Communications Specialist 1 - Digital Marketing & Communications Specialist

Job Description:

Join our vibrant community at Alexandria Technical & Community College, a leading two year technical and community college dedicated to providing high-quality education and fostering student success. Our college is committed to innovation, inclusivity, and excellence in all we do. We are looking for an enthusiastic individual to help us enhance our digital presence and engage with our community. This position exists to strategize, create and maintain ATCC's digital marketing and communications to support strategic initiatives and enhance the college's reputation locally, regionally, and nationally. The Digital Marketing & Communications Specialist is largely responsible for creating, implementing, and maintaining content for the college's website, social media, news releases, emails, and promotional campaigns across a variety of digital platforms. The college looks to this position to provide creative solutions to communication challenges and opportunities across all media. As a member of the Marketing and Communications Team, this position will work directly with campus and community leaders, local media, faculty, staff, and students from across the college. This position is a brand ambassador for the college and is expected to maintain positive working relationships with these varied groups. Technology proficiency and strong writing skills, including spelling, grammar, storytelling, and editing, are integral to this position. Responsibilities for this position are as follows: Lead and manage the college's digital communications by creating engaging content, coordinating with departments, promoting the institution's brand, and handling media and audience interactions across channels. Develop and execute targeted digital communication campaigns (email, text, CRM) using segmentation, personalization, and automation while ensuring compliance with data privacy and anti-spam regulations. Maintain and enhance the college's website by updating content, improving user experience, and conducting regular audits for functionality, SEO, accessibility, and overall performance. Plan, execute, and optimize paid digital marketing campaigns by targeting specific audiences and analyzing performance metrics to measure ROI and overall effectiveness. Design branded digital graphics to support marketing initiatives and maintain visual consistency across the college's communications. Perform additional duties as needed to support departmental operations and uphold the operation's reputation as a strong business partner. This person will report directly to the Director of Marketing and Communications.

Salary Range:

$26.43 to $38.55 per hour / $55,186 to $80,492 annually (2025-2026 Salary Guidelines)

Minimum Qualifications:

Two years of professional work experience in marketing and communications. A bachelor's degree in marketing, communications, graphic design, or similar field can substitute for one year of experience; An associate degree can substitute for six months of experience. Ability to lead marketing and communications-related projects. Knowledge of business social media management, including skills in content creation, audience targeting, and responding to comments and messages. Experience in creating graphics using Adobe Creative Cloud or comparable applications.

Preferred Qualifications:

Experience with customer relationship management (CRM) systems. Demonstrated experience in PR/media relations. Skills in video recording and editing. Ability to read and write HTML and CSS code. Understanding of digital accessibility standards. ?

Other Requirements:

Please provide a cover letter and resume when applying for this position. Work Shift (Hours / Days of work): Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

About:

Alexandria Technical & Community College (ATCC) provides quality hands-on and liberal arts education to more than 4,700 students each year, and has been ranked the #1 Community College in Minnesota every year since 2019. ATCC offers more than 50 programs and transfer pathways in fields like business, design, education, human services, health, manufacturing, police training, and transportation. Most programs can be completed in two years or less, with some offerings as short as one semester. With among the highest graduation rate in the country, a 99% job placement rate, and several online programs ranked in the top 20 nationwide, ATCC maintains a longstanding reputation as an academic institution of excellence. The campus is located in Alexandria, Minnesota, in the heart of lake country in West Central Minnesota. The city population is 14,382 within city limits, but the unique layout of over 300 lakes in the county makes the service area closer to 35,000 people. Located 2 hours Northwest of Minneapolis/St. Paul and 1 ½ hours Southeast of Fargo, ND, Alexandria is easily accessible on I-94. In addition to the strong and diverse local economy featuring manufacturing, healthcare, education, service, retail, and tourism, the region features a quality of life and access to infrastructure that few micropolitan communities (populations of 10,000-50,000) can rival. Alexandria is home to a thriving downtown district, excellent trails, plenty of arts, museums, parks, wineries, breweries, and a whiskey distillery. Paired with diverse year-round outdoor activities and more lakes than you can count, Alexandria is a small town that feels big. Alexandria College is a member of the Minnesota State colleges and universities system. With 33 colleges and universities across 54 campuses, Minnesota State is the largest provider of higher education in the state of Minnesota.