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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Internet Officer

💰 $ - $

CommunicationsITDigital

🎯 Role Definition

The Internet Officer is a hybrid communications-and-technical role charged with managing the organization's web properties and online channels. This person oversees website content, CMS administration, search engine optimization (SEO), performance and security monitoring, and stakeholder coordination to deliver a reliable, accessible and measurable digital presence. The ideal candidate balances content strategy and digital marketing know-how with practical technical skills in HTML/CSS, analytics, DNS/CDN configuration, and basic web troubleshooting.


📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Junior Web Content Editor, Web Assistant or Content Coordinator
  • Digital Marketing Assistant or Social Media Coordinator
  • IT Support Technician with web or intranet responsibilities

Advancement To:

  • Web Manager / Webmaster
  • Digital Communications Manager
  • Digital Marketing Manager or Head of Digital
  • IT Systems Manager with web services focus

Lateral Moves:

  • UX/UI Designer
  • SEO Specialist
  • Social Media Manager

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Own and manage the organization’s primary websites and microsites: administer the CMS (e.g., WordPress, Drupal), publish and update content, maintain page templates and ensure content governance and version control procedures are followed.
  • Develop and implement a website content strategy in coordination with communications, marketing and program teams to improve discoverability, user journeys and conversion metrics aligned to business objectives.
  • Plan, execute and optimize on-page and technical SEO activities (keyword research, meta tags, structured data, canonicalization, XML sitemaps) to increase organic traffic and SERP visibility.
  • Configure and maintain web analytics platforms (Google Analytics 4, Google Tag Manager, Search Console) and create standard and ad-hoc performance reports to inform stakeholders and guide content and technical decisions.
  • Monitor website uptime, performance and error logs; coordinate incident response and remediation with internal IT teams or external vendors to minimize downtime and user impact.
  • Implement and manage website performance optimization practices (image optimization, caching, lazy loading, minification, CDN configuration) to improve page load times and Core Web Vitals.
  • Manage domain name system (DNS) settings, SSL/TLS certificates, CDNs (e.g., Cloudflare) and basic hosting configurations to ensure secure and stable website operation.
  • Oversee website security best practices including security patching, software updates, permission audits, intrusion detection alerts and coordination with cybersecurity teams for vulnerability remediation.
  • Lead accessibility and compliance efforts: ensure site content and templates conform to WCAG guidelines, geographic accessibility regulations and organizational privacy policies (GDPR/CCPA where applicable).
  • Maintain and enforce content style, brand and editorial standards across web pages, forms and online assets; review and approve content submitted by business units or external partners.
  • Collaborate with UX/UI designers, product owners and developers during website redesigns, feature rollouts and A/B testing to ensure smooth deployment and quality assurance.
  • Plan and execute website migrations and major platform upgrades (e.g., CMS version changes, platform moves) with detailed rollback plans, content audits and stakeholder communications.
  • Implement and manage digital forms, e-commerce components or web applications as needed, ensuring data capture, validation, privacy and integration with CRM or back-end systems.
  • Create and manage redirects, canonical strategies and URL normalization to preserve SEO value during site changes, restructures or content retirements.
  • Train and support internal content owners and editors on CMS workflows, SEO best practices, metadata guidelines and publishing schedules to increase content quality and consistency.
  • Maintain comprehensive documentation of web architecture, standard operating procedures, release notes and runbooks to support continuity and knowledge transfer.
  • Conduct competitive analysis, industry research and keyword gap analysis to inform content development, topical coverage and technical improvements.
  • Coordinate with marketing, communications and IT procurement to evaluate and implement third-party tools, plugins and services (analytics, search, A/B testing, personalization).
  • Manage webmaster-level relationships with external vendors, hosting providers and agencies to ensure contracted SLAs are met and projects are delivered on time and within budget.
  • Implement event tracking, conversion funnels and campaign measurement frameworks to attribute digital outcomes to campaigns and inform ROI discussions.
  • Troubleshoot cross-browser and cross-device rendering issues, mobile responsiveness and interactive element failures, and prioritize fixes with development teams.
  • Ensure intranet and member-facing portals mirror corporate web standards where applicable and that content governance and permissions are maintained for internal environments.
  • Respond to ad-hoc requests for data exports, content rollbacks, and rapid content updates (e.g., crisis communications, urgent notices) with clear audit trails and stakeholder notifications.
  • Actively monitor search engine algorithm changes, emerging web standards and industry tools to recommend continuous improvements and future roadmap items.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis.
  • Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap.
  • Collaborate with business units to translate data needs into engineering requirements.
  • Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the data engineering team.
  • Assist marketing with campaign landing page creation, tracking and optimization for paid and organic channels.
  • Provide first-line support for content editors and escalate technical issues to development teams when needed.
  • Curate best-practice templates, components and libraries to accelerate content production and maintain consistent UX.
  • Liaise with legal, privacy and compliance teams to ensure online forms, cookies and tracking comply with regulations.
  • Participate in vendor evaluations, proof-of-concepts and pilot programs for web-related technologies.
  • Contribute to training materials and deliver periodic CMS and digital literacy workshops for staff.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Content Management Systems (WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, or equivalent) — advanced editor and admin skills, including template and plugin management.
  • Search Engine Optimization (technical and content SEO) — keyword research, on-page optimization, schema markup and canonical strategies.
  • Web analytics and tagging — Google Analytics 4, Google Tag Manager, Search Console, event and conversion tracking implementation and reporting.
  • HTML5, CSS3 and basic JavaScript — ability to edit templates, troubleshoot rendering issues and implement small front-end changes.
  • Web performance optimization — core web vitals, caching, image optimization, CDN configuration and minification strategies.
  • DNS, SSL/TLS and hosting management — practical experience configuring DNS records, managing SSL certs and working with hosting providers.
  • Basic understanding of web security and vulnerability mitigation — patch management, permission audits, WAF/CDN rules and incident response coordination.
  • Accessibility (WCAG) and compliance — ability to audit content and templates for accessibility and implement remediation steps.
  • SEO and marketing tools — experience with SEMrush, Ahrefs, Moz or similar platforms for keyword and backlink analysis.
  • Tagging and attribution platforms — proficiency in setting up and validating tracking with Google Tag Manager and measurement frameworks.
  • Data reporting and visualization — Excel, Google Sheets, Looker Studio (Data Studio) or equivalent for dashboards and stakeholder reporting.
  • CMS migration and upgrade experience — content audits, redirects, URL mapping and post-migration verification.
  • CRM and CMS integration knowledge — basic understanding of REST APIs, webhooks and data flows between systems.
  • Basic SQL or familiarity with data queries to support analytics investigations (preferred).
  • Experience working with A/B testing and personalization tools (Optimizely, VWO, Google Optimize or similar).

