Sr. Specialist, Communication & Engagement at Independent Purchasing Cooperative – Miami, Florida

The Communications Specialist will play a key role in shaping and delivering internal communications that foster engagement, strengthen company culture, and support organizational goals. This position will also lead planning and execution of internal events and manage the company’s social media presence to enhance brand visibility and employee engagement. This role is also responsible for supporting communications for IPI (Central America and the Caribbean) and IPIM (Mexico and Nicaragua), ensuring region delivery and maximizing coverage with franchisees.

The role will report directly to the Senior Manager of Communications & Engagement, working closely with them to execute strategic initiatives and provide ongoing support for communications, culture, and engagement programs.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Internal & International Communications

• Develop and execute communications strategies that inform and engage key audiences, including IPC, IPI, and IPIM employees, as well as franchisees across the Caribbean and Central and South America.

• Develop compelling content for the company’s intranet, employee newsletters, email campaigns, and leadership communications.

• Partner with HR and business leads to ensure clear, consistent messaging on company initiatives, policies, and culture.

• Monitor and manage shared communications inboxes, responding to inquiries and identifying themes or trends to inform the broader Communications and Member Experience teams.

• Measure engagement and communications effectiveness using analytics and recommend improvements to increase reach and impact.

• Support additional communications initiatives and projects as needed to meet evolving business priorities.

Culture & Engagement

• Champion programs and campaigns that promote a positive, inclusive, and collaborative workplace culture.

• Gather feedback and measure engagement to continuously improve communication and culture efforts.

• Manage and maintain photography and video assets libraries.

Internal Events

• Plan and coordinate internal events, including monthly All-Hands meetings, celebrations, team-building activities, and culture shaping/driving sessions.

• Coordinate logistics, vendors, and budgets to ensure successful execution.

• Evaluate culture driving opportunities, recommend key initiatives, and foster a culture of inclusivity, respect, recognition and collaboration.

• Develop creative themes and experiences that align with company values and enhance employee connection.

Social Media Management

• Develop content for and manage and grow the company’s social media platform (LinkedIn) to elevate company awareness, showcasing culture, events, and achievements.

• Create engaging content that aligns with brand voice and values.

• Monitor analytics and trends to optimize reach and engagement.

Skills, Abilities & Competencies

• Clear Communication: Ability to write clearly and succinctly in a variety of communication settings and styles (in both English and Spanish), can get messages across that have the desired effect. Listens to others, process information, communicate effectively and clearly in both writing and in oral communication.

• Self-starter: Takes initiative to start projects, complete tasks independently, solve roadblocks, and address issues before they become problems.

• Collaborative approach: Enjoys working as part of a team with proven project management skills.

• Action Oriented: Enjoys working hard, is full of energy, not fearful of acting with minimum planning and seizes opportunities to help IPC.

• Ethics & Values: Adheres to an appropriate and effective set of core values and beliefs, acts in line with those values and lives the IPC values.

• Functional/Technical Skills: Has the functional and technical knowledge and skills to do the job at a high level of accomplishment and with minimum supervision.

• Organization: Can organize and use resources effectively and efficiently to get things done; can coordinate multiple activities at once to meet goals.

• Time Management: Uses time effectively and efficiently, values time, concentrates efforts on important priorities, and gets more done in less time.

• Creativity: Comes up with a lot of new and unique ideas, easily makes connections among previously unrelated notions, tends to be seen as original and value-added in brainstorming settings.

• Integrity & Trust: Is trusted, is seen as a direct, truthful individual, can present the unvarnished truth in an appropriate and helpful manner, keeps confidences, admits mistakes, doesn't misrepresent themselves for personal gain.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent (preferably in Communications, Marketing, Public Relations, or related field).

• Minimum of 3 years+ experience in internal communications, employee engagement, or related roles.

• Strong writing, editing, and storytelling skills with attention to detail.

• Highly organized and proven ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines in a fast-paced environment.

• Experience in event planning and execution.

• Familiarity with social media management tools, calendars, and analytics.

• Knowledge of digital communication platforms (e.g., SharePoint, Teams, and email marketing tools).

• Proficient in Microsoft 365 applications, including SharePoint, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, and Word).

• Familiarity with creative and emerging digital tools (e.g., Canva, AI-assisted tools) to support content development and visual storytelling, while maintaining strong editorial judgement.

Leadership Responsibility No

Travel This job does not require international travel. Occasionally, local travel within driving distance, and overnight domestic travel may be required.

Work Conditions The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. This job operates in a professional office environment. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, and filing cabinets. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly sitting for long periods of time. Compliant with the ADA, reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job. A detailed description of these physical requirements is available upon request.

Hours of Operation This is a full-time position in Miami, FL. Standard office hours of Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM EST. This position may require additional work hours outside these work hours, including weekends, to complete job requirements.

Disclaimer The above job description is meant to describe the general nature and level of work being performed; it is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required for the position. Team Members may be required to perform other duties as requested by their leader(s) in compliance with Federal and State laws.

Independent Purchasing Cooperative (IPC) provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color,religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.