WHAT DOES A COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SPECIALIST DO?

Published: August 1, 2024 - The Community Engagement Specialist monitors and reports on initiatives driven by key stakeholders, coordinating projects with established community management methodologies. This role involves managing communications with high-level community stakeholders and supporting the creation and maintenance of engagement materials. Additionally, the specialist assists in organizing partner participation in key events, adhering to the CIPR code of ethics.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Community Engagement Specialist

1. Community Engagement Specialist Duties

  • Prospect Qualification: Qualifying prospects based on current business continuity challenges and needs through educational, supportive engagement.
  • Market Learning: Learning the higher education risk management and business continuity markets, trends, thought leaders, covered media, and trade associations.
  • Discovery Scheduling: Scheduling discovery calls and responding to Kuali Ready demo requests.
  • Outreach Execution: Using a sales development platform to execute the outreach process consisting of phone, email, and social touches.
  • Sales Objectives Meeting: Meeting monthly objectives for sales qualified leads and demos.
  • Sales Process Improvement: Continuously improving sales development process and demonstrating a willingness to learn and implement best practices.
  • Brand Representation: Representing and demonstrating values, brand, and mission.
  • Webinar Hosting: Host monthly webinars with top contributors.
  • Issue Escalation: Identify and escalate bugs and feature requests by working with the platform operations team and setting expectations for users.
  • Additional Functions: Performing other functions and activities as directed by the Director, Community Engagement.

2. Community Engagement Specialist Details

  • Data Collection: Performs data collection by gathering and measuring information on variables of interest.
  • Data Analysis: Analyzes data by inspecting, cleaning, transforming, and modeling research data with the goal of highlighting useful information, suggesting conclusions, and supporting decision making.
  • Research Dissemination: Utilizes multiple strategies to disseminate research findings, illustrates the impact of research, and meets the needs of both the researcher and the community.
  • Knowledge Sharing: Shares knowledge through appropriate means (e.g., publications, conferences, workshops, web-based activities).
  • Community Communication: Ensures information is disseminated back to all levels of the community/clinic organization, inquires about preferred methods (e.g., community forums, reports, web-based), and ensures data are translated into the community's preferred language.
  • Consultation and Advice: Consults and advises researchers, clinical providers, and community organizations interested in incorporating community engagement research principles in new or ongoing projects.
  • Educational Consultation: Consults and advises on topics including education on community engagement research principles.
  • Partnership Development: Identifies and develops community partnerships and methods for effective collaboration throughout the research process; discusses community engagement research methodology and results dissemination; and addresses ethical issues in community engaged research.
  • Educational Contribution: Contributes to community and researcher education and outreach activities via collaborative innovation webinars and other forums.
  • Professional Relationship Building: Identifies and builds professional relationships with local and national community-based organizations interested in building academic-community research partnerships.
  • Facilitation: Facilitates conversations between diverse groups of community/patients and research teams on sensitive topics of health and healthcare.

3. Community Engagement Specialist Responsibilities

  • Recruitment Innovation Participation: Actively participates in the Recruitment Innovation Center consultation process including community engagement outreach.
  • Community Partner Identification: Identifies potential community partners and partnerships through appropriate networks, associations, and leaders.
  • Community Engagement Planning: Plans and implements community engagement outreach and relationship building, including recruiting community/patient stakeholders, data collection, reporting and follow-up with participants.
  • Training Participation: Practices the community engagement outreach and relationship building model through participation in CTSA regional and local trainings.
  • Relationship Building: Identifies and builds professional relationships with local and national community-based organizations that have an interest in building academic-community research partnerships.
  • Knowledge Sharing: Brings researchers and community partners together to share knowledge, skills, and resources with a common goal of improving community health.
  • Social Media Strategy Development: Develops and implements social media recruitment plans for community/patient experts by utilizing multi-tiered and culturally tailored materials and messaging.
  • Community Education: Educates the community on the study before recruiting for participating.
  • Stakeholder Engagement: Ensures researchers effectively engage with key community stakeholders to identify research questions and produce results that are relevant to the community.
  • Community Investment: Participates in community events and activities. Invests in the community and leverages relationships in order to build trust, enlist new resources and allies, and create better communication, with the overall goal of improving overall health outcomes.

