Director, Advancement Communications and Marketing

$87,300 - $109,200/Yr

Emerson College - Boston, MA

Part-time - Mid Level

Hybrid - Boston, MA

5,001-10,000 employees

Educational Services

About the position

The Director, Advancement Communications and Marketing at Emerson College is a strategic leadership role that reports to the Associate Vice President of Advancement Communications and Special Initiatives. This position is responsible for overseeing and guiding all communication and marketing efforts to support the college's fundraising and engagement initiatives. The Director will manage a comprehensive portfolio of communications designed to engage alumni, donors, parents, and other key stakeholders in support of Emerson College. This includes producing a suite of communications for all marketing channels and providing oversight for all Institutional Advancement (IA) written communications to ensure that invitations, gift proposals, fundraising appeals, newsletters, web and social media copy, magazine articles, donor stewardship reports, and announcements remain on brand with the appropriate style and voice applied. In addition to managing written communications, the Director will oversee the creation of all visual communications materials, including photography and videography for Development and Alumni Relations, ensuring that all materials remain on brand. The role involves planning and executing communication and marketing activities that cultivate relationships, inspire support, and enhance the College's reputation. The Director will create and execute a comprehensive communications and marketing strategy aligned with the goals and objectives of Institutional Advancement, ensuring that all content reflects Emerson's brand, style, and voice. The Director will also develop and implement an annual communications editorial calendar, outlining key messaging, themes, and initiatives throughout the year in close partnership with Development, Alumni Relations, and Operations teams. Leading a team of advancement communications professionals, the Director will coach and manage the team, assess staffing workloads and needs, hire new staff, and reallocate project assignments as necessary. The position requires collaboration with various departments to ensure effective communication strategies and the production of compelling content that effectively communicates the College's fundraising and engagement initiatives across multiple channels, including email, digital, print, social media, and video.

Responsibilities

• Create and execute a comprehensive communications and marketing strategy aligned with the goals and objectives of Institutional Advancement.
• Develop and implement an annual communications editorial calendar, outlining key messaging, themes, and initiatives throughout the year.
• Lead a team of advancement communications professionals who develop and execute all communications needs for the division.
• Coach and manage the team, assess staffing workloads and needs, hire new staff and/or reallocate project assignments as needed.
• Lead the production of compelling and impactful content that effectively communicates the College's fundraising and engagement initiatives.
• Collaborate with Alumni Relations to identify alumni and produce the Making it Big in 30 Seconds podcast.
• Identify, draft and/or direct the creation and maintenance of internal communications guidelines, resources, and talking points for IA colleagues and volunteers.
• Assign, or execute as needed, the writing needs of the division including crafting news announcements, fundraising solicitation appeals, gift proposals, case statements, scripting event talking points for College and volunteer leadership.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams across Emerson to define criteria and parameters for recognizing noteworthy alumni accomplishments.
• Maintain annual research efforts to record, publish and celebrate achievements across all marketing channels.
• Oversee Institutional Advancement's social media presence, ensuring alignment with communication strategy and brand standards.
• Partner with Emerson's Office of Communications and Marketing to execute project requests and review produced materials.
• Contract with and manage creative vendors to execute communications deliverables as needed.
• Review and edit materials produced by IA colleagues, ensuring adherence to brand guidelines, style, voice, and visual identity.
• Manage the annual budget for Advancement Communications and Marketing and maintain relationships with external vendors.
• Establish and monitor key performance indicators to evaluate the effectiveness of communication strategies across all channels.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Communications, Marketing, Public Relations, or a related field; Master's degree preferred.
• Minimum 10+ years of experience in fundraising and/or marketing communications, and/or a related field.
• Minimum 5+ years of experience managing a professional communications team.
• Proven experience in team management and leadership roles.

Nice-to-haves

• Proficiency using Adobe Creative Suite, Canva, or other design software.
• Familiarity with fundraising and advancement in a nonprofit or higher education setting is a plus.
• Proficiency in digital marketing and social media platforms.
• Experience with project management systems, such as Asana or Basecamp.

Benefits

• Outstanding health plans with limited out-of-pocket expenses.
• Dental plans.
• Generous time-off programs.
• 403(b) retirement benefit with a 9% employer contribution once eligible.
• Life and disability coverage.
• Commuter offerings.