Communications Specialist

Overview:

Founded in 1965, UC Irvine is a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities and is ranked among the nation’s top 10 public universities by U.S. News & World Report. The campus has produced five Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UC Irvine has more than 36,000 students and offers 224 degree programs. It’s located in one of the world’s safest and most economically vibrant communities and is Orange County’s second-largest employer, contributing $7 billion annually to the local economy and $8 billion statewide.

To learn more about UC Irvine, visit www.uci.edu.

 

The UC Irvine Human Resources (HR) enterprise is comprised of three unique business units: Campus, Health, and Health Sciences. HR's vision is to empower people to drive a culture of innovation, learning, and service that enables the success of individuals within the UCI community and those who aspire to join.

https://hr.uci.edu/

Responsibilities:

Under the general direction of the Senior Director for Communications & Special Events, the Communications Specialist independently oversees comprehensive communications strategies and programs for UC Irvine Human Resources. The role is both hands-on and strategic, requiring a wide variety of communications media, including written, visual, digital, and electronic, and associated technical applications. The incumbent works with management to develop and execute organizational communication and market branding strategy for a highly visible program, and works closely with stakeholders to understand their business, diagnose communication challenges and opportunities, and define holistic campaigns that accomplish strategic objectives.

On a hands-on basis, the Communications Specialist independently authors and edits organizational messages and communications, produces and distributes enterprise-wide communications through ZotMail, UC Irvine's institutional communication platform, and designs and formats newsletters and other publications for internal and external audiences. The incumbent applies graphic design skills to develop visually compelling materials that align with UC Irvine's brand standards and HR's communication objectives.

At the project and program level, the Communications Specialist oversees the work of external contractors and vendors, ensuring deliverables meet quality standards, timelines, and strategic goals. This role serves as a trusted partner and subject matter expert, working closely with HR leadership, management, and key stakeholders across the institution to understand business needs, diagnose communication challenges and opportunities, and crystallize clear, compelling key messages. The incumbent leads the design and execution of holistic, integrated communication campaigns spanning written, visual, digital, and electronic media to advance the department's strategic objectives.

The Communications Specialist partners with management to develop and execute organizational communication and market branding strategies for a highly visible program, ensuring consistent, cohesive, and impactful messaging across all channels and audiences. This position requires a high degree of independent judgment, creativity, and initiative, balancing direct production responsibilities with strategic oversight to support UC Irvine Human Resources' mission and goals.

The incumbent also plays a key role in co-producing major tentpole events in partnership with the Senior Director, including the annual UC Irvine Service Awards held every June, as well as other events scheduled throughout the year. This requires close coordination, project management, and the ability to bring together communications, logistics, and stakeholder engagement to deliver high-profile, institution-wide experiences.

In the absence of the Senior Director, the Communications Specialist serves as the acting lead for all communications functions, demonstrating the seniority, breadth of knowledge, and independent judgment required to maintain continuity and leadership across the full scope of the department's communications activities. This position requires a high degree of creativity and initiative, balancing direct production responsibilities with strategic oversight to support UC Irvine Human Resources' mission and goals.

Qualifications:

Required:

• Advanced knowledge and understanding of all aspects of communications, including strategic planning for various media, technical aspects and requirements of various media and most appropriate and effective applications.
• Advanced knowledge and understanding of technical applications to direct professional technical staff, or personally perform technical work, including design concepts, various media, and applications.
• Advanced knowledge of the organization, including its mission, vision, goals, policies, and infrastructure; strong knowledge of current affairs and issues in higher education, health sciences, and healthcare.
• Advanced skills to create, develop, and implement long and short term strategic communication plans.
• Advanced skills to advise and consult management on all aspects of communications, ranging from developing effective communication strategies to appropriately responding to inquiries regarding sensitive or complex issues or information.
• Excellent written, verbal, interpersonal communications, active listening and political acumen skills.
• Excellent analytical, critical thinking, project management, and problem recognition, avoidance, and resolution skills.
• Thorough knowledge of location protocols and channels for communication internally and externally.
• Demonstrated skill in independently analyzing situations, interpreting data, defining problems and/or objectives, identifying relevant factors, developing alternative solutions, making final recommendations, implementing and evaluating the results.
• Demonstrated event production or significant co-production experience.
• Expert level experience with MS Office suite (PowerPoint, Excel, Word, Outlook)
• Expert level experience with MailChimp and Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, Acrobat)
• Professional level graphic design experience for web pages, e-newsletters, e-digests, and digital and print materials (flyers, posters, graphics, highlights, icons, etc.)
• Working knowledge of web coding (HTML, CSS, WordPress, Cascade) for web updates.
• Working knowledge of social media platforms (Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, X, YouTube, Spotify, Flickr) to develop strategy, manage accounts, and schedule campaigns.
• Accessibility compliance expertise: WCAG 2.1 AA Standards and SiteImprove platform management
• Experience with social media analytics platforms (Google Analytics)
• Bachelor’s degree in a communications-focused field such as, Marketing, Communications, Public Relations, Journalism, or related discipline or equivalent experience/training (minimum of 7 years)
• Minimum 7 years of comparable experience

Preferred:

• Strong business acumen in human resources and higher education.
• Knowledge of UCI-specific technology (ZotMail)

Special Conditions:

• This position may be required to report at different work sites between the campus in Irvine and various UCI Health locations throughout Orange and South Los Angeles Counties. The incumbent must be able to provide their own means of transportation to/from work locations.
• Hybrid Schedule of three days onsite and two days remote

 

Total Rewards

In addition to the salary range listed below, we offer a wealth of benefits to make working at UCI even more rewarding. These benefits may include medical insurance, sick and vacation time, retirement savings plans, and access to a number of discounts and perks. Please utilize the links listed here to learn more about our compensation practices and benefits.

The expected pay range for this recruitment is $100,100- $143,800 (Annual).

Conditions of Employment:

The University of California, Irvine (UCI) seeks to provide a safe and healthy environment for the entire UCI community. As part of this commitment, all applicants who accept an offer of employment must comply with the following conditions of employment:

• Background Check and Live Scan
• Employment Misconduct*
• Legal Right to work in the United States
• Vaccination Policies
• Smoking and Tobacco Policy
• Drug Free Environment

*Misconduct Disclosure Requirement: As a condition of employment, the final candidate who accepts a conditional offer of employment will be required to disclose if they have been subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct; received notice of any allegations or are currently the subject of any administrative or disciplinary proceedings involving misconduct; have left a position after receiving notice of allegations or while under investigation in an administrative or disciplinary proceeding involving misconduct; or have filed an appeal of a finding of misconduct with a previous employer.

 

The following additional conditions may apply, some of which are dependent upon business unit or job specific requirements.

• California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act
• E-Verify
• Pre-Placement Health Evaluation

Details of each policy may be reviewed by visiting the following page - https://hr.uci.edu/new-hire/conditions-of-employment.php

Closing Statement:

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected categories covered by the UC Anti-Discrimination Policy.

We are committed to attracting and retaining a diverse workforce along with honoring unique experiences, perspectives, and identities. Together, our community strives to create and maintain working and learning environments that are inclusive, equitable, and welcoming.

UCI provides reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities upon request. For more information, please contact Human Resources at (949) 824-0500 or eec@uci.edu.