Job Description
Are you passionate about connecting targeted audiences with helpful resources and services? Are you skilled at creating engaging content and building partnerships to expand reach and visibility?
Forsyth Library seeks a motivated and strategic communication professional to promote library resources and services to students, the campus community, the surrounding community, and other stakeholders. Join Forsyth Library during an exciting period of transformation as we embark on a multi-year, phased building renovation project with expected completion in 2026.
The Engagement Specialist is a member of the Outreach team and reports to the Instruction and Outreach Librarian while overseeing 2-3 student employees to lead campus and community collaborations and public-facing communication for the library. This position is located on-campus in Hays, Kansas.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
- Bachelor’s Degree, preferably in Communications, Marketing, or related discipline.
- Experience with event planning, marketing, or graphic design
- Exemplary written and oral communication skills
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- Experience in an academic library.
- Strong relationship building skills.
- Experience developing engaging content for print and digital platforms (written, graphic design, social media, video, etc.)
- Experience with photography and/or videography.
- Experience managing multiple projects and deadlines.
RESPONSIBILITIES: The Engagement Specialist is responsible for leading library initiatives that focus on communication, student engagement, community engagement, civic engagement, and user engagement. The person in this role will:
- Strategically build relationships across the university to collaborate on initiatives that engage students of all modalities with the library’s resources and services.
- Collaborate with staff within the library and organizations outside of the library to promote community engagement within Hays and the surrounding areas.
- Combine efforts across the university and community to promote civic engagement
- Help develop a positive patron experience when using the physical library and the digital library
- Lead external communication about the library by overseeing and implementing general communications and promotions (print and digital), social media, and leading orientations.
- Other duties as assigned
APPLICATION PROCESS: To apply for this position, please visit https://fhsu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/CAREERS/job/FHSU-Main-Campus-Hays-Kansas/Library-Engagement-Specialist--Forsyth-Library_R-03808%20 Only electronic applications submitted through the webpage will be accepted.
Benefits & Additional Compensation Info
BENEFITS: Competitive benefit package http://www.fhsu.edu/humanresourceoffice/Prospective-Employees/
Additional Info & Requirements
REQUIRED APPLICATION DOCUMENTS: Applicants should submit a cover letter, resume, and names and contact information for three professional references. Applicant documents should be submitted in one PDF.
The Community
ABOUT FORSYTH LIBRARY: Forsyth Library fosters learning, scholarship, and enduring connections to history, culture, and heritage. Library initiatives are guided by the core values of social, civic, and professional engagement, recognition of the changing needs of the learner, intellectual freedom, and support of faculty and student research. Through library instruction, research consultations, and faculty collaborations, students learn to effectively and responsibly gather, evaluate, and use information for scholarship and problem solving, contributing to student success and academic excellence.
The library employs 18 full-time faculty and staff and 30+ students to provide resources and services to FHSU students, faculty and staff on campus, online, and across the globe. Physical and electronic resources, government publications and special collections support the teaching and research of the university. Special Collections include the University Archives and concentrations in children’s literature, great plains research, military history, and rare books.
Among its resources, Forsyth has rich digital collections to make materials from special collections virtually accessible, and an institutional repository (http://scholars.fhsu.edu/) to preserve and showcase scholarship from the university community, open educational resources, and digitized archival materials. As a university partner in delivering accessible quality education, Forsyth Library advocates for and promotes the use of open educational resources.
ABOUT FHSU: Fort Hays State University was founded in 1902 as the Western Branch of Kansas State Normal School-a teacher's college. Our hometown, Hays, Kansas, is located on the high plains of north-central Kansas. The original home of the institution was on the grounds of Fort Hays, a Nineteenth-Century frontier military outpost. The state of Kansas initially intended the university's academic programs to focus on agriculture, but it opened in as a "normal" or teacher's college. Our mission is to develop the engaged global citizen-leaders our world needs.
FHSU today is a regional comprehensive public university where determined, innovative, and caring faculty and staff share a deep commitment to teaching and mentoring students. Total enrollment at FHSU exceeds 14,000 students who pursue their educational goals on-campus, online, and at our two international partnership campuses in China.
ABOUT HAYS: FHSU is located in Hays, a vibrant college town of approximately 20,000, located halfway between Kansas City and Denver on Interstate 70. Hays is the regional center for education, health care, professional services, shopping, culture, and recreation for the western half of Kansas. The community boasts excellent recreational programs and facilities, including the comprehensive Center for Health Improvement, Hays Aquatic Park, Smoky Hill Country Club, Hays Municipal Golf Course, and extensive walking, running, and biking trails. Hays is within 45 minutes of two large lakes that offer great opportunities for boating, fishing, and camping. The Hays Municipal Airport provides connecting service to Denver with several flights daily. The Hays community is home to excellent Pre-K and K-12, public and private schools. With over 60 restaurants, major retail outlets, a low unemployment rate, and very short commute times, the city provides a safe, welcoming, low-cost, high-quality living environment for the residents who call "Hays, America" home.
HR Info
QUESTIONS: Please contact Cyndi Landis at cllandis2@fhsu.edu or 785-628-4529