OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT SPECIALIST – EDUCATION-TO-CAREER DATA HUB

The Education Secretariat is committed to equity and valuing the unique and diverse characteristics and experiences of every member of its workforce. We encourage an authentic workplace where colleagues show up as their full selves, where collaboration, innovation, and connections are key to realizing our mission that all children, youth, and families thrive socially, academically, and economically. We seek teammates who are committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive work environment, where everyone is valued and engaged. We encourage you to apply and identify your strengths in these areas.

Massachusetts is launching an initiative to build a unified, easy-to-use Education-to-Career (E2C) Research and Data Hub to serve educators, policy-makers and researchers by enhancing the scope and quality of existing data as well as improving the ways in which data are shared and used. This work builds on a strong foundation of existing integrated data systems across early childhood, K-12, higher education and labor and workforce.

Better Information for Better Decisions

Massachusetts is a national leader for education, but there are significant inequities for students of color, students with disabilities, English learners and other students facing disadvantages. Leaders, teachers, students and families all face decisions about what education or career choice is likely to lead to the best results or help reduce inequities. The Hub will become a first stop for anyone seeking data or research to inform a decision, pointing people to the information they need and eliminating barriers to access and understanding.

Job Description

As Outreach and Engagement Specialist, you will be responsible for helping the E2C Hub team set goals for user growth and user engagement. Our primary audience segments are: school district staff, parents/families of students, academic researchers and staff from community/advocacy organizations. Our goal is for these audiences to see the E2C Hub as a trusted first stop when looking for Massachusetts education data or research. We want to promote more equitable access to and understanding of research and data. This can range from ensuring parents of students in poverty know how to use state data when choosing schools, to diversifying the community of researchers who work with state data, to informing state policymakers who are working toward a more equitable future.

Key Responsibilities:

In this role you will:

Develop a communication strategy for each audience segment to raise awareness and boost engagement

• Reach potential users through a range of outbound communication channels: email, newsletters, press releases, social media, etc.
• Manage our website content, including planning for significant expansion of content tailored to specific user segments (note: web design experience not required because we must use existing templates)
• Represent the E2C Hub at conferences or events where we can reach users
• Determine key messages, features/tools, and benefits that resonate with each segment to guide the messaging for our strategy
• Develop plans to educate users on available tools

Coordinate the day-to-day execution of the communication strategy, in partnership with other E2C Hub team members

• Collaboratively develop content calendars for each segment with the team
• Write clear, jargon-free content for outreach and website, varying the level of formality and complexity to the user segment
• Establish a process for coordinating the work of other team members who will contribute content
• Establish content standards and provide feedback on content drafted by other team members to ensure all content meets standards

Set goals for user growth/engagement, use data to measure progress toward goals, and gather user feedback to identify opportunities for improvement

Develop and maintain relationships with communication staff at supportive partner organizations who can promote the E2C Hub to their audiences

Coordinate with marketing/communications leaders in the education agencies to stay abreast of important timelines or sensitivities and adjust E2C Hub plans as needed.

Desired Knowledge, Skills, and Experience:

Strong candidates are expected to meet many, but not all, of the qualifications below. Candidates meeting only some of these qualifications are encouraged to apply.

5+ years’ experience in education, communications, content management, marketing, account management or other relevant roles

Demonstrated skills to work with a team to produce high-quality written content: identifying messages, planning out content, writing and editing.

Success developing content or outreach strategies to reach goals for user engagement, delight or growth

Ability to write clearly about complex concepts in plain language

Experience with content management systems (e.g., Drupal, WordPress), CRM systems, Mailchimp (or similar), google analytics

Experience using data to make informed decisions and prioritize work

Experience communicating to diverse audiences and a commitment to culturally relevant strategies

Experience working in an education-focused organization or government a plus

Experience with the public education system and education data or research

Please include a cover letter and resume with your online application.

Questions regarding this posting or the application process should be referred to Maureen O’Brien @ maureen.t.o’brien@mass.gov

This position is based at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in Malden. Staff are currently operating within a hybrid model, telecommuting up to three days per week.

When you embark on a career with the Commonwealth, you are offered an outstanding suite of employee benefits that add to the overall value of your compensation package. We take pride in providing a work experience that supports you, your loved ones, and your future.

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