Soft Skills

  • Strong stakeholder management and communication — able to translate technical issues into business impact for non-technical audiences.
  • Project management and organization — plans complex tasks, manages timelines and coordinates cross-functional work.
  • Attention to detail — meticulous about metadata, redirects, accessibility checks and publishing workflows.
  • Problem-solving and troubleshooting — logical approach to diagnosing issues under time pressure.
  • Collaborative mindset — works closely with marketing, design, IT and external vendors to deliver integrated solutions.
  • Customer-focused orientation — prioritizes user experience and accessibility across devices and audiences.
  • Adaptability and continuous learning — keeps current with web standards, SEO changes and platform updates.
  • Time management and prioritization — manages competing requests and maintains service levels.
  • Training and mentoring — able to upskill editors and colleagues in CMS best practices and digital fundamentals.
  • Analytical mindset — uses data to inform decisions and to measure impact of changes and campaigns.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Communications, Information Technology, Computer Science, Digital Marketing or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.

Preferred Education:

  • Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Digital Media, Web Development, Marketing, Information Systems, or related fields.
  • Professional certifications such as Google Analytics Individual Qualification, HubSpot Content/Inbound, SEO certifications, or relevant web development credentials.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Communications, Journalism or Public Relations
  • Computer Science, Information Technology or Web Development
  • Marketing, Digital Marketing or E-commerce
  • Human-Computer Interaction, UX Design or Digital Media

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 2–5 years of progressive experience managing websites, digital channels or web operations for a corporate, non-profit or agency environment.

Preferred:

  • 3–5+ years of direct experience as an Internet Officer, Webmaster, Web Manager, or Digital Communications Officer with demonstrable results in SEO, analytics, performance optimization, CMS administration and cross-functional project delivery.
  • Experience running site migrations, implementing analytics frameworks, and managing vendor relationships is highly desirable.