Commonwealth of Massachusetts is hiring: User Experience and Program Communicati

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Job Description - User Experience and Program Communications Manager (2400090H)

Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) is seeking a User Experience and Program Communications Manager in the Division of Housing Stabilization!

AGENCY MISSION:

The Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) is charged with creating more homes in Massachusetts and lowering housing costs for residents.

The User Experience and Program Communications Manager will be responsible for management of all the information and communication materials for the Division of Housing Stabilization (DHS), including Emergency Assistance (EA) Family Shelter program, HomeBASE, Rental Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT), or other DHS programs in the future. The Division of Housing Stabilization oversees programs providing shelter and support services to eligible families and individuals who are experiencing homelessness.

This is a strategic position that will seek to understand the family journey through shelter and their experiences along that journey and then work to develop clear, accurate, and timely information to increase family’s understanding of the program, their rights and responsibilities, and the resources available to them. This role will serve as a strategic partner to division programmatic leaders as they work to improve their program’s performance through enhanced participant communications. The Manager will oversee the program’s website content and strategy, as well as any other digital and physical communications for the program, and ensure that all communications reflect current EOHLC program policies and accessibility requirements, meet family/individual needs, and are consistent, user-friendly, plain language, and culturally responsive.

This position is crucial to ensure that the DHS program communication, particularly the EA program, efforts are effective and supportive of overall mission to ensure homelessness is rare, brief, and non-recurring.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES (NOT ALL INCLUSIVE):

1. Family Content Development, Maintenance, and Distribution:
   Develops and distributes a variety of educational material for families in shelter, including program notices, web content, letters, newsletters, flyers, brochures, posters, videos, and social media posts to best reach the population that is being served.
   Overseeing the development, updating, and maintenance of the content and design of the EA program website intended for families in shelter.
   Utilizes innovative tools and multimedia platforms when communications are needed to explain changes of the EA program or policies that impact families in shelter to ensure they are well-informed.
   Ensures that the content is accessible, informative, engaging, user-friendly, meets Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance, is available in plain language and is available in appropriate translations.
   May require working across multiple teams, divisions, and agencies to gather the most accurate information regarding specific topics.
2. Family and Stakeholder Coordination:
   Works closely with families and EA program staff, shelter providers, and external partners to ensure communication materials are accurate, relevant, and aligned with program policies and procedures.
   This may involve reviewing data, facilitating focus groups with families, staff, partners and/or other strategies including user experience research to gain family input as well as other regular meetings and coordination efforts to address gaps in educational material and communication needs or issues.
3. Monitor and Evaluate Effectiveness:
   Monitors and evaluates the effectiveness and impact of the educational and communication materials.
   Collects and analyzes feedback from families, staff, and stakeholders to make informed recommendations for improvements.
   Uses data-driven approaches to continuously enhance educational and communication strategies.
4. Communication Team Coordination:
   Works across Division to support initiatives that impact EOHLC and coordinates efforts with EOHLC Communication Team and Constituent Services Manager.
   Supports in the coordination of translations of all family facing materials for Division of Housing Stabilization.
5. Develop and Implement the Communication and Education Strategy:
   Assesses the needs and preferences of families in shelter regarding information sharing and communications, as well as identifying and addressing challenges where enhanced communications can improve operations/family outcomes.
   Develops clear and consistent messaging to align with the Housing Stabilization mission and goals that meets the diverse needs of the populations served in shelter.
   Creates and maintains an education and communication calendar to keep families and providers that work with families informed.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

1. Proven experience in leadership roles within public sector or aligned fields, with a track record of successfully managing cross-functional teams.
2. Experience developing strategic communications for the public with complex and nuanced messages, as well as strategies for effective implementation.
3. Demonstrated intermediate proficiency using Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Outlook.
4. Demonstrated proficiency in intermediate page layout/graphic design.
5. Familiarity with design/visualization tools or experience directing Design/Art Direction teams.
6. Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to effectively engage with stakeholders at all levels.
7. Ability to collaborate with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to translate complex ideas into simple messages.
8. Experience in government or other public sector industry or a related field is highly desirable.
9. Experience in housing assistance or social services is a plus.

MINIMUM ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS:

Applicants must have at least (A) four (4) years of full-time or, equivalent part-time, professional, professional internship, administrative, supervisory, or managerial experience in business administration, business management, public administration, public management, clinical administration or clinical management or (B) any equivalent combination of the required experience and substitutions below.

COMMENTS:

Please upload resume and cover letter.

This position would be expected to follow a hybrid model of reporting to work that combines in-office workdays and work from home days, as needed.

Salary placement is determined by years of experience and education directly related to the position.

An Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action Employer. Females, minorities, veterans, and persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.