Director, Advancement Communications and Marketing

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Reporting the Associate Vice President, Advancement Communications and Special Initiatives, the Director, Advancement Communications and Marketing is a strategic leadership role responsible for overseeing and guiding all communication and marketing efforts to support Emerson 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. The Director will produce a suite of communications for all marketing channels and provide 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. Additionally, this position will oversee the creation of all visual communications materials including photography and videography for Development and Alumni Relations, while ensuring materials remain on brand. This position is responsible for the planning and execution of communication and marketing activities that cultivate relationships, inspire support, and enhance the College's reputation.

ESSENTIAL JOB DUTIES

• 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. 

• 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. 

• 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, hires new staff and/or reallocates project assignments as needed.

• Lead the production of compelling and impactful content that effectively communicates the College’s fundraising and engagement initiatives formatted for various communication channels, including email, digital, print, social media, and video. 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 and other high-level communications that require discretion.

• 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, specifically @EmersonAlumni, ensuring alignment with communication strategy and brand standards.

• Partner with Emerson’s Office of Communications and Marketing to execute project requests, guidance on seeking outside creative vendors, and review of produced materials. Collaborate with the Office to provide content and images for Expression magazine.

• Contract with and manage creative vendors to execute communications deliverables as needed, including but not limited to website development, graphic design, writers, marketing photography and videography for a variety of strategic needs. 

• 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, serving as the primary point of contact for contractual discussions and issue resolution.

• Assess and advise on the cadence of IA’s communications deliverables to Emerson’s constituents. Establish and monitor key performance indicators to evaluate the effectiveness of communication strategies across all channels, utilizing data analytics and feedback to continuous