Community Outreach Specialist

WSP in the U.S.; Pompano Beach (FL); On-site; USD 42,000 - 62,000; Full time

Job summary

WSP USA is seeking a Community Outreach Specialist to support public involvement and communications for Florida Turnpike Enterprise projects. You will assist with outreach programs, information delivery, and stakeholder engagement, including meetings and messaging across multiple channels.

The role offers exposure to diverse infrastructure projects and opportunities to expand skills in public involvement, coordination, and communications in a collaborative national team environment.

Qualifications

• 3–5 years of experience in community outreach or public involvement.
• Bachelor’s degree in communications, marketing or related field.
• Public involvement experience on transportation projects preferred.
• Ability to interact effectively with diverse stakeholders at all levels.
• Excellent verbal, writing and presentation skills demonstrated.
• Ability to work independently and manage multiple tasks with deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Attend weekly meetings to understand project issues and provide information.
• Develop information deliverables such as fact sheets and presentations.
• Coordinate with project managers to manage construction information.
• Respond to toll inquiries via phone and written communications.
• Serve as liaison between Turnpike projects and the community.
• Plan and execute public outreach campaigns prior to construction.
• Coordinate mass mailers related to projects.
• Research issues across departments and draft responses.
• Engage media, civic groups and stakeholders to promote programs.
• Organize public meetings with neighborhoods and Turnpike partners.
• Develop promotional materials for meetings and conferences.
• Support events like groundbreakings and grand openings.
• Generate content for social media and project webpages.

Skills

Public involvement

Verbal communication

Written communication

Presentation skills

Team collaboration

Time management

Education

Bachelor's degree in communications/marketing or related field

Tools

Microsoft Office

Word

Excel

Outlook

PowerPoint

Job description

Job Description

WSP has an opening for a Community Outreach Specialist to work at the Ocoee office of Florida's Turnpike Enterprise. The position will support, assist and offer guidance to the program in public involvement, public information, outreach and communications. The selected candidate will also join a talented group of other WSP communications professionals supporting the Turnpike program.

This is an exciting opportunity to join our national team of talented communications and public involvement professionals. As part of WSP’s Communications Advisory Services Practice, you may work on a wide range of infrastructure projects. The successful applicant will have the opportunity to expand their skillset and experience in public outreach, project coordination, public involvement, business development and communications techniques.

Your Impact

• Attend weekly construction progress meetings as necessary to understand current project issues
• Develop and produce information deliverables - fact sheets, PowerPoint presentations, graphics, etc.
• Work with construction project managers to identify and help manage information related to construction issues
• Respond to general customer toll inquiries – via phone and writing from various internal and external customers
• Serve as liaison between Turnpike projects and the community primarily in active construction zones
• Develop and plan public outreach campaigns prior to start of construction projects
• Coordinate and schedule mass mailers related to construction projects
• Research and help resolve issues pertaining to Construction, Maintenance, Traffic operations and other departments
• Research, draft responses, check for accuracy, and seek approval to a variety of media requests and elected official inquiries
• Promote Turnpike programs and initiatives by establishing, developing, and maintaining contact with media, professional and civic organizations, and other special interest groups
• Coordinate and participate in public meetings with various neighborhood groups or other Turnpike stakeholders as assigned
• Develop special educational and promotional materials for presentation at meetings and conferences
• Organize and support various special events, groundbreakings, grand opening ceremonies and public meetings
• Research, develop responses and generate posts for social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, etc.)
• Research and develop content for project webpages and newsletters
• Reply to inquiries from the public and resolve concerns on behalf of the client
• Talent is the essence of meeting our client’s objectives, goals and challenges. If this sounds like a fit for you, we’d love to have that first discussion of you joining our team.

Who You Are

Required Qualifications

• 3-5 years of experience
• Bachelor's Degree in communications, marketing, or a related field
• Public involvement or community engagement experience on transportation projects
• Ability to work well with the public and interact effectively with all organizational levels, including agency/client staff, senior management, executive leadership, board members, community leaders, and city/county/state representatives,
• Excellent verbal, writing, and presentation skills
• Ability to work independently, interdependently with teams and demonstrate initiative
• Ability to work beyond standard business hours periodically
• Strong time management skills and high attention to detail
• Ability to meet deadlines and multi-task in a fast-paced environment
• Strong computer skills, including experience with Microsoft Office, Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint
• Exercise responsible and ethical decision-making regarding company funds, resources and conduct and adhere to WSP’s Code of Conduct and related policies and procedures
• Proven track record of upholding workplace safety and ability to abide by WSP’s health, safety and drug/alcohol and harassment policies

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working on Florida Department of Transportation projects
• Knowledge and experience using AP style in the creation of documents
• Public involvement training from Florida Department of Transportation
• Bilingual (Spanish and English) communications/translations
• Local candidates preferred
• Graphic design experience (Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Snagit, Canva, etc.)
• Ability to work with stock images and deliver creative content (text, photo and video)

About WSP

ABOUT US

WSP USA is the U.S. operating company of WSP, one of the world's leading engineering and professional services firms. Dedicated to serving local communities, we are engineers, planners, technical experts, strategic advisors and construction management professionals. WSP USA designs lasting solutions in the buildings, transportation, energy, water and environment markets. With more than 15,000 employees in over 300 offices across the U.S., we partner with our clients to help communities prosper.

www.wsp.com

WSP provides a flexible and agile workplace model while meeting client needs. Employees are also afforded a comprehensive suite of benefits including medical, dental, vision, disability, life, and retirement savings focused on providing health and financial stability throughout the employee’s career.

At WSP, we want to give our employees the challenges they seek to grow their careers and knowledge base. Your daily contributions to your team will be essential in meeting client objectives, goals and challenges. Are you ready to get started?

WSP USA (and all of its U.S. companies) is an Equal Opportunity Employer Race/Age/Color/Religion/Sex/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity/National Origin/Disability or Protected Veteran Status.

The selected candidate must be authorized to work in the United States.