Communications Specialist - Virtual in MI

Our Client, a Public Utility that provides natural gas and electricity to the majority of Michigan's 10 million residents is seeking a talented and self-driven individual for needs serving in the role of Communications Specialist.

Position Description (Principle Duties and Responsibilities)

• Develops and implements a robust communications plan to align with Lean Office strategy and culture.  Effectively informs and engages employees to deliver breakthrough results.
• Review benchmark data and best practices internally and externally to help produce communication strategies that reflect cutting edge communication trends. Assist with the creation of surveys to measure meeting and communication effectiveness.
• Assist with the development of comms strategy and provides effective, compelling communications, which reach and engage broad audience. Coordination with subject matter expertise to understand the extent of changes and how changes will impact the intended audience.
• Help drive communication strategy and channels, such as email, print, video, social media and site/field visits. Produces internal and external materials for multiple forums and channels including leadership meetings, leadership messages, employee town halls, presentations, blogs, videos, social media, site visits/go sees and provide logistics support.
• Development and design of communication material to support communication strategies with executive and coworker stakeholders - including but not limited to emails, posters, infographics, PowerPoint presentations, training materials, frequently asked questions, leader talking points, 1-page overviews/summaries, newsletters, recognitions, event/occasion theme/design etc.
• Development of executive level presentations to effectively communicate process optimization work to include business problems, impact on the organization.
• Development of talking points and graphic design for leaders to effectively influence across the organization where additional support is needed (e.g., PowerPoints, formal and informal emails, special announcement posts, etc.)
• Development of visual and written illustrations to summarize complex business problems with the aim of end user comprehensive and/or product and process adoption.
• Coordinate and manage the execution of delivering communication materials to intended audiences by project timelines.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of communication strategies and content. Ability to demonstrate agility by adjusting future communication approaches when needed.
• Manage, develop, and coordinate delivery of standard communications occurring daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annually as needed. 
• Assist to translate ideas, customer feedback along with business and functional requirements, and wireframe concepts into design flows and user interfaces. Assist in the creation of simple and responsive designs under technology and time constraints, working closely with development team to deliver final product.
• Develop an understanding of and serve as the advocate for the end user; performing user research, crafting designs to serve specific personas, conducting user task analysis, use cases, etc.
• Advocate on behalf of the coworker throughout research, design and development

• 4 year degree in the field of marketing, communications, public relations, journalism, graphic design or equivalent experience.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office programs, with a heavy emphasis on PowerPoint and presentation creation and graphic design knowledge and understanding (Adobe Creative Suite)
• Executive communication and culture strategies background - Creative storytelling proficiency with ability to craft stories and utilize tools to produce visuals.
• Understanding change management strategies & techniques
• Able to think creatively and translate complex ideas and thoughts into concepts and terms that can easily be understood.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced setting and manage assignments with tight deadlines from multiple sources.
• Ability to anticipate risks and barrier to effective communication and delivery dates.
• Ability to work with minimal details or requirements, within a wide degree of creativity and latitude, and produce high quality results.
• Ability to be quickly shift priorities easily and effectively Strong presentation skills.
• Self-motivated and ability to work collaboratively and independently.
• Dual Minded approach: You're highly creative, but also data-driven, relying on data and insights to make decisions.
• Ability to coordinate complex assignments and multiple team tasks. Organization and planning skills.
• Ability to explain and sell UX best practice decisions to influence leadership and stakeholders. Confident, proactive, interpersonal and communicative skills.
• Leverages AI technologies to streamline content creation, perform data analysis, and automate routine tasks, thereby enhancing efficiency and ensuring data-driven, impactful communication strategies.