IT Communications & Training Specialist

This is a contract-to-hire role beginning with a 9-10 month term (depending on exact start date), with conversion to full-time targeted by the end of our current fiscal year, 6/30/27.

Location in St Charles, MO: Hybrid (3 days onsite, 2 remote)

Target start: Early September

Quick Summary

Our company partner is seeking a Communication & Training Specialist to support two key initiatives; an Anthology Refresh project and a new Data Governance program. This person will develop clear, engaging communications and training materials that help faculty, staff, and students adopt new systems and processes, working closely with business analysts, project managers, and system owners. This includes training guides, job aids, web content, change communications, and other resources that help make the rollout of new software and business processes successful for users.

Job Description

The Communication & Training Specialist is responsible for developing clear, engaging, and well-designed communications and training materials that support the adoption of systems, processes, and initiatives within our company partner's university environment. This role blends strong writing for training, web, and social media with visual design instincts, hands-on web development skills, and AI fluency, along with the ability to translate complex system functionality and process changes into content that end users can understand and apply.

Working closely with business analysts, project managers, and system owners across the Data & Enterprise Applications team, the Communication & Training Specialist plays a key role in ensuring that changes to technology and business processes are communicated effectively and that faculty, staff, and students are equipped with the training resources they need to succeed.

This position supports our company partner's commitment to quality, care, and collaboration by approaching every communication and training deliverable thoughtfully and treating end users, colleagues, and stakeholders with genuine respect throughout the development process.

Responsibilities:

Communications Development

• Draft, edit, and publish written communications - including press releases, announcements, newsletters, FAQs, and how-to guides - to support IT communications that explain system changes, process updates, and project milestones in clear, audience-appropriate language.

• Partner with project managers and business analysts to identify upcoming changes that require end-user communication and build communication timelines that align with project rollout schedules.

• Maintain a consistent voice, tone, and visual identity across all communication and training materials, in keeping with Lindenwood University branding standards.

• Create and manage content on university IT services and departmental web pages, ensuring information is current, accurate, well organized, and easy to navigate, in collaboration with the university marketing team.

• Design graphics, layouts, and visual aids that reinforce written content and improve comprehension for non-technical audiences.

• Maintain consistent brand presentation across all platforms.

Training Materials Development

• Develop training materials - including step-by-step guides, job aids, quick-reference sheets, and recorded walkthroughs - for university systems such as Canvas, Anthology, Slate, Power BI, and Halo.

• Translate technical documentation and business requirements provided by business analysts and developers into training content suited for end users at varying skill levels.

• Coordinate and, where appropriate, deliver end-user training sessions, working with subject matter experts to ensure technical accuracy.

• Maintain a central, organized repository of training materials and job aids, and establish a routine review cycle to keep content current as systems and processes evolve.

• Gather feedback from training participants and system users to continuously refine and improve materials.

Technical Writing & Documentation

• Write and maintain process documentation, standard operating procedures, and knowledge base articles that support both end users and the Data & Enterprise Applications team.

• Work with technical staff to accurately document system configurations, workflows, and integration points in language accessible to non-technical readers.

• Support Halo ticketing and Docuware documentation efforts by developing user-facing help content that reduces routine support requests.

Collaboration & Project Support

• Serve as a communication and training resource on cross-functional project teams, including initiatives such as Project Rejuvenate and Project Clearway.

• Attend project meetings as needed to stay current on scope, timeline, and system changes that affect end-user communication and training needs.

• Collaborate with the marketing and communications office to ensure institutional messaging standards are followed.

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in communications, English, instructional design, technical writing, education, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• A minimum of three years of experience in communications, technical writing, training development, or a related discipline.
• Content samples for previous work will be requested as part of the screening and interview process.
• Demonstrated experience developing web content, including working within a content management system.
• Proven ability to translate technical or process-heavy information into clear, user-friendly written and visual materials.
• Strong project coordination skills, with the ability to manage multiple communication and training deliverables against overlapping deadlines.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with strong attention to detail and editorial judgment.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Proficiency with design and layout tools (e.g., Adobe Creative Suite, Canva, or similar) for producing polished visual communications.
• Familiarity with web content platforms (e.g., WordPress, SquareSpace, or similar) and basic HTML/CSS sufficient to update and troubleshoot web pages. Experience with Word Press is preferred.
• Experience with instructional design principles and adult learning theory a plus.
• Working knowledge of higher education systems such as Canvas, Anthology, or Slate is preferred, though not required.
• Ability to build effective working relationships with technical and non-technical colleagues alike.
• Strong organizational skills and comfort managing a documentation library or knowledge base.