The Communications Specialist supports the mission of Lamar State College Orange by developing, coordinating, and sending clear, accurate, and timely communications for college audiences. This position serves as a key contributor to LSCO's internal and audience-focused communication efforts by writing messages, managing communication schedules, and helping ensure that important information is delivered through the appropriate channels. The Communications Specialist works closely with Admissions, Recruiting, Advising, Cashiering, Student Activities, Student Services, and other campus partners to create and distribute messages through email, text message, digital signage, Microsoft Outlook, Watermark CRM, and other communication tools as needed. Reporting to the Director of Marketing, Communications and Community Relations, this position helps support a coordinated communication experience by organizing message timing, reducing duplication, maintaining consistency, and ensuring communications align with LSCO's brand, tone, and institutional priorities. Essential Job Functions /

Responsibilities :

Write, edit, build, schedule, and send communications for college audiences through email, text message, digital signage, Microsoft Outlook, Watermark CRM, and other approved communication channels. Work collaboratively with Admissions, Recruiting, Advising, Cashiering, Student Activities, Student Services, and other campus partners to develop clear and timely messages that support college operations, student engagement, recruitment, enrollment, retention, and campus events. Develop and maintain a college communication calendar to help coordinate message timing, avoid unnecessary duplication, and ensure important information is shared at appropriate times. Build and send email campaigns, drip campaigns, reminder messages, and outreach communications using Watermark CRM. Create and send internal communication messages through Microsoft Outlook, including campus announcements, employee updates, deadline reminders, event information, and other internal messages as assigned. Coordinate with campus departments to gather accurate information, clarify message goals, identify appropriate audiences, and determine the best communication channel for each message. Support time-sensitive and urgent communications related to registration deadlines, payment deadlines, financial aid reminders, advising needs, student services updates, campus activities, weather impacts, office closures, and other important college information. Write communications that are clear, concise, accurate, accessible, and appropriate for the intended audience. Review and edit submitted content for clarity, consistency, grammar, tone, accuracy, and alignment with LSCO communication standards. Assist with digital signage content by writing, editing, scheduling, and coordinating messages for campus displays. Support communication planning for enrollment periods, registration campaigns, student services initiatives, campus events, student activities, and other college priorities. Maintain organized records of communication requests, message schedules, sent communications, and campaign activity. Assist with monitoring message effectiveness when available, including open rates, click rates, engagement, and other communication metrics. Recommend improvements to communication timing, content, format, and channel use based on audience needs and message performance. Maintain professional judgment and confidentiality when working with student, employee, or institutional information. Perform other related duties as assigned.

Qualifications :

Associate's degree in communications, marketing, english, business, digital media, public relations, or a related field preferred. 1-3 years of experience in communications, marketing, student services, higher education, customer service, administrative support, or related work preferred. Experience writing, editing, and sending professional communications preferred. Experience with email marketing, CRM systems, text messaging platforms, digital signage platforms, or internal communication tools is a plus. Familiarity with higher education environments is a plus.

Skills :

Strong writing, editing, proofreading, interviewing, and storytelling skills. Ability to write clearly and effectively for multiple formats, including emails, text messages, internal announcements, reminders, digital signage, campaign messages, and audience-specific communications. Ability to organize and manage a communication calendar across multiple departments, campaigns, deadlines, and audiences. Experience with or willingness to learn Watermark CRM. Experience with Microsoft Outlook and other Microsoft Office tools. Ability to build, schedule, and send messages through communication platforms. Strong organizational and project-management abilities. Ability to manage multiple projects, requests, deadlines, and communication needs at one time. Ability to collaborate effectively with faculty, staff, administrators, and departments across campus. Strong attention to detail and ability to ensure accuracy before messages are sent. Ability to determine the appropriate tone, timing, and channel for different types of communications. Ability to work with time-sensitive information and respond quickly when urgent messages are needed. Professional judgment, discretion, and ability to maintain confidentiality when working with sensitive information.