Internal Communications Specialist

About The Job The Internal Communications Specialist is a member of the Research and Innovation Office (RIO) communications team, reporting to RIO’s Internal Communications Director. This position serves as the communications lead for Research Animal Resources (RAR), a support unit within RIO that provides the University of Minnesota research community with animal care, procurement services, veterinary knowledge, and maintenance of housing facilities for animal-related research activities. This position supports RAR’s internal communications, digital presence, stakeholder engagement, and outreach activities while ensuring alignment with RIO Communications strategy, University brand standards, and broader research enterprise messaging. Working closely with RAR leadership and staff, this role will lead unit-level communications efforts focused on the animal research community and RAR staff, including but not limited to email messages, website content and digital strategy, newsletters, and communications templates. Embedded within RIO Communications, this role leverages central team expertise in strategic planning, issues management, media relations, graphic design, branding, editing, mass email management, and web administration. This structure is intended to strengthen RAR’s communications capacity while ensuring strategic alignment, consistency, and professional communications support through RIO Communications. Please note: This position is not eligible for H-1B visa sponsorship. Position Duties And Responsibilities 35% Digital Presence & Web Management Portal Optimization: Manage the ongoing #J-18808-Ljbffr