Description:

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES)

Director of Marketing Communications – OMC

The Office of Marketing Communications (OMC) supports the College of ACES core activities of teaching, research, and outreach. OMC provides numerous services ranging from website strategy, user experience and content development to creating communications and marketing materials for faculty and staff of the College of ACES.

Primary Position Function/Summary

This person will provide inspirational leadership to the Marketing and Communications group and empower its members to find innovative ways to meet the goals of the College.

This role will work collaboratively with the Assistant Dean of Marketing Communications to develop and execute internal and external communications and marketing strategies, goals and actions, and provide services that advance the mission and goals of the College of ACES, including elevating visibility and awareness of the college internally and externally, along with bolstering recruitment and donor engagement.

The director will maintain relationships and interactions with staff across the College including the Office of Research, University of Illinois Extension, Office of Academic Programs, Office of International Programs, Advancement, Alumni Relations, each of the seven Academic Departments, and various other units and programs.

This position is a 100% full time Academic Professional position. The salary is commensurate with qualifications and experience. The position is available as soon as possible after the closing date.

The University of Illinois is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action employer. Minorities, women, veterans and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply. For more information, visit http://go.illinois.edu/EEO. To learn more about the University’s commitment to diversity, please visit http://www.inclusiveillinois.illinois.edu

Major Duties and Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership (50 percent of available hours)

• Lead the development of College of ACES communications and marketing strategy, goals, and activation to insure effective, consistent branding across all departments to support the long-term interests of the College.
• Work closely with the Director & Project Manager of Web Development to build and execute a strategic plan for the College websites that aligns with the College’s goals and brand, including development of content and updates as needed.
• Work closely with non-departmental units such as Advancement and Alumni Relations.
• Set communication goals and objectives in collaboration with the Assistant Dean of Marketing Communications for the college, departments, and other units in ACES.
• Identify key audiences.
• Conduct appropriate market research methods to gather information.
• Establish performance metrics to measure outcomes for marketing activities.
• Develop strategic messaging, advertising campaigns, and social media approaches to deliver against strategies and goals.
• Supervise civil service professionals, academic professionals, academic hourlies, student workers and interns, as appropriate, for communications and marketing projects.
• Develop and manage budget for the Marketing and Communications department.
• Lead the development of research related communications and publications.
• Serve as the Editor of the College’s flagship publication, ACES@Illinois, overseeing content and story development, story assignments, photo concepts and development, layout and design, writing stories, and distribution of the publication.

Management/Oversight (30 percent of available hours)

• Develop and oversee dissemination of college news and information across various communications platforms including press releases, college/campus websites, social media, etc.
• Collaborate with the director and project manager of web development and web developers to ensure optimal brand management, consistency in messaging and design, and application of college and campus guidelines.
• Provide management, editorial, writing, and other services to communications and marketing projects for college-level units such as Advancement and Alumni Relations.
• Provide strategic marketing and communication consulting services to department heads, unit leaders and other members of the executive leadership team to deliver against their goals and priorities.
• Develop and implement concepts, outlines, and content for marketing materials, to include web-based and printed materials, and messages for inclusion in remarks by College of ACES leadership.
• Manage professional vendors selected to work on outsourced communications and marketing projects.

Collaboration (20 percent of available hours)

• Partner with departments and units across the college to:
  • Foster and lead strategic collaborations between College of ACES departments/units and other campus departments, units as it relates to communications and marketing strategies, including planning and execution for new College initiatives.
• Lead projects in collaboration with creative teams responsible for conceptualizing, planning, and producing print and electronic communications for a range of audiences and objectives.
• Connect the editorial and marketing functions of the department to ensure that work is integrated and mutually supportive.
• Integrate the marketing activities happening at the department level with the OMC team efforts in order to ensure that work displays brand consistency, meets quality standards, is current and is aligned with institutional goals.
• Support the Assistant Dean of Marketing Communications with directing communications efforts with University and campus units to ensure consistency with University and campus direction and representation of the college's interests.

Administrative Organization

The Director of Communications and Marketing reports directly to the Assistant Dean of the Office of Marketing Communications, ACES – OMC.

Education

Bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications, advertising, public relations or other related field.

Minimum Qualifications

• Five years of recent experience and demonstrated success in communications activities, e.g. marketing, advertising, editing, media, or public relations.
• Demonstrated strong leadership skills.
• Experience in staff supervision, staff motivation and development, and delegation of authority.
• Expertise in communications and marketing, including knowledge of brand development, strategic planning, traditional and digital media, public and media relations, and content development.
• Demonstrated adept organizational problem solving, strategic planning, and consensus building.
• Superior oral and written communication skills.
• Must work well in a client-focused service environment.
• Knowledge in project planning and management.
• Experience with team leadership.
• Provide copy development, proofreading, and editing, as well as news and feature writing.
• Ability to identify communication goals in the framework of overall marketing and public relations activities and develop clearly-focused communications strategies to meet those goals.

Preferred Qualifications

• Significant communications or marketing experience with an institution of higher education or other not-for-profit organization.
• Communications experience for fundraising processes and institutional advancement.

Application Procedures: A candidate profile should be created at jobs.illinois.edu. Please upload a letter of application and resume. In addition, step one of the online application will require the names and contact information of three professional references. All requested information must be submitted by January 31, 2019 for your application to be considered for this position.

For further information about the position, candidates may contact Kimberly Meenen, Search Committee Chair, via e-mail at kmeenen@illinois.edu. For technical assistance with the online application process, call 217-333-6747 or e-mail jobs@illinois.edu.

The University of Illinois conducts criminal background checks on all job candidates upon acceptance of a contingent offer.

College Name or Administrative Unit:ACES Communications and Marketing Category:2-Administrative Title:Director of Marketing Communications - College of ACES Office of Marketing Communications (107937) Open Date:12/17/2018 Close Date:01/31/2019 Organization Name:Dean's Office