Communications Officer, Digital & Social Media
Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
Communications Officer
Working at Yale means contributing to a better tomorrow. Whether you are a current resident of our New Haven-based community, eligible for opportunities through the New Haven Hiring Initiative, or a newcomer, interested in exploring all that Yale has to offer, your talents and contributions are welcome. Discover your opportunities at Yale! Develops and implements a comprehensive communications strategy aimed at enhancing visibility and engagement for the organization's initiatives. Creates and manages content across various media platforms including print, digital, social media, and video. Collaborates with internal stakeholders and external partners to effectively promote the organization's mission and accomplishments. Ensures consistent and strategic messaging to diverse audiences, enhancing the organization's brand and supporting its strategic objectives. Yale Engineering is home to world-class researchers, innovative students, and a community of people dedicated to solving the most complex challenges facing humanity. Yale Engineering seeks a dynamic Communications Officer who is not only a skilled communicator and content creator, but someone who finds genuine inspiration in the work happening here every day. Reporting to the Director of Communications, the Communications Officer will serve as the school's social media strategist and a versatile, contributing member of the communications team. This is a role for a multi-hyphenate communicator someone equally comfortable crafting a compelling research story, managing a content calendar, coordinating a photo shoot, and drafting a school-wide announcement. The ideal candidate is technologically savvy, highly collaborative, has a keen visual sense, and a strong attention to detail. This position plays a critical role in enhancing the visibility and reputation of Yale Engineering, strengthening its relationships with key audiences, and sharing the stories of a community that is shaping the future. Essential Duties
Social Media Management: Serves as the primary social media manager for the Office of Communications; takes full responsibility for managing the school's social media platforms, including developing and maintaining a strategic content calendar, writing and scheduling posts, and ensuring a consistent, engaging presence across channels. Monitors social media platforms for community engagement, responding to comments and audience interactions in a timely and professional manner; addresses negative comments or misinformation appropriately. Tracks, analyzes, and reports on social media metrics and analytics; researches emerging platform trends and algorithm changes to continuously optimize content strategies and audience reach. Collaborates with communications team colleagues to design and implement targeted social media campaigns aligned with the school's strategic priorities; updates guidelines and best practices as platforms evolve. Content Creation & Development: Writes and edits engaging news and feature stories, web profiles, student spotlights, social media content, and a wide range of other content for Yale Engineering's target audiences, including prospective students and faculty, media, donors, alumni, peer institutions, and industry partners. Generates original, compelling story ideas that highlight Yale Engineering's innovative and impactful community both on Yale's campus and through the work of alumni across the world. Drafts, prepares, and assists with internal communications for distribution to faculty, staff, and students, as well as external communications including national mailings, annual magazine, and outreach materials. Sends schoolwide announcements and communications using Yale Message and other university communication systems. Visual Content & Photography: Regularly photographs research, milestones, and community moments across Yale Engineering; serves as a primary photographer for the office while also coordinating photo and video coverage with staff and student workers to ensure high-quality visual content is consistently captured. Coordinates with and manages relationships with external vendors including photographers and videographers as needed for key projects and events. Contributes to the school's digital asset management, maintaining an organized and accessible photo and media library. Web & Digital Communications: Supports website content updates, including posting stories, managing web content, and ensuring that website content is current and accurate. Supports short- and long-term communication planning; works with colleagues across Yale Engineering and Yale to identify, evaluate, and measure the impact of the school's communications vehicles and campaigns. Brand & Team Support: Helps maintain and disseminate Yale and Yale Engineering brand and graphic identity standards; supports and maintains standard operating procedures. Supports the communications team in proofreading, content scheduling, and other collaborative tasks as needed. Performs other duties as assigned. Required Skills & Abilities
Demonstrated experience managing social media platforms (Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, X/Twitter, and others) for an organization, brand, or institution. Proficiency with social media scheduling and analytics tools (e.g., Hootsuite, Sprout Social, native platform analytics) and the ability to translate data into actionable insights and strategic recommendations. Ability to quickly understand, distill, and communicate complex concepts including engineering and scientific research to general audiences in a clear, accessible and engaging manner. Demonstrated ability to develop narrative stories, write short copy, proofread, and edit content on deadline. Ability to create content that is engaging, accurate, impactful, and resonates across platforms and audiences. Well-developed written and verbal communication skills with the ability to use sound judgment while working independently and/or in a team while managing multiple projects simultaneously while adhering to tight deadlines. Excellent people skills with the ability to build rapport with a broad range of faculty, staff, alumni, and students from diverse backgrounds. Ability to manage relationships with key campus stakeholders with professionalism, sound judgment, and an understanding of stakeholder goals; able to represent the school and communications team in a variety of settings and to diverse external audiences. Preferred Education, Experience & Skills
Degree in Journalism, Communications, Marketing, or equivalent field; in-depth knowledge or interest in science, engineering, or technology is a strong plus. Experience with graphic design tools such as Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop). Ability to plan, shoot, and edit short-form video content. Experience with content management systems (e.g., Drupal, Concrete CMS) and/or Salesforce Marketing Cloud. A genuine curiosity about and enthusiasm for engineering, science, and technology research.
