Web Specialist and WordPress Manager
Slippery Rock University is a four-year, public, coeducational, regional comprehensive university that offers a broad array of undergraduate and select graduate programs to more than 8,000 students. SRU is one of 10 institutions and 14 campuses that make up Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education. SRU is fully accredited by the Middle State Commission on Higher Learning.
Founded in 1889, SRU is shaped by its teaching (normal) school heritage. For more than 130 years, the university has embraced the same hard-working, tenacious personality espoused by the people of western Pennsylvania. With a steadfast yet adaptable commitment to intellectual development, leadership and civic responsibility, SRU provides students with a comprehensive learning experience that helps them become engaged citizens and succeed in their lives and professional careers.
Located in western Pennsylvania, the 660-acre campus is less than an hour’s drive north of Pittsburgh, one hour south of Erie, and 45 minutes east of Youngstown, Ohio. Two major highways, I-79 and I-80, intersect 10 miles from the University, conveniently linking it to the entire commonwealth and its contiguous regions.
Job Description
The Web Specialist and WordPress Manager will lead management and continuous improvement of the university web properties to drive enrollment, engagement, and alumni relations; serve as the primary WordPress owner, sru.edu content governance lead, and accessibility steward for all public-facing web properties; and collaborate with marketing, academic units, enrollment, IT, and campus partners to translate institutional goals into measurable web outcomes.
Duties include:
•Maintain and enhance the University WordPress environments and scale operations based upon the greatest needs of the University: Manage updates, plugins, templates and themes.
•Build and maintain modular page templates, block patterns, and reusable dynamic content components to speed content creation/syndication and ensure storytelling, user experience, and brand consistency remain at the forefront of decision making and development.
•Author, edit, and optimize high-impact content for target audiences (prospective students, families, alumni, donors, media) with an emphasis on clear calls-to-action and SEO/GEO/AEO best practices.
•Implement and monitor analytics, A/B tests, and conversion funnels to improve inquiry, application, and engagement metrics; generate monthly performance reports and action plans.
•Enforce web content governance: train content owners, manage editorial calendar, run content audits, and maintain metadata and taxonomy for discoverability.
•Ensure WCAG AA accessibility compliance and mobile-first design across templates and content; coordinate remediation with content authors and colleagues where needed.
•Provide tiered support: triage requests, advise campus units on content strategy, and execute priority builds or fixes when staffing is limited.
•Lead small-scale web projects (microsites for campaigns, landing pages for recruitment, event hubs) from scoping through launch and post-launch analytics.
•Assist with creating a content refresh calendar on the primary sru.edu website as well as a governance plan for a highly distributed authorship. Help develop and manage standard operating procedures for compliance and storytelling goals.
Skills desired:
•Web Content Strategy & User Experience (UX): Understanding how students, families, alumni, and donors navigate digital spaces and what drives engagement and conversion.
•WordPress Architecture & Development: Deep knowledge of custom theme development or template customization, plugins, advanced custom fields or blocks, custom post types, security hardening, and performance optimization.
•Accessibility & Compliance Standards: Familiarity with WCAG, ADA, and higher education digital compliance expectations, including PASSHE security and content governance requirements.
•Analytics & SEO: Knowledge of Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Google Search Console, , search optimization, and data driven decision making to improve recruitment and donor engagement.
•Brand & Messaging Standards: Understanding how digital content supports institutional reputation, enrollment marketing, and philanthropy storytelling.
•Front End Development: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, responsive design, and the ability to troubleshoot and optimize site performance.
•Content Management & Editing: Ability to create, edit, and manage high impact content that supports enrollment pipelines and donor cultivation.
•Project Management: Coordinating timelines, stakeholders, and priorities across marketing, admissions, advancement, and IT.
•Vendor & Stakeholder Communication: Translating technical needs into clear, actionable language for non-technical teams and leadership.
•Strategic Thinking: Connecting digital experience decisions to enrollment goals, donor engagement, and institutional reputation.
•Rapid Response: Updating critical content quickly—especially for admissions deadlines, emergency communications, and advancement campaigns.
•Problem Solving: Diagnosing issues, preventing outages, and ensuring the website remains stable, secure, and high performing.
•Cross Functional Collaboration: Working seamlessly with admissions, advancement, marketing, IT, and executive leadership.
•Continuous Improvement: Staying ahead of digital trends, accessibility requirements, and security expectations to keep the institution competitive.
•Ethical use of AI to increase speed and improve accuracy.
The Web Manager and WordPress Developer is expected to:
•Operate at the intersection of strategy, technology, and storytelling.
•Balance rapid tactical execution (urgent campaign pages, admissions deadlines) with medium-term platform improvements (architecture, accessibility, performance).
•Manage cross-unit stakeholders with varying technical skills and competing priorities, negotiating compromises that protect brand and functional outcomes.
•Maintain stability of the WordPress ecosystem and be capable of managing standard and custom implementations.
•Independently drive analytics-informed recommendations and to explain technical implications to non-technical leaders to secure buy-in and resources.
Minimum Qualifications
Associate’s degree in related field (i.e., Digital Media, Communications / Marketing, Journalism, Web Design, Computer Science) or similar.
Ability to leverage WordPress and related technologies to deliver compelling digital experiences.
Strong understanding of WordPress and its integrations to create engaging content and enhance the user experience.
Working knowledge of HTML, CSS, responsive design, accessibility standards, and web issue resolution.
2+ years in a role with CMS ownership, Editorial workflow coordination, Cross‑functional collaboration (content, design, UX, SEO).
Successful performance in an on-campus interview.
Preferred Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree or professional certification.
Familiarity with SEO best practices and SEO tools such as Yoast, Google Search Console, SEMrush, Ahrefs, Moz, Screaming Frog, or similar.
Experience using Google Analytics 4 basic dashboards or other analytics platforms for web, with the ability to make data0informed recommendations.
Strong oral and written communication skills, with a comprehensive understanding of content lifecycle management and web governance.
Adobe Creative Suite experience.
