Associate Director, Marketing and Communications

Wayne State University is searching for an experienced Associate Director, Marketing and Communications at its Detroit campus location.

Wayne State is a premier, public, urban research university located in the heart of Detroit, Michigan where students from all backgrounds are offered a rich, high-quality education. Our deep-rooted commitment to excellence, collaboration, integrity, diversity and inclusion creates exceptional educational opportunities which prepare students for success in a global society.

Essential functions (job duties):

• Serve as an advisor to the dean and the college’s senior leadership team on all marketing and communications related initiatives. Participate in the strategic planning process and prepare recommendations for key messages for the college.
• Develop marketing strategy recommendations to direct the college’s marketing content plan.
• The main function of this position is to create and implement a strategic marketing plan for EACPHS. Plans includes marketing and communications to reach the goals and objectives outlined in the strategic plan. This position will collaborate with other staff and units within the School, Development, Central Office Marketing and Communication, and the community.
• Provide marketing and communication leadership, supervision and strategic direction for EACPHS. Manage and control day-to-day office activities to assist in creating a collaborative working environment with WSU administrators, faculty, staff, students and volunteers.
• Lead marketing and communications efforts, increasing the visibility of the EACPHS, its services, students, alumni, faculty and overall core values.
• Supervise and train personnel on a project basis.
• Create communications in various media for EACPHS that reflect the brand to competitively position the college. Responsible for content creation and content organization in all brochures, bulletins, event invitations, newsletters, magazines, postcards, HTML targeted emails, speeches, letters, memos and other publications for dissemination to both internal and external audiences.
• Oversee and coordinate all marketing and communication budget activities, including planning, directing, and overseeing the marketing and communication budget preparation process, long- and short-term planning, cost projections, and budget estimates.
• Coordinate communications projects with vendors and contractors for the development and production of promotional materials, website production and other collateral.
• Collaborate with EACPHS staff, faculty, and leadership to best position and promote the College’s online presence, including messaging, design and maintenance of the website and social networking sites.
• Participate in all phases of production of internal and external social media campaigns and monitor social media streams including story selection, content and placement, headlines, photos and graphics, layout and any other production activities. Coordinate special purpose publications as needed.
• Build and maintain productive relationships with key internal and external stakeholders.
• Participate in special projects and assignments. Prepare scheduled reports and summaries; coordinate production of special publications or series of printed materials.
• Develop a plan to communicate WSU outreach to the community
• Support alumni engagement (and donor cultivation and stewardship) through communications, public relations and marketing.

Unique duties:

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university or an equivalent combination of education and/or experience Coursework or major concentration in journalism, English, mass communications, or public relations is necessary. 
• Minimum five years of job related experience in marketing and communications role within higher education with marketing management and strategic planning experience. A proven track record in developing and administering a marketing and communications program.
• Ability to manage independently a variety of projects while ensuring appropriate tracking, quality control, and follow-up necessary to meet multiple deadlines. Must be a self-starter
• Outstanding writing skills that will allow effective communications with a variety of audiences through various media, including web-based, social media, letters, reports and program summaries.
• Outstanding interpersonal abilities that foster the building of cooperative relationships, that facilitate effective communication among university colleagues, student entrepreneurs and external constituencies. Ability to conduct intimate and large meetings in a professional manner.
• Ability to set and implement a self- directed agenda. Consensus building skills. Excellent ability to prioritize work assignments to meet deadlines. Demonstrated ability to work effectively with all levels of management in Client organizations throughout the University.
• Ability to plan and set strategic direction for marketing and communication efforts and the ability to work and lead a variety of people and situations. Need to be able to articulate the mission of Wayne State University and EACPHS to many constituencies.
• Prioritizes and plans work activities thoughtfully and adapts to changing conditions. Develops comprehensive strategies to achieve organizational goals. Ability to set direction for marketing and communication efforts to articulate the message of the school. Ability to prioritize and plan work activities and develop strategies to achieve organization goals and action plans.
• Ability to identify and resolve problems, develop alternative approaches and meet challenges with resourcefulness.
• Responds to customer needs and practices follow-up to ensure customer needs are met.
• Ability to interact and articulate sensitively with students, faculty, staff, and administrators in a multicultural and diverse community. Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Strong copy-writing, editing and proofreading skills. Ability to manage multiple projects and priorities simultaneously, often under tight deadlines. Must be a self-starter, highly organized, and possess top level business management, interpersonal, presentation and facilitation skills.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office and Windows based computer applications able to navigate programs like Adobe Acrobat and be navigate Social media sites (aka be able to work with Youtube (videos), and understand how to navigate social media behind the scenes, work with in a basic CMS system) etc…
• Demonstrated ability to build consensus, anticipate problems and difficult situations and develop mutually agreed-upon strategies and solutions.

Preferred qualifications:

Master’s degree preferred.

School/College/Division:

H18 - Pharmacy & Health Science

Primary department:

H1801 - Deans Office Pharmacy/Health Sci

Employment type:

• Regular Employee
• Job type: Full Time
• Job category: Staff/Administrative

Funding/salary information:

• Compensation type: Annual Salary
• Hourly rate:
• Salary minimum:
• Salary hire maximum:

Working conditions:

Job openings:

• Number of openings: 1
• Reposted position: No
• Reposted reason: None (New Requisition)
• Prior posting/requisition number:

Background check requirements:

University policy requires certain persons who are offered employment to undergo a background check, including a criminal history check, before starting work. If you are offered employment, the university will inform you if a background check is required.

Equal employment opportunity statement:

Wayne State University provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics. The university encourages applications from women, people of color and other underrepresented people. Wayne State is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer.