Today@Dal

Associate Director of Communications  
Advancement Office
Reporting to the Director of Advancement

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The Associate Director of Communications is a skilled, prolific writer and a public relations specialist who will lead external positioning and champion communications projects, blending strong storytelling and media relations capabilities while engaging with key internal audiences to enable significant positive impact on the communications functions at the University.    

The goal of the Communications position is to lead media relations, alumni communications, donor communications, and to develop content and support messaging for key internal constituents to amplify the stories and voice that positions King’s as a leader in liberal arts and journalism.   

Associate Director Communications will be assisted by a small number of external service suppliers,   student assistants, and alumni and faculty contributors.  

The Associate Director Communications will also work collaboratively with the Associate Director Integrated Marketing. Together, as a team within Advancement, they will conduct research, strategize, share, and collaborate to positively influence King’s external reputation, build on its ability to attract students, influence donors, heighten alumni engagement, and enable King’s to keep its relevance in the world.     

SPECIFIC DUTIES

Include but are not limited to:

Leadership

• regularly consult with internal constituents and monitor communications opportunities arising from faculty, staff, alumni, and student activity;
• work with senior leadership to identify, develop and support speaking opportunities;

work with the Associate Director of Integrated marketing to

• conduct reputational research,
• develop key messages, voice, tone, and value propositions in collaboration with others throughout the college community;
• create content that shares King’s unique story and impact;
• ensure that all communications are coordinated, consistent and maximized across channels;
• develop and implement an annual communications plan;
• create and manage a marketing & communications calendar;

University Relations

• provide general communications support to the President, Vice-President, academic program directors, and faculty;
• seek opportunities to tell stories that will be of interest to prospective students and celebrate current student success;

Media Relations

§  identify, develop, and maintain relationships with media outlets and personalities and those looking for faculty expertise;

• develop and introduce an earned media plan within the integrated annual communications planning cycle; 
• monitor media story trends and, when necessary, work with senior staff on issues management;
• arrange and/or provide training for staff spokespeople as necessary;
• act as media spokesperson when required;

Alumni Communications

• serve as editor and chief, hiring guest editors, faculty, staff and student contributors and working with the Alumni Relations Officer to ensure timely and professional publication of Tidings, the twice-yearly alumni magazine;  
• lead the production and publication of the monthly alumni/college e-newsletter, and develop and/or repurpose content for it as needed;
• manage writers to produce and update alumni profiles for Kingscommunity.ca (currently named ItTakesCourage.ca), and the alumni section of Ukings.ca; 

Fundraising Communications

• write cases for support for targeted campus initiatives;
• assist with grant proposals when needed;
• develop content that stewards gifts, such as donor profiles;
• write appeal letters and/or edit the work of others;  

Management

• perform the role of office editor, reviewing the work of others;
• hire and manages student assistants as required;
• engage external writers to assist with content development for special projects and as required;
• maintain an efficient, collaborative, and engaging work environment;
• manage a budget, determine the most effective use of funds and ensure adherence to budget limits.

REQUIRED SKILLS/KNOWLEDGE

The successful proponent will have:

• a related bachelor degree at minimum, graduate level degree is desired;
• at least seven (7) years of progressively senior experience in communications/public relations;
• at least (5) years of personnel management experience;
• a combination of corporate, not-for-profit, and post-secondary experience would be ideal;
• experience writing for a broad range of materials, from media stories, