Senior Strategic Communications Coordinator

Primary Responsibilities:

HDR is looking for a Senior Strategic Communications Coordinator to join our Strategic Communications practice. This position requires an experienced communications professional that is passionate about strategic communications and stakeholder engagement in the transportation, water, and power industries. As a natural connector of people, you’ll understand these industries and interface with clients to understand their priorities and challenges with the objective of engaging the right communication and engagement strategies. This requires deep knowledge of public involvement, public relations and community engagement strategies along with the ability to listen, develop unique strategies, and identify team synergies concentrated on solving the challenges facing our clients.

They will join an industry leading practice of more than 200 communication consulting practitioners across North America who deliver strategic communications services to client organizations in the architecture, engineering, and planning industries. As Strategic Communications professionals, we work with our client’s brand – not HDR – to strengthen our client’s messaging and engagement strategies for a program, initiative or project.

In this role you’ll be responsible for managing projects and building strong relationships with some of HDR’s most unique clients, with a focus on clients in the wastewater, drinking water, and water resources industries.

Primary Role & Responsibilities:

Duties will include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Managing and leading strategic communication projects and tasks. 
• Coordinating and leading of production/planning teams. 
• Facilitating virtual or in-person public meetings, hearings, open houses, focus groups, workshops, advisory committees, and other stakeholder meetings. 
• Developing and implementing communications and engagement plans for a variety of projects and markets, including target audience strategy, media relations and tracking, collateral material development, comment response programs, event planning, overall activity schedule, information lines, contact databases, and reporting. 
• Supporting concept development, writing, and editing of collateral materials such as surveys, newsletters, websites, handouts, videos, advertisements, press releases and public notices. 
• Coordinating with creative disciplines including graphic design, web development and social media to maintain consistency of brand, saturation of messaging, and user experience. 
• Supporting the growth and development of the overall strategic communications program and team members through your project work. 
• In partnership with the team lead, supporting market development for strategic communications in Wisconsin.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree require 
• 5 years related experience in strategic communications, public relationships, public involvement and/or community engagement 
• Deep knowledge of communications plans and campaigns for public involvement, stakeholder engagement and public relations for infrastructure projects. 
• Proven ability to develop compelling stories that strengthen messaging and engagement strategies for a program, initiative or project. 
• Service- and client-oriented personality with the ability to handle multiple assignments at a time and set and meet deadlines
• Self-starter; can work well independently or in a team environment 
• Strong written and verbal communication skills including experience writing for various media (web, brochures, newsletters, social media, etc.) 
• Willingness to travel and the ability to drive or independently get oneself around Madison and some travel throughout the upper Midwest 
• Working knowledge of local, state and federal requirements for public involvement
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail 
• Must be able to effectively work in minimally supervised and/or unsupervised environment 
• An attitude and commitment to being an active participant of our employee-owned culture 
• General interest in community engagement and communications for water-related infrastructure projects

Preferred Qualifications:

• Familiarity with the architecture and engineering consulting industry 
• Previous experience working in the wastewater, drinking water and/or water resources industries 
• Previous consulting or account management experience preferred 
• Preference given to local candidates

Why HDR?

At HDR, we know work isn't only about who you work for it's also about what you do and how you do it. Led by the strength of our values and a culture shaped by employee ownership, we network with each other, build on each other's contributions, and collaborate together to make great things possible. When you join HDR, we give you license to do the same. We help you take charge of your career, giving you multiple growth opportunities along the way.