4. Community Engagement Specialist Accountabilities

  • Event Coordination: Coordinate volunteer/event registration, ordering supplies, tracking packages, and support distribution to beneficiaries.
  • Logistics Management: Work directly with the Community Impact Team to arrange logistics for volunteer projects and virtual opportunities.
  • Event Scheduling and Marketing: Book space, set up Zoom, schedule events, complete marketing briefs, and send feedback surveys following projects.
  • Project Delivery Facilitation: Schedule and facilitate the delivery of projects to beneficiaries.
  • Communication and Administration: Work with the Marketing department to create awareness around volunteerism and its impact through blogs, social media, and photos from events.
  • Training Coordination: Coordinate logistics for annual volunteer training sessions on how to use the web-portal and partner with Community Engagement.
  • Communication Updates: Update and disseminate various corporate group communications.
  • Event Calendar Maintenance: Maintain a calendar of events that support a diverse network of community partners.
  • Leadership Support: Support and prepare CERC and Senior Leadership for regular internal and external meetings, including the completion of deliverables pertinent to the work of CERC.

5. Community Engagement Specialist Functions

  • Community Needs Identification: Identify Community Needs - Survey, source, and employ community partners to enhance programming through volunteerism and events.
  • Coaching Session Management: Work closely with the Community Impact Team to host virtual and in-person coaching sessions for United Way and partner participants.
  • Volunteer-Led Coaching: Coaching sessions are volunteer-led and cover areas around resume-writing, interviewing, wealth generation, and career exploration.
  • Community Partnership Development: Grow community partners to ensure resources are shared with underserved Bay Area residents.
  • Resource Matching: Match Beneficiaries with Resources – Under the direction of the Sr. Director of Community Engagement, match community needs with corporate groups.
  • Beneficiary Communication: Write beneficiary descriptions with program staff and add postings to the portal for individual and group sign-ups.
  • Donation Coordination: Identify community-based organizations to receive backpack supplies, food donations, and gifts as recipients for annual Week of Caring, Days of Service, and adopt-a-family projects.
  • Logistics Management: Works directly with Community Impact Team to arrange logistics for volunteer projects and virtual opportunities.
  • Logistics & Distribution Strategy: Design opportunities to engagement and retain clients.
  • Salesforce Record Keeping: Create records in Salesforce of beneficiaries, in-kind donations, speakers, and pro-bono volunteerism.

6. Community Engagement Specialist Job Description

  • Community Outreach Implementation: Plan, organize, and implement community outreach efforts to enhance marketing of Company services to the general public, customers, and public agencies.
  • Relationship Building: Initiate and develop collaborative relationships with community members, local business owners, municipal staff, public officials, and other key stakeholders.
  • Partnership Cultivation: Cultivate partnerships and mobilize public support to expand public awareness of, and increase enrollments in, Company programs, including public events, social media, press coverage, email campaigns, customer visits, and cold calling.
  • Product Promotion: Emphasize product and service features and benefits, and discuss customer terms.
  • Community Presentations: Deliver presentations to various community groups and local representatives.
  • Event Participation: Participate in public events to distribute information about the Company and interact with members of the public.
  • Community Liaison: Act as a liaison to local groups, civic institutions, and community-based organizations.
  • Community Plan Support: Support the implementation of the AVYFS plan for community involvement and public engagement and provide monthly reviews and updates.
  • Educational Program Development: Develop and implement workshops, seminars, and forums which address timely topics.
  • Resource Identification: Identify community-based resources that the agency could access to provide education about the services provided.
  • Administrative Support: Support the CERC team with administrative duties.

