Communications Specialist at Lou-Rich

Description

INNOVANCE INC.

Innovance is the holding company for a family of four, 100% employee-owned, Minnesota-based manufacturing companies (Lou-Rich, ALMCO, Panels Plus, Mass Finishing, Jorgensen). Our mission is to lead, nurture, and grow a team of industrial manufacturing companies committed to making our OEM customers’ products better.

POSITION DESCRIPTION: 

The Communications Specialist supports internal communications across all Innovance companies and contributes to select external marketing initiatives. As part of the Human Resources team, this role works closely with General Managers and leaders to execute communication strategies that strengthen our employee-owner culture, promote understanding of programs such as the ESOP, benefits, and performance reviews, and celebrate employee achievements. The Communications Specialist manages multiple channels and projects, ensuring messages are clear, consistent, and accessible for diverse audiences. Strong writing, editing, and storytelling skills are essential, along with the ability to simplify complex topics, balance multiple priorities, and exercise sound judgment to advance company goals. 

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS: 

ESOP Communication & Ownership Culture 

• Create communication that educates employee-owners on ESOP benefits, valuation, and ownership culture.

• Bring our ownership culture to life through stories, employee spotlights, and campaigns that celebrate the value of being 100% employee-owned.

Multi-Site Internal Communication Strategy

• Manage communication plans and channels (e.g., digital signage, company intranet site, bulletin boards, plant-wide announcements, mobile platforms, printed newsletters) to ensure consistent messaging across all facilities.

• Adapt messages for diverse audiences, including shop floor and non-desk employees.

HR & Employee Development Communication

• Support HR by creating clear, accessible communication around performance reviews, open enrollment, wellness, and total rewards.

• Share opportunities for training, apprenticeships, and career growth so employees see pathways for their future at Innovance.

Employee Engagement, Recognition & Branding

• Celebrate employee milestones and contributions with recognition programs, survey campaigns, and ownership month activities.

• Support employer branding by showcasing success stories internally and externally, and helping with recruiting content, award submissions, and community involvement.

Change Management & Crisis Communication

• Deliver communication during organizational changes, safety incidents, or urgent situations.

• Provide clear and timely updates to all employee-owners.

Measurement & Collaboration

• Gather feedback, track communication effectiveness, and adjust strategies to reach all audiences.

• Partner with HR, Operations, Finance, and Safety teams to align messaging — and coach leaders so they feel confident communicating with their teams.

Other

• Create and execute Social Media strategies related to company events, recruiting, employee-engagement, and recognition.

• Make written content edits to existing internal and external websites.

• Roughly 10-15% of time will be dedicated to external

OTHER DUTIES 

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice. 

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in marketing.

• Minimum of 3 years of experience in marketing and/or communications.

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills. Copy writing for multiple platforms is a mandatory requirement. The ability     to quickly learn technical aspects of Innovance company products and capabilities to translate that into marketing messaging and copy.

• Technology skills including MS Outlook, MS Word, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, MS CRM, Social Media platforms and website content management systems like WordPress.

• A strong ability to set and prioritize goals and then achieve them.

• Ability to multi-task within a team environment.

• Travel as needed to the Innovance companies, and on occasion tradeshows in support of the various companies.

• A positive can-do attitude that works well in collaboration with others and independently.

• Problem solving skills.

• Refuse to be satisfied with average performance.

• Ability to perform the essential functions of the job.

This description reflects the principal functions of the job for the purpose of job evaluation. It should not be construed as a detailed description of all work requirements of the job nor shall be construed as giving exclusive responsibility for every function described. 

INNOVANCE TRAINING REQUIREMENTS:

• Applicable training will be completed by following the syllabi (Human Resources, Safety, IFS - Timeclock, IFS -Navigation, ISO etc.) for each new hire and that will be verified by the Employee Orientation & Job Qualification form within the first 60 days of employment.

• Applicable training will be completed by following the Planning, Customer Service, and Inventory Training Matrix (F4400-040). Effectiveness of Planning, CS, Inventory training guidelines will be determined by employee knowledge and demonstration of learned concepts. Additional training after the first several weeks of on-the-job training will be determined by the Supervisor in preparation to operate on their own as needed. Any follow-up training will be evaluated and provided at the 60-day review or as deemed necessary for the position.