Director of Marketing and Communications

Director of Marketing and Communications

Full-Time, Year-Round - Exempt

Cover letter, resume and examples or links to past relevant work should be shared when completing the application.

GMSF will receive applications for this position through July 24. All applicants will hear from GMSF by Aug 4. Ideally, a new hire would be starting by late August.

Job/Role/Overview

The Director of Marketing and Communications creates, manages and leads a broad range of marketing and communication activities relating to the strategic direction and positioning of the organization that will promote, enhance and protect brand reputation and enable the organization to continue reaching larger audiences and raise awareness of the nature park’s offerings and mission-based work.

The Director will develop an annual public relations plan, lead proactive pitching efforts, maintain and grow strong media relations, serve as an on-camera representative of the organization, organize and promote numerous large events and oversee the direction of the mountain’s social media and web efforts. This position will also assist and oversee some marketing projects as well, and should be able to dive into marketing analytics and make suggestions based on them.

The Director will be a strong strategic voice for the organization and should be conscientious, well-spoken, reliable and show great initiative. The position works under the Vice President of Marketing and Communications but should also be a self-starter and regularly adhere to deadlines and expectations without constant supervision. This position oversees the Content and Design Specialist and Content Coordinator.

Key Responsibilities

Media Relations

• Develop the annual public relations plan.
• Create and manage the monthly editorial calendar for news releases and other media efforts.
• Lead efforts on proactive pitching and the creation of related materials.
• Develop the annual media bullseye list and associated pitches and media efforts.
• Execute the annual media holiday gift project.
• Develop and execute seasonal or thematic proactive media pitches and media tours.
• Develop strong relationships with the media and provide regular pitches and news shares.
• Host media visitors and do on-air interviews.
• Participate in relevant media and familiarization tours.
• Monitor media coverage via Meltwater daily and share out relevant clips to leadership, staff or on social media. Create a quarterly report for the board of directors.

Media Relations Systems and Materials

• Manage the creation and regular maintenance of pitch sheets.
• Manage the creation and regular maintenance of various media lists in Meltwater.
• Manage the online media room.

E-Newsletter Content/E-Blasts

• Create and manage a monthly editorial calendar for all e-communications.
• Manage the Content and Design Specialist in the creation of all e-newsletters/e-blasts content, to include content creation, layout and distribution.

Event Organization & Publicity

• Organize and execute Nature Photography Weekend (logistics, registration, schedule, speakers). Manage the photo weekend team.
• Manage process for Highland Games media credentials, as well as the logistics and schedule of the media tent during the Games.
• Assist with generating speakers for the Grandfather Presents and lead promotion of the speaker series.
• Manage the team in the creation of event calendars, news releases and other promotional pieces regarding events.

Social Media

• Oversee the organization’s overall plan and vision for all social media and UGC platforms, as well as all review platforms.
• Oversee the Content and Design Specialist’s creation and management of the monthly editorial calendars for social channels. This should include at least one post daily on each channel and a strong focus on real-time, “this happened today,” “this happened this week” posts.
• Oversee the team’s monthly data reporting.

Website

• Responsible for overall vision for and structure of the website.
• Manage the team in the general maintenance and updates to the website.
• Responsible for pulling monthly Google Analytics reports for overview.

Fundraising Communications

• Work with the contracted fundraising agency and in-house development team on the layout and distribution of fundraising e-communications and other donor communications.
• Assist with other content needs and strategic planning as needed.

Photography/Videography/Digital Asset Management

• Manage the contracts and supervision of professional photographers and videographers for seasonal images, assets and marketing needs.
• Manage the team in all photography projects and video assignments.
• Manage the team in Digital Asset Management efforts. Help the team meet quarterly and annual goals related to asset uploads and tagging. Ensure that proper tagging is occurring.
• Manage the media and broll available to the media online and process any specific requests.

Partnership with Advertising Agency and Marketing Contractors

• May be assigned to manage certain projects within the ad agency’s program of work.
• May be assigned to manage certain projects related to other marketing contractors.

Crisis Communication

• Assist V.P. of Marketing and Communications in times of crisis.
• Be able to host media, monitor social media and send out media alerts.
• Take the lead on crisis communications in the absence of department head.

Annual Planning and Reporting

• Be a leader in the creation of the annual Marketing and Communications Plan.
• Lead the team in monthly and annual stat analysis related to the website and social media. Be proactive in understanding these stats and trends and make suggestions from the findings.

Department and Internal Communications

• Attend and be a leader in weekly team meetings.
• As needed, delegate tasks to the team and provide supervision and oversight for those duties.
• Utilize Asana to manage all responsibilities and projects, provide notes to team members and meet deadlines.

Requirements

• Minimum: Bachelor’s Degree (Marketing, Journalism, Communications or a related field)
• Solid understanding of marketing and public relations strategies and tactics
• Experience interacting with and pitching media
• Solid understanding of AP Style and experience in public relations/news writing
• Prior experience creating and implementing marketing and public relations plans and leading a team in the execution of all related work.
• Experience with Adobe Creative Suite or similar software
• Experience with WordPress is a plus
• Minimum of five years’ experience in a professional environment
• Ability to think strategically and operate with initiative
• Experience managing other employees
• Prior work in the tourism and/or non-profit fields is a plus