Associate Director, Marketing and Communications

Job Description

Position Summary:

The Associate Director of Marketing and Communications serves as a key advisor and strategic partner to Vanderbilt Divinity School leadership by overseeing all communications and marketing strategy for the School's programs and initiatives, managing print, web, press releases and digital campaigns, social media, and audio and video that provide information about the Divinity School and showcase stories that speak to the impact of the school on prospective and current students, alumni, donors, faculty research and scholarship, and the broader community. The Associate Director is a subject matter expert who utilizes industry best practices to support the Divinity School's mission and to expand its reach to a national audience. In concert with the Senior Director of Strategic Enrollment Management, this position further engages our incoming and prospective students as part of a recruitment plan to maximize annual enrollment. The Associate Director also works closely with the co-curricular program directors as well as lifelong learning to promote, support, and attract new audiences to the Divinity School in fulfillment of the school's larger strategic priorities.

Reporting to the Dean of the Vanderbilt Divinity School, the Associate Director of Marketing and Communications is a highly collaborative team member who manages multiple projects simultaneously and creatively, thoroughly, and confidently within an environment of competing priorities. The Associate Director is a thought leader who improves upon existing processes and leverages university partners and resources to ensure the Divinity School is positioned as a leader in theological education. The Associate Director has entrepreneurial instincts, a strategic focus, and a desire to "get the job done." The Associate Director of Marketing and Communications establishes operational plans and workflows to ensure the unit is optimizing its resources and proactively driving results.

About the Work Unit:

The Divinity School administrators and staff comprise a team committed to excellence in theological education. From different composite areas: admissions, community life, academics, special programming, communications, theological and religious library resources, and development and alumni relations, each person contributes to an innovative and collegial environment. The unit as a whole is committed to the mission of both the University and the Divinity School. We seek to lead the nation in the care, preparation, and professional qualification of our students to the religious and theological professions.

In a global and multi-religious world, the Divinity School seeks to fulfill the following objectives:

• to engage in theological inquiry;
• to help persons prepare for the practice of Christian ministry and public leadership;
• to encourage personal and spiritual formation;
• to prepare agents of social justice; and
• to educate future scholars and teachers, locally and globally.

Key Functions and Expected Performance:

Communications Strategy, Vision, and Leadership:

• Develops and implements an integrated, organizationwide strategic communications plan to broaden awareness of the Divinity School's brand identity within the Divinity School community, internal University audiences, and among prospective students and community partners to create an identifiable meaningful relationship with these audiences and the broader theological community.
• Oversees, or executes as needed, copy intended for public consumption to ensure its alignment with the strategic plan. This includes frequent collaboration with the School's leadership team to ensure alignment in communication strategy and brand identity across all public and internal facing opportunities which may include, but not be limited to, virtual and in person events and promotion related to them.
• In conjunction with the Director of Administration and the Senior Director of Strategic Enrollment Management and relevant internal VU partners, conceives and executes the development of print and branded materials to expand the School's reach.
• Collaborates regularly with Vanderbilt University's Marketing and Communications Team to highlight and center the School's work in the larger University's mission.
• Ensures information is concise, complete, accurate, and on brand with the School's identity and the larger university's communications strategy for both internal and external communications.
• Builds out detailed production schedules and workflows for print, email, and web projects, in alignment with recruitment, donor engagement, and other timetables.
• Envisions, creates, produces, and edits video and motion graphics projects to increase site traffic and reinforce the School's brand identity among national markets.
• Manages time in a highly effective, independent manner, ensuring the larger goals of the unit are conceived and executed within project timeframes.
• Provides training, coaching, and mentorship to the Divinity School program coordinator, student workers, and co-curricular staff in the communications landscape.
• Seeks and participates in professional development annually to stay current with the latest market trends and opportunities.

