Since 1917, Teachers’ Retirement System of the City of New York (TRS) has been building better tomorrows for the educators of New York City. TRS serves over 215,000 members with a mission to provide them retirement, disability, and death benefit services.

TRS’ Public Information Office (PIO) is responsible for the agency’s mass communications. Within PIO, the Aspen Communications team directly supports the development of TRS’ new pension administration system, known as ASPEN.

Working on the Aspen Communications Team, the Communications Specialist learns components of TRS’ business and drafts related member-facing communications. The Communications Specialist is a self-motivated, detail-oriented communicator who writes precisely and concisely.

Responsibilities
- Provide Aspen development teams with communications deliverables, including letters and forms, and screen content, error messages, and help content for online features.
- Apply editorial feedback and direction from the Aspen Communications Manager, applicable business units, Aspen team, and leadership.
- Conduct thorough review of QA and SIT output to help ensure correspondence is programmed correctly.
- Conduct thorough content review and light testing of online features.
- Analyze/develop collateral material such as brochures and FAQs.
- Attend Aspen team meetings and work sessions.
- Use Azure and other tools to log and track status of deliverables.
- Provide editorial/writing support to other teams within PIO.


In order to be considered, you must have a civil service title or be on a NYC civil service list.
Please include a cover letter with your application and specify your civil service status (permanent, provisional, took exam, on list, etc.)

Qualification Requirements
1. A master's degree in journalism or public relations from an accredited college; or

2. A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college and one year of full-time satisfactory experience in public relations, journalism or advertising; or

3. An associate degree or completion of 60 credits from an accredited college and two years of full-time satisfactory experience in public relations, journalism or advertising; or

4. Education and/or experience equivalent to "1", "2" or "3" above. However, all candidates must have at least 60 credits from an accredited college.

For Assignment Level II
To be eligible for placement in Assignment Level II, individuals must have, after meeting the minimum requirements described above for Assignment Level I, at least one additional year of the full-time experience in public relations, journalism, or advertising.

- At least four years of satisfactory, progressively responsible experience in a writing/research position. - Strong business writing skills, including ability to write to house style strong editorial and proofreading skills. - Ability to deliver on-target communications under aggressive deadlines. - Ability to learn TRS’ communicational approach, and develop institutional knowledge, demonstrating steady growth in all areas. - Ability to work effectively with subject matter experts on complex topics. - Initiative attention to detail commitment to being a team player. - Fluency in Microsoft Office. - Recommended: Professional experience in areas including benefits, business operations, financial services, government. - Recommended: Experience working on an Agile software development project. Competencies: - Effective Communications: Consistently communicates with clarity and thoroughness to optimize member or colleague's understanding. - Analytical Thinking: Breaks down problems into manageable components to facilitate complex analysis and problem solving of issues. - Flexibility: Reacts and adjusts positively to adapt to new ways of doing things. - Commitment: Actively takes ownership for tasks, problems or outcomes they are involved with. - Interpersonal Astuteness: Understands and anticipates individuals’ attitudes, feelings and/or reactions. - Learning Agility: Willingness to learn from experience and individuals, and subsequently apply those lessons to perform successfully in new or first-time situations.

55-a Program This position is also open to qualified persons with a disability who are eligible for the 55-a Program. Please indicate at the top of your resume and cover letter that you would like to be considered for the position through the 55-a Program.

New York City residency is generally required within 90 days of appointment. However, City Employees in certain titles who have worked for the City for 2 continuous years may also be eligible to reside in Nassau, Suffolk, Putnam, Westchester, Rockland, or Orange County. To determine if the residency requirement applies to you, please discuss with the agency representative at the time of interview.

The City of New York is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.