Student Communication Specialist (Academic Support Specialist III)

Title: Student Communication Specialist (Academic Support Specialist III)

Salary Range: 47,118.00

Contract Term Length: 12 Months

Standard Hours: 37.5

Work Location: Discretionary Hybrid

FLSA Status: Non-Exempt

College: Gateway Community & Technical College

Campus Location: Gateway Edgewood Campus

Department: Student Support Services

Total Rewards

Gateway Community & Technical College offers a competitive benefits package and an attractive work environment that supports excellence, innovation, and creativity, including:

• Exceptional health care, vision, and dental coverage for you and your family
• Tuition reimbursement/waiver for you, your spouse, and dependents
• 403(b) retirement plan: a 5% employee contribution receives a 10% employer match
• Vacation/Sick Time
• Work-Life Balance
• 9.5 Paid Holidays
• 2 Weeks Institutional Closing Pay (Last 2 weeks of December) for qualifying positions
• Employee Assistance Program

Job Summary

The Communication Specialist supports the college’s student success, retention, and completion goals by developing and coordinating clear, timely, and student-centered communications across the full student lifecycle from applicant to graduate. This role works collaboratively with enrollment, advising, financial aid, student success, academic teams and marketing to ensure students receive accurate, consistent, and actionable information at critical decision points. The position blends plain-language writing, data-informed outreach, and coordinated communication planning to reduce barriers, promote engagement, and support persistence for diverse student populations. The Communication Specialist also serves as a functional lead for student communication platforms and leverages AI-supported tools and centralized knowledge bases to improve message accuracy, consistency, and institutional knowledge sharing in support of Strategic Enrollment Management and college-wide priorities.

Job Duties:

• Coordinate and maintain a college-wide student communication calendar aligned with enrollment, advising, financial aid, and academic deadlines
• Partner with Marketing & Communications to ensure consistency with institutional branding and standards.
  
• Develop and deliver clear, student-centered communications across email, text, and related platforms, translating complex processes and deadlines into accessible, plain-language messaging for diverse student populations.
• Collaborate with the Marketing team to develop student engagement content for social media channels, ensuring consistency with the college’s social media strategy.
  
• Collaborate with Admissions, Advising, Financial Aid, Student Success & Engagement, and Academic Affairs to execute coordinated communication efforts for key student milestones, including onboarding, registration, FAFSA completion, events, and graduation.
  
• Use student engagement data and AI-informed analytics to evaluate communication effectiveness, identify gaps, and refine strategies in support of Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM), retention, and persistence goals.
  Serve as lead functional user for student communication platforms (e.g., Signal Vine, Constant Contact, Anthology Reach), overseeing audience segmentation, compliance, documentation, and staff training.
  
• Develop and maintain centralized, AI-supported communication knowledge bases that include approved templates, FAQs, workflows, and standards to ensure accuracy, consistency, and scalability.
  
• Support institutional priorities by contributing to SEM communication planning and ensuring all student outreach advances access, equity, student success, and completion outcomes.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent and 4-6 years of experience (Degree in Communications, Marketing, Journalism, Public Relations, Education, Higher Education, Student Affairs, or equivalent)
  
• Professional and courteous communication at all levels, both internally and externally.
  
• Clear verbal and written skills.
  
• Efficiently prioritize and meet deadlines.
  
• Detail-oriented, self-motivated, ability to work independently and adapt seamlessly to fast-paced, dynamic environments.
  
• Skilled in engaging and supporting students from different cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds.
  
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
  
• Proven ability to manage multiple priorities effectively and meet tight deadlines.
  
• Proficient in Microsoft Office (Excel, Forms, Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, Word)
  
• Demonstrated experience developing and delivering student- or client-facing communications that explain processes, deadlines, or services in clear, accessible language.
  
• Experience coordinating communications across multiple stakeholders or departments to ensure accuracy, consistency, and timely delivery.
  
• Working knowledge of email and text communication platforms (e.g., Constant Contact, Signal Vine, CRM/communication tools, or similar systems).
  
• Ability to use data or basic analytics (e.g., open rates, engagement metrics, participation data) to assess communication effectiveness and inform improvements.
  
• Strong written communication skills with attention to accuracy, tone, accessibility, and detail.
  
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines in a collaborative, student-centered environment
   

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience working in higher education, particularly in student affairs, enrollment services, advising, financial aid, admissions, or retention-focused roles.
  
• Demonstrated experience supporting Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM), student persistence, retention, or completion initiatives through coordinated communication efforts.
  
• Familiarity with student communication platforms such as Signal Vine, Constant Contact, Anthology Reach, CRM systems, or similar higher education tools.
  
• Experience developing and managing communication calendars aligned with academic, enrollment, and financial aid cycles.
  
• Ability to analyze communication performance using student engagement data, analytics, or reporting tools and apply insights to improve outreach effectiveness.
  
• Experience translating policies, procedures, and complex processes into clear, student-friendly language for diverse student populations.
  
• Familiarity with accessibility, compliance, and data privacy considerations in student-facing communications (e.g., FERPA, ADA, plain language standards).
  
• Experience using or supporting AI-assisted communication tools, automation, or centralized knowledge bases to improve accuracy, consistency, and scalability.
  
• Previous experience in a community college setting

Additional Skills Requested:

This position will continue to evolve as communication technologies advance and may support pilot initiatives related to AI-enabled student engagement, knowledge management, and communication optimization.

Employee Rights - Employee Polygraph Protection Act

Equal Opportunity Employer - The Kentucky Community and Technical College System is an equal educational and employment opportunity institution.