Social Media Platforms:

• Develops and implements a comprehensive digital communications strategy in consultation with the Dean, Senior Director of Strategic Enrollment Management, Associate Director of Lifelong Learning, and the Institutional Planning Committee.
• Writes, edits, and proofreads across a variety of online content mediums. Manages the School's presence, including its programs, on social networking sites, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, as well as future unfolding technologies.
• Serves as a leader and an advocate of the Divinity School in social media spaces and continually seek ways to improve our exposure to prospective students and internal and external audiences.
• Develops appropriate analytics to maximize traffic to digital platforms and increase audience by actionable measures.
• Reports on the effectiveness of campaigns to senior leadership.
• Stays current on events and trends in the social media industry to maintain a competitive advantage.
• Maintains lines of communication and opportunities for collaboration with Vanderbilt University Social and Web teams by attending meetings and pitching stories from Divinity School.

Website Development and Maintenance:

• Effectively develops and implements a website design and strategy that increases site visits and aligns with university and industry best practices.
• Identifies, writes, and publishes compelling stories in collaboration with other Divinity School constituencies (faculty, staff, DAR, and alumni) to showcase the Divinity School's value and impact locally and globally.
• Updates organizational information and upcoming events on the website to deliver accurate and timely information.
• Partners with internal staff and external vendors to ensure the website and media platforms are achieving a positive increase in recruitment and engagement among key stakeholders.

Strategic and Financial Planning

• Manages annual budget and reviews related reports. Collaborates with the VDS Office of Finance and Administration to assure financial integrity through proper recording and procedures in accordance with university guidelines.
• Maintains an understanding of university and departmental financial policies related to area such as travel, procurement, expense, and time reporting to ensure compliance and proper stewardship of university resources.

Supervisory Relationships:

This position has dualsupervisory responsibility of a program coordinator shared with the Senior Program Manager and up to three student workers. This position reports administratively and functionally to the Dean of the Vanderbilt Divinity School.

Education and Certifications:

• A Bachelor's Degree in Communications, Marketing, or related field from an accredited institution of higher education is necessary.
• A Master's Degree is preferred.

Experience and Skills:

• At least seven years' experience in a communications role is necessary.
• Familiarity with theological education and the vocational discernment process is preferred.
• Experience managing and executing across several communication media platforms is necessary.
• Proven exceptional writing, editing, and oral communication skills with the ability to convey highly complex information in clear, compelling ways is necessary.
• Experience with Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe Creative Suite, Wordpress and popular content management systems (CMS) is necessary.
• Exceptional project management skills are necessary.
• Ability to demonstrate in-depth knowledge of communications and marketing with emphasis on social media and digital content is necessary.
• Ability to work collegially with staff, faculty, and students as a team and leader is necessary.
• A proven ability to translate and advance initiatives across a broad spectrum of media channels, exercising a deep understanding of how to leverage content and storytelling to spark action and growth, influence the media environment, and then leverage media to move key stakeholders to action is necessary.
• Experience establishing and maintaining strong and productive relationships internally and with a variety of external constituencies: ally organizations and influencers in the field, creative and content partners, and the media generally is necessary.
• Strong organizational and financial management skills and excellent budgeting and planning skills is necessary.

About Us

At Vanderbilt University , our work - regardless of title or role - is in service to an important and noble mission in which every member of our community serves in advancing knowledge and transforming lives on a daily basis. Located in Nashville, Tennessee, on a 330+ acre campus and arboretum dating back to 1873, Vanderbilt is proud to have been named as one of "America's Best Large Employers" as well as a top employer in Tennessee and the Nashville metropolitan area by Forbes for several years running. We welcome those who are interested in learning and growing professionally with an employer that strives to create, foster and sustain opportunities as an employer of choice.

We understand you have a choice when choosing where to work and pursue a career. We understand you are unique and have a story. We want to hear it. We encourage you to apply today so that you might become a part of our story.

Vanderbilt University is an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran, or any other characteristic protected by law.

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