Working at Yale means contributing to a better tomorrow. Whether you are a current resident of our New Haven-based community, eligible for opportunities through the New Haven Hiring Initiative, or a newcomer, interested in exploring all that Yale has to offer, your talents and contributions are welcome. Discover your opportunities at Yale! Develops and implements a comprehensive communications strategy aimed at enhancing visibility and engagement for the organization's initiatives. Creates and manages content across various media platforms including print, digital, social media, and video. Collaborates with internal stakeholders and external partners to effectively promote the organization's mission and accomplishments. Ensures consistent and strategic messaging to diverse audiences, enhancing the organization's brand and supporting its strategic objectives. Yale Engineering is home to world-class researchers, innovative students, and a community of people dedicated to solving the most complex challenges facing humanity. Yale Engineering seeks a dynamic Communications Officer who is not only a skilled communicator and content creator, but someone who finds genuine inspiration in the work happening here every day. Reporting to the Director of Communications, the Communications Officer will serve as the school's social media strategist and a versatile, contributing member of the communications team. This is a role for a multi-hyphenate communicator someone equally comfortable crafting a compelling research story, managing a content calendar, coordinating a photo shoot, and drafting a school-wide announcement. The ideal candidate is technologically savvy, highly collaborative, has a keen visual sense, and a strong attention to detail. This position plays a critical role in enhancing the visibility and reputation of Yale Engineering, strengthening its relationships with key audiences, and sharing the stories of a community that is shaping the future. Essential Duties
Social Media Management: Serves as the primary social media manager for the Office of Communications; takes full responsibility for managing the school's social media platforms, including developing and maintaining a strategic content calendar, writing and scheduling posts, and ensuring a consistent, engaging presence across channels. Monitors social media platforms for community engagement, responding to comments and audience interactions in a timely and professional manner; addresses negative comments or misinformation appropriately. Tracks, analyzes, and reports on social media metrics and analytics; researches emerging platform trends and algorithm changes to continuously optimize content strategies and audience reach. Collaborates with communications team colleagues to design and implement targeted social media campaigns aligned with the school's strategic priorities; updates guidelines and best practices as platforms evolve. Content Creation & Development: Writes and edits engaging news and feature stories, web profiles, student spotlights, social media content, and a wide range of other content for Yale Engineering's target audiences, including prospective students and faculty, media, donors, alumni, peer institutions, and industry partners. Generates original, compelling story ideas that highlight Yale Engineering's innovative and impactful community both on Yale's campus and through the work of alumni across the world. Drafts, prepares, and assists with internal communications for distribution to faculty, staff, and students, as well as external communications including national mailings, annual magazine, and outreach materials. Sends schoolwide announcements and communications using Yale Message and other university communication systems. Visual Content & Photography: Regularly photographs research, milestones, and community moments across Yale Engineering; serves as a primary photographer for the office while also coordinating photo and video coverage with staff and student workers to ensure high-quality visual content is consistently captured. Coordinates with and manages relationships with external vendors including photographers and videographers as needed for key projects and events. Contributes to the school's digital asset management, maintaining an organized and accessible photo and media library. Web & Digital Communications: Supports website content updates, including posting stories, managing web content, and ensuring that website content is current and accurate. Supports short- and long-term communication planning; works with colleagues across Yale Engineering and Yale to identify, evaluate, and measure the impact of the school's communications vehicles and campaigns. Brand & Team Support: Helps maintain and disseminate Yale and Yale Engineering brand and graphic identity standards; supports and maintains standard operating procedures. Supports the communications team in proofreading, content scheduling, and other collaborative tasks as needed. Performs other duties as assigned. Required Skills & Abilities
Demonstrated experience managing social media platforms (Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, X/Twitter, and others) for an organization, brand, or institution. Proficiency with social media scheduling and analytics tools (e.g., Hootsuite, Sprout Social, native platform analytics) and the ability to translate data into actionable insights and strategic recommendations. Ability to quickly understand, distill, and communicate complex concepts including engineering and scientific research to general audiences in a clear, accessible and engaging manner. Demonstrated ability to develop narrative stories, write short copy, proofread, and edit content on deadline. Ability to create content that is engaging, accurate, impactful, and resonates across platforms and audiences. Well-developed written and verbal communication skills with the ability to use sound judgment while working independently and/or in a team while managing multiple projects simultaneously while adhering to tight deadlines. Excellent people skills with the ability to build rapport with a broad range of faculty, staff, alumni, and students from diverse backgrounds. Ability to manage relationships with key campus stakeholders with professionalism, sound judgment, and an understanding of stakeholder goals; able to represent the school and communications team in a variety of settings and to diverse external audiences. Preferred Education, Experience & Skills
Degree in Journalism, Communications, Marketing, or equivalent field; in-depth knowledge or interest in science, engineering, or technology is a strong plus. Experience with graphic design tools such as Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop). Ability to plan, shoot, and edit short-form video content. Experience with content management systems (e.g., Drupal, Concrete CMS) and/or Salesforce Marketing Cloud. A genuine curiosity about and enthusiasm for engineering, science, and technology research.