Category: Administration
Department: Marketing & College Communications
Locations: Poughkeepsie, NY
Posted: Apr 26, 2024
Closes: Open Until Filled
Type: Full Time
Position ID: 175128

About Dutchess Community College:

Located in the heart of New York's beautiful and historic mid-Hudson Valley, just 90 minutes north of New York City, Dutchess Community College (DCC) is one of 64 colleges within the State University of New York, the largest comprehensive public higher education system in the country.

DCC's strategic direction is guided by four lenses through which we view our work: Students. Learning. Community. Growth. We are committed to respecting individuality, embracing diversity, being "student-ready," partnering with and serving our community inclusively. The College welcomes and seeks to grow pools of prospective employees who share and are anxious to support the institution's core values: Excellence. Collaboration. Engagement. Equity. Innovation.

Job Description:

The Director of Marketing and College Communications is a highly motivated, creative, and experienced individual who oversees the flow of communication and information between the College and its internal and external stakeholders. Reporting to the Chief of Staff & Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness, the Director combines marketing and social media management skills to build and enhance the regional, statewide, and national presence and reputation of Dutchess Community College. Additionally, the Director will sensitively manage quality control of internal messaging, communication, and information distribution to ensure effective communication and consistency in branding, and to promote a culture of pride and inclusivity among members of the campus community.

The incumbent is responsible for developing and implementing the College's overall marketing strategy, including web development and a comprehensive social media marketing plan, in collaboration with the office of Enrollment & Student Success and in alignment with the College's overall strategic enrollment plan. The Director also facilitates communication of DCC's brand in positive, authentic ways that will attract the broad cross section of audiences the College seeks to engage. They'll utilize different forms of media to include digital campaigns, press releases, print material, social media, audio, and video, etc.

ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The Director of Marketing & College Communications has responsibilities and oversight related to team leadership/office management; marketing and media; and public relations and communications, to include both internal and external audiences.

General Responsibilities

• The Director is expected to lead and manage a creative team of full and part-time staff as well as on-call consultants, contributing directly to work in areas of personal expertise while appropriately supporting and managing the work of the office to meet or exceed institutional goals around communication, public relations, branding, and marketing.
• Develops short- and long-term plans and budgets for the marketing and communications program and its activities, monitors progress, assures adherence and evaluates performance.
• Provides regular updates on progress in all areas of responsibility to direct supervisor, the Cabinet, and the Executive Leadership Team.

Media & Marketing

• Ensures content creation and design of various digital and print materials. Oversees and contributes to the writing of engaging content for various digital and print platforms and supervises the design, coordination, printing, and distribution of college publications, including the Annual Report, catalog, credit- and credit-free publications, view book, brochures, fliers, postcards, appropriate student and residence hall materials, and other media.
• Maps out a comprehensive marketing plan for the College that is driven by market research collection, analysis, and interpretation of market data to inform planning, strategy and goal setting and includes analysis of key metrics to adjust strategies as needed.
• Leads the effort on a multi-year campaign to update branding of the institution.
• Provides strategic leadership for the design, creation and management of promotions and social ad campaigns, being sure to integrate with the College's overall marketing campaign plan and channels.
• Expands the College's social media presence into new social media platforms, and increases presence on existing platforms, developing social media marketing plans for academic and workforce development programs and initiatives.
• Monitors effective benchmarks (Best Practices) for measuring the impact of all media campaigns and analyzes, reviews, and reports on effectiveness of campaigns in an effort to improve results; translates raw data into recommendations and plans for revising social media, content marketing, SEO and social advertising campaigns.
• Collaborates closely with the office of Enrollment and Student Success on the Strategic Enrollment Management Plan.
• Initiates the design and implementation of specific media strategies to identify and recruit both traditional and non-traditional students and to develop the College's brand awareness and online reputation among different populations.
• Inspires and manages the work to create, curate, and distribute relevant, original, high-quality content for all channels and ads (images, video, written and audio/podcast).
• Manages the creation and implementation of an online review funnel for building online reviews and reputation, and ensures that online reviews are monitored and responded to in a timely and appropriate manner.

Communications & Public Relations

• Coordinates the public relations and institutional communication functions of the College, including but not limited to activities, events, and projects associated with the President's Office, the Board of Trustees, the Dutchess Community College Foundation, the State University of New York, the State of New York, Dutchess County, institutional partners, College stakeholders, and external audiences.
• Supports excellent internal and external communications that demonstrate sensitivity to audience and climate for the college president and executive leadership team. This may take the form of speeches, remarks, presentations, written communications, event design, coaching, etc.
• Serves as official College spokesperson, as designated by the president, and as liaison to the media and the College community, including oversight of crisis communication for both major incidents and for minor disruptions (e.g., weather-related closings).
• Maintains 24/7 availability by telephone or email should emergency or other matters with potential media implications occur.
• Ensures that we are advocating for the College in social media spaces, engaging in dialogues and answering questions where appropriate.
• Proactively manages the creation and distribution of media releases and announcements about college programs, events, activities, honors, accomplishments, and graduation, including the Dutchess Community College Foundation.
• Supports the design and implementation of effective and nuanced communication plans around college initiatives of strategic importance.

Other Responsibilities

• Serve as a member of the President's Cabinet;
• Serve as a member of the President's Executive Leadership Team;
• Serve as a member of the Academic Staff Council;
• Participate in department, division, and institutional assessment activities as required;
• Assume other responsibilities as assigned.

Requirements:

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• A team player with the confidence to take the lead and guide direct reports and other employees when necessary (i.e., organizational communication; content development; creation and editing of content; and online reputation management).
• Ability to identify potential negative or crisis situations and apply conflict resolution principles to mitigate issues.
• Experience and a passion for connecting with audiences across generational and cultural divides using the latest digital technologies, social media trends, as well as more traditional media forms.
• Proven ability to effectively and creatively communicate information and ideas in text, image, and video formats.
• Excellent writing, editing and language skills with the ability to express the college's image creatively.
• Proven working experience in digital marketing, within higher education preferred.
• Demonstrable experience leading and managing SEO/SEM, marketing database, and social media advertising campaigns. Highly knowledgeable in the principles of "Search and Social."
• Solid knowledge of current website and marketing analytics tools; functional CMS knowledge; working knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript development and constraints.
• Hands-on experience in content management.
• Excellent copywriting skills.
• Proficient in marketing research and statistical analysis.
• Analytical and multitasking skills.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in marketing or a related field
• At least eight years' experience working in marketing/public affairs
• Experience in developing and implementing effective marketing strategies as supported by a demonstrable ROI.
• Supervisory experience.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master's degree in marketing or related field
• At least five years' experience working in marketing/public affairs in a higher education setting.
• Supervisory experience w/in a higher education setting

Additional Information:

Working Conditions:

• The performance of this work is in-person and on-site.
• Work assignment can be at any Dutchess Community College site.
• Flexible hours required.
• Some travel will be necessary.

Classification / Salary:

Class: Management Confidential

Salary: $100,000 - $115,000

All applicants are subject to a background check to include criminal, employment, and education.

Dutchess Community College is an AA/EOE employer. As part of the State University of New York (SUNY), in its continuing effort to seek equity in education and employment, and in support of federal and state anti-discrimination legislation, has adopted a policy to provide an educational and employment environment free from unlawful discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, creed, age, sex, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity, familial status, pregnancy, predisposing genetic characteristics, military status, domestic violence victim status, or criminal conviction.

Application Instructions:

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