Communications Specialist (Hybrid) - Sam Fox School

Washington University in St. Louis; United States; On-site; USD 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Washington University in St. Louis’ Kemper Art Museum is seeking a Communications Specialist to lead content development for marketing materials and campaigns.

The role focuses on storytelling that conveys the Museum's mission, collection, and programs across social, print, and digital formats. You will work with stakeholders across the university to maintain consistent voice and timely messaging, manage relationships with media, and coordinate with design and web teams to produce engaging

Qualifications

• Lead development of marketing and communications content across channels.
• Edit and proofread assets to ensure consistent tone.
• Collaborate with departments to align messaging with campaigns.
• Oversee external graphic design and printing workflows.

Responsibilities

• Develop content strategy for museum publications and digital channels.
• Write and edit web texts, brochures, newsletters and ads.
• Manage social media content and calendar.
• Coordinate with Marketing, Curatorial, and Education teams.

Skills

Content strategy

Storytelling

Editing & proofreading

Social media management

Cross-functional collaboration

Tools

Content Management System

Email marketing platforms

Printer coordination

Job description

Location

ST. LOUIS, MO 63130

Scheduled Hours

37.5

Position Summary The Communications Specialist at the Kemper Art Museum in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at WashU helps lead the content development of marketing communications for the Museum. Contributing to overall promotional efforts, the successful candidate will be an excellent storyteller who can thoughtfully interpret the Museum's mission, collection, and programs for broad audiences and across a wide range of content types. This position works closely with key stakeholders throughout the institution to help craft the tone, voice, and messaging for the Museum's social media, e-newsletters, print and digital seasonal marketing materials, and advertising copy, among other assets. The Specialist ensures these communications-whether one-sentence social media captions or 300-word promotional brochure texts-are consistent, clear, and engaging across platforms. In support of this goal, the position also works closely with colleagues in the Sam Fox School's Communications Office and the university's offices of Advancement and Marketing & Communication on aligning the timing and tone of messaging and communications. Additionally, the Specialist will collaborate with the university's News and Media Relations team on crafting Museum communications and maintaining relationships with local, regional, national, and international press outlets. It reports to the Head of Museum Publications.

Job Description

Primary Duties & Responsibilities:

Marketing and Communications Content (Print and Digital)

• Lead development of written marketing and communications content, serving as the voice of the Museum by adhering to editorial guidelines and ensuring consistent tone and messaging across assets.
• Write, edit, and proofread promotional assets for both the overall Museum and its seasonal exhibitions and programs across media platforms, including web texts, brochures, advertisements, calendars, and postcards.
• Work closely with the Head of Publications and the Curatorial, Education, and Marketing teams on content strategy for current and future promotional materials.
• Oversee the hiring and project management of external graphic designers. For print promotional materials such as FYI and exhibition announcements, coordinate and manage printers, incorporating color proofing and management of mailing lists to workflows.
• Develop, update, and distribute content and production schedules among internal and external stakeholders.

Social Media

• Lead the strategic development of content for the Kemper Art Museum's primary social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube), consistent with brand narrative, tone, voice, messaging, and target audience for each channel. Responsible for day-to-day activities (e.g. designing compelling content, photographing events, posting on social media platforms, responding to posts, monitoring social media for news about the Museum).
• Maintain the social media calendar and publishing posts
• Coordinate with colleagues and student workers on content development and gathering.
• Increase visibility of the Kemper Art Museum through social media platforms, supporting the Museum collection, exhibitions, and programs, research and creative activity, and opportunities for community engagement.

Website Management

• Perform day-to-day content management of Museum website, including overseeing text and image updates to the homepage, events, learning, and exhibitions pages, securing approvals from stakeholders as appropriate.
• Develop content calendar and maintain workflow document for all website updates.
• Serve as a liaison, in coordination with Registrar, between the Museum and an external website developer on platform updates, service disruptions, and errors within content management system.

E-newsletters and Email Communications

• Create an email content plan and overall calendar, coordinating with the Marketing Specialist on targeted campaigns and audience segmentation.
• Write, edit, and publish the Museum's weekly e-newsletters and email communications, working with Curatorial, Education, and Publications to align messaging.
• Oversee and manage contact lists for email communications, performing regular updates of names and addresses.

Public Relations

• Serve as the liaison between the Museum and University's News and Media Relations team.
• Coordinate seasonal outreach about upcoming exhibitions and programs, highlighting key messages developed in coordination with Curatorial and Education teams.
• Help support efforts to place news stories about the Museum and exhibitions through the development and maintenance of press and media contacts.

Working Conditions:

Job Location/Working Conditions

• Must be available to work occasional evening and weekend hours.

Physical Effort

• Normal office environment
• Typically working at desk or table
• Typically standing or walking
• Repetitive wrist, hand or finger movement
• Occasionally lifting 25 lbs or less
• Ability to move