Communications Specialist

The Communications Specialist will contribute to strategic efforts to help raise the visibility of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and its work. Serving as a member of the Communications team, the Communications Specialist develops, promotes, and analyzes content to raise the Academy’s profile and impact.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Under guidance of the Chief Communications Officer, develop and assist with a range of communications work for internal Academy clients – including projects, publications, and events departments.
• Work with Academy colleagues to create products – including press releases, social media posts, web content - suited to promoting and sharing the Academy’s work.
• Develop expertise with optimizing the Academy website, through familiarity with SEO, Google Analytics, and Drupal.
• Implement and assess outreach efforts, including researching target audiences, developing visuals with the Academy’s Creative Director, and suggesting communication channels.
• Develop and execute communication strategies to advance the public’s knowledge of the Academy’s mission and work.
• Project manage and develop website content, videos, and other materials working with colleagues and external vendors.

Qualifications:

The successful applicant will have:

• A bachelor’s degree in a writing-intensive field or at least 4-5 years of relevant experience in communications – broadly construed to include journalism, media relations, or public relations – ideally in academic, cultural, or scientific institutions.
• Strong writing, editing, and proofreading skills.
• Proven ability to work independently also able to develop strong relationships with colleagues and work collaboratively.
• Ability to analyze complex issues, exhibit sound judgement, and refer issues to higher-level as needed.
• Intellectual curiosity about a wide range of subjects and respect for scholarly efforts and expertise.
• Proficiency with standard applications (Word, Outlook, LinkedIn), and facility in learning new ones (Pardot, Salesforce); experience with Google Analytics and Drupal welcome.

Location and Work Environment: This is a full-time position that requires working three days a week (including Wednesdays) or more at the Academy’s headquarters in Cambridge, MA

Application: Interested applicants are encouraged to submit a brief cover letter and CV. Applicants are also encouraged to submit examples of their work, or a link to it, as part of their application.