Communications Manager

US-NJ-Princeton

Job ID: 2021-13075
Type: Full-Time
# of Openings: 1
Category: Communications and Public Relations

Princeton University

Overview

The Council of the Humanities at Princeton University welcomes candidates for a Communications Manager to start immediately. The “Humanities Council” fosters cutting-edge research; sponsors interdisciplinary, collaborative projects and innovative courses; and advocates for the humanities at Princeton and in the public conversation. We are known by our many constituencies—faculty, students, and distinguished visitors—as a crossroads for humanistic inquiry, a platform for debate, and a meeting place for 16 humanities departments and more than 30 interdisciplinary programs. We are also known for our core values of innovation, public engagement, globalization, and diversity, equity, inclusion, and access.

Under the supervision of the Executive Director, the Communications Manager is responsible for developing and implementing a strategic communications plan that will distribute news about Princeton's groundbreaking humanities courses, research, and international initiatives, making complex faculty research compelling and accessible to diverse audiences. With a firm grasp of the Council’s priorities and those of the University, the Communications Manager will write feature stories and recommend the most effective venues and platforms to reach targeted audiences. They are responsible for communicating faculty and student accomplishments in both teaching and research, highlighting the University’s priorities and conveying the distinct role, value, and importance of faculty research in the humanities at Princeton. We seek an experienced communicator who is committed to engaging with broad audiences about emergent humanities scholarship. The successful candidate will have particular expertise in community outreach and public writing and can translate humanities and digital humanities research for general audiences.

Responsibilities

The Communications Manager will ensure an accurate, consistent, and high-quality presentation of the Humanities Council’s efforts serving four major areas:

• Developing a campus-wide strategy for the Humanities at Princeton, including a humanities-wide calendar and newsletter;
• Managing the Humanities Council’s website, signature events, and collaborations: Annual Colloquium, Gauss Seminars in Criticism, Long-Term and Short-Term Visiting Fellows, Belknap Visitors, Magic Grants for Innovation, Working Groups, Public Lectures, Collaborative Humanities, and Global Initiatives;
• Coordinating communications for Council-managed programs, including Journalism, Humanistic Studies, Film Studies, the Interdisciplinary Doctoral Program in the Humanities, European Cultural Studies, Linguistics, Medieval Studies, Classical Philosophy, Renaissance Studies, Italian Studies, Canadian Studies, and the Program in the Ancient World
• Promoting the Council’s civic and community partnerships, engaging with local, state, and national partners, as part of the Council’s commitment to expanding access to the University and to the open and productive exchange of ideas; advising on queries from the national media, relating to trends in journalism and humanities.

Key Responsibilities:

• develop and implement a strategic communications plan for the Humanities at Princeton that conveys interdisciplinary strengths, and our core values of diversity, equity, inclusion, and access;
  plan, write and edit news releases, feature articles, and event publicity for the general public, in a variety of styles and formats;
• write feature stories and draft key institutional letters and documents;
• oversee a master schedule of the Council's communications, publications and print materials;
• oversee all of the Council’s digital projects, including more than 10 websites, to keep projects on schedule;
• manage the Humanities Council’s websites and digital archives; oversee development of active social media channels (eg, Twitter, Facebook, podcasts, web portals);
• create a strategic plan for sharing, archiving, and storing publicity materials and web content for academic programs;
• regularly review of progress and work with Council leadership to develop and implement realistic timelines for projects;
  oversee production and publication of an array of institutional materials, including multimedia and video projects, through multiple channels;
• lead weekly meetings of the Communications team (including an IT specialist) and supervise their work on a day-to-day basis;
• recruit and manage external designers and developers for websites, informational brochures, letterheads, and related print materials and publications, including annual brochures and reports;
• oversee production and distribution of the Council’s weekly email newsletter;
• develop a powerful set of targeted campus-wide email lists (faculty, students, alumni) as well as lists for smaller humanities programs, and oversee regular list updates;
• develop an internship program to recruit and manage students in writing for the web, visual storytelling, and producing high-quality, in-depth multimedia stories;
• keep pace with digital trends in the humanities, journalism, and media studies;
• other tasks as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a humanities discipline, or in a humanities-related field (g., journalism, creative writing, media studies, communications, public relations, educational technology, or arts administration)
• A minimum of 5-7 years of successful experience planning and implementing communications strategies in a progressive, fast-paced, team-based setting
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, including the ability to communicate effectively about highly complex findings in all disciplines
• Substantial writing and editing experience
• Basic proficiency with website platforms (WordPress or Drupal); social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube); marketing and outreach tools (Constant Contact and Google Analytics); and graphic design photo, audio, and video editing software (Adobe InDesign, Preview, or Photoshop)
• Experience as webmaster of a professional or personal website (provide URL in cover letter)
• Ability to think strategically with a "big-picture view" about the most effective communications vehicles for target audiences
• Ability to multi-task, prioritize responsibilities, and meet multiple, competing deadlines with attention to detail and commitment to accuracy
• Ability to lead a team, coordinating multimedia projects with multiple contributors
• Flexibility and capacity to adapt to changing needs and priorities
• Excellent judgment and discretion, especially pertaining to sensitive and confidential information
• Ability to work occasional evenings and weekends.

Preferred qualifications

• Advanced degree in the humanities; work experience in higher education; or a broad understanding of scholarly communities, priorities, and standards in the humanities
• Experience with Princeton students and knowledge of the institutional context
• Experience with design, photography, or video production
• Experience with WordPress

Applicants must apply online and submit a resume and cover letter.

Upon interview, candidates will be required to submit writing samples and links to digital work.

Princeton University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. EEO IS THE LAW

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