relevant external messaging when applicable. Implements effective strategies and content and manages multiple internal platforms and communications to inform and engage all leadership and staff, advance strategic and business objectives, and contribute to a positive organizational culture.

Responsibilities

The following essential functions are the basic job duties that an employee must be able to perform, with or without reasonable accommodation.

• Advance Gift of Hope’s mission, vision and core values: providing compassionate service, contributing to outstanding teams and engaging as one of our passionate people committed to a positive culture that respects the dignity and worth of each individual. Adhere to its policies and procedures in carrying out the responsibilities of this position.
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with senior management and teams across the organization to develop and implement timely, sustainable and effective internal communications and guidance on an ongoing basis. Collaborate and work closely with Human Resources, senior leadership and employee committees to plan and implement internal communications that reinforce positive culture and instill the organization’s mission, vision, core values and performance attributes across the workforce. Identify and analyze needs, opportunities, feedback, metrics and best practices to plan, develop, implement and evaluate all activities.
• Manage all aspects of organization’s monthly Town Hall meeting including proposing/researching topics, writing scripts/coaching presenters, producing presentation slides, scheduling and execution of rehearsal and meeting, editing meeting recording and ensuring high attendance/participation.
• Provide strategic communication support to enhance culture through a variety of vehicles including Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging & Culture initiatives; execution, awareness and action planning around annual Engagement & Inclusion Survey; ongoing contribution to new hire onboarding including presenting at New Hire Orientation and production of New Hire Starter Guide.
• Ensure staff awareness of Board of Directors (BOD) activities, initiatives and new members. Disseminate BOD reports via staff newsletter. Write and maintain current board member profiles for website. Serve as a Marketing & Communications liaison to the Gift of Hope Advisory Board.
• Conceptualize, research, synthesize, write, edit and produce ongoing internal executive and all-staff communications in print, digital and video/multimedia formats to engage, inspire and inform staff across the organization in all functions and service sites. Communications include business information, organizational changes and updates, employee benefits, strategic performance, operations performance, special events, employee development initiatives, emergency management, employee surveys and announcements. Develop, disseminate and update all communications on regular schedules, on an ongoing basis and as needed to ensure consistency, reliability and timeliness of organizational communications and information.
• Develop and manage content calendar and internal communications platforms, processes, tactics and tools, including the employee intranet, internal e-newsletters, monthly all-staff meetings, all-staff emails, and digital signage.
• Train staff on communications guidelines to adhere to corporate style and brand; provide education in use of ServiceNow for approved producers on Connect 2.0. Contribute to ongoing revisions to Communications Handbook.
• Develop and provide standards, guidance and support for all leadership, staff, departments, work groups and committees in contributing content, sharing information and utilizing internal communications platforms and processed. Review sanctioned internal newsletters and all-staff communications, ensuring adherence to organizational standards and processes.
• Monitor, vet and respond to/triage all public website inquiries to Gift of Hope departments. Ensure timely response within 24 hours. Provide messaging support on sensitive issues when needed.
• Identify content and subjects to interview/write human interest features for external awareness/education for Gift of Hope’s website and social media channels.
• Independently research, write and edit speaking points, letters, scripts, presentations and other staff-directed communications, discerning and reflecting the unique voice of each communicator and customizing for Gift of Hope’s employee population.
• Actively participate as Marketing & Communications member or liaison with internal employee committees including the Charitable Giving, Safety, Beyond the Call and PULSE teams to guide and facilitate internal communications that engage leadership and staff in these programs.
• Develop and maintain metrics, databases and tracking tools; monitor and analyze effectiveness of programs; analyze trends; provide regular reports and recommendations for ongoing enhancement.
• Maintain current knowledge of industry trends and stay up to date with professional and technical knowledge in marketing, communications and customer experience technologies and practice.
• Independently manage special projects as assigned.
• Assist other members of the Marketing & Communications team on communications initiatives as needed.
• Promote an environment that supports quality assurance and performance improvement by facilitating the timely identification and reporting of Opportunities for Improvement including discovered opportunities for improvement, deviations, reported complaints, and other adverse events, and foster a non-punitive Quality culture focused on continuous process improvement.  
• Actively contribute to a culture of cybersecurity awareness.  
• Protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the organization's information assets by following established security policies and procedures, completing all required cybersecurity training on time, reporting potential security issues promptly, and practicing secure handling of data, systems, and credentials in day-to-day activities. Must follow security policies, protect organizational data, and report potential security issues  
• Complete all required administrative tasks, training and honor commitments to meet individual and organizational needs in a timely manner  
• Actively engage in learning and professional development opportunities and collaborate with supervisor to establish and maintain written short‑ and long‑term professional development goals 
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

The following identifies the minimum education and training required to perform the essential functions of the job.

• Bachelor’s degree in communications, public relations, journalism, marketing or related field or equivalent work experience

Compensation for this role is $78,814 to $98,517/yr. based on experience.

Experience and Skills Required

The following indicates the minimum skills and experience required to perform the essential functions of the job.

•  5-10 years’ related experience in journalism, communications, public relations or marketing, including experience in internal communications platforms, software and analytics; healthcare experience preferred
• Excellent writing portfolio, including news and copywriting for multiple platforms and audiences, and demonstrated ability to efficiently create high-impact content
• Ability to independently and efficiently conceptualize, plan and lead effective communications including visual and multimedia content with measurable impact and results
• Excellent experience and applied knowledge of organizational voice and editorial style
• Adept with multiple communications platforms, software and analytics, as well as asset and content management; familiar with content management systems (CMS) such as Salesforce
• Knowledge and experience working with webinar/video conferencing technology and platforms
• Excellent critical thinking and ability to analyze, resolve problems and develop solutions
• Ability to think strategically in program planning and development
• Ability to build strong, collaborative relationships and work effectively with peers, teams, other departments, leadership and external partners to achieve organizational goals
• Ability to communicate succinctly and persuasively in oral and written communications
• Ability to represent Gift of Hope in a professional manner
• Ability to speak to motivate and inspire others

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job.

• Ability to lift and move 30 pounds
• Manual dexterity and visual acuity to input data
• Ability to hear, speak, and convey information to a variety of audiences

Work Environment

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that will be encountered by an employee while performing the essential functions of the job.

•  Normal office environment (some remote work; prefer candidates reside in state of Illinois)
• Access to reliable transportation to attend program and campaign meetings at various locations within our service area
• Work outside normal business hours, including, weekends and evenings
• Carry a personal cell phone to be accessible outside regular business hours

Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network provides equal employment opportunities to all qualified candidates and does not discriminate with regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, military or veteran status, family medical history or genetic information or any other classification protected by applicable law. All employment decisions are made based on an individual’s job-related qualifications and abilities.