7. Community Engagement Specialist Overview

  • Community Engagement Coordination: Coordinating community engagement efforts and expanding PIQE's advocacy in the Central Valley
  • Leadership Development: Work directly with parents to develop leadership skills.
  • Civic Education Coordination: Coordinate participant civic engagement and advocacy education efforts.
  • Stakeholder Relationship Building: Build relationships and meet with key stakeholders to develop and implement communication strategies.
  • Targeted Engagement Coordination: Coordinate targeted community engagement efforts.
  • Liaison Work: Provide participant information, guidance, assistance, and training and act as the primary liaison between participants and civic leaders.
  • Social Media Expansion: Increase social media presence in the regions to educate the public and engage allies, partners, supporters, and decision-makers – integrating statewide and national PIQE resources as necessary and measuring social media outcomes.
  • Communications Plan Support: Support the development and implementation of an integrated internal and external communication plan.
  • Copywriting: Compose and edit copy that reinforces the brand's voice across all communication platforms.
  • Public Speaking Support: Support public speaking and community presentations both by coordinating efforts and presenting
  • Database Management: Organize and maintain distribution lists and databases for public engagement.

8. Community Engagement Specialist Details and Accountabilities

  • Community Strategy Development: Work with Rural Innovation Network communities to develop and implement strategies that increase interest and participation in entrepreneurship, digital skilling, and tech career development programs, focusing particularly on engaging Black and/or Latinx and/or tribal communities.
  • Educational Resource Development: Develop courses, toolkits, and support curricula to drive learning around program recruitment.
  • Community Analysis: Conduct analysis of work with communities to hone approach and identify core learnings that contribute to thought leadership work targeting national audiences.
  • Partnership Development: Develop partnerships with regional and national organizations focused on engaging communities of color in entrepreneurship, digital skills training, and tech careers.
  • Network Building: Contribute to CORI’s efforts to build a thriving network of rural innovation hubs to increase local capacity, enable collaboration among innovation hubs, and facilitate investment in a diverse group of rural communities and entrepreneurs.
  • Stakeholder Relationship Management: Build and maintain relationships within BCHAP, DPH, and other State agencies to leverage efforts and align with other relevant programs.
  • Program Support: Support other team activities including development and implementation of evaluation plans and development of training, technical assistance, and capacity building activities.
  • Content Standards Compliance: Ensure all creative content meets corporate identity standards and guidelines.
  • Digital Asset Management: Support the management of RFUS’s digital assets database and archives.
  • Digital Communications Support: Contribute to partner digital communications initiatives.

9. Community Engagement Specialist Tasks

  • Social Media Management: Lead the management of RFUS’s social media platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, issuing regular communications and leading engagement to foster and build community
  • Impact Monitoring: Conduct regular monitoring of impact metrics and research and implement new methods for measuring and increasing social impact
  • Newsletter Production: Lead on the production and delivery of regular newsletters and solicitations to RFUS's donors and subscribers
  • Online Advertising Support: Support the implementation of online advertising strategies
  • Website Management: Serve as the organizational point person to facilitate regular updates to the website
  • Website Development Support: Support ongoing website development
  • Tool Adoption: Identify and support the adoption of new online tools to enhance community engagement
  • Content Production: Lead the production of creative written, graphic, and video content for print, online, newsletters, and social media, liaising with program staff
  • Campaign Contribution: Contribute to the creation and delivery of campaigns
  • Trend Implementation: Follow and implement new trends and best practices and recommend new and innovative approaches to storytelling

10. Community Engagement Specialist Roles

  • Stakeholder Reporting: Monitor and report on external initiatives driven by key stakeholders.
  • Project Coordination: Support project coordination with established community management methodologies (scheduling, resource management, communication, and reporting).
  • Stakeholder Communications: Support stakeholder engagement, manage individual and mass communications to high-level community stakeholders.
  • Documentation Support: Support documentation through the creation and maintenance of engagement materials, project website, and Toplink platform.
  • Technical Exchange Support: Support technical information exchange with project stakeholders, community potentials, including senior technology and sustainability executives.
  • Process Management: Manage internal processes and provide general administrative support.
  • Event Coordination: In collaboration with relevant teams, organize and facilitate the participation of engaged partners at relevant Forum and external events.
  • Project Delivery Participation: Participate in delivering the Projects to the Considerate Contractors Scheme.
  • Crisis Support: Support the business at times of major incidents or crises and work out of hours to support project requirements.
  • Ethical Compliance: Operate within the CIPR code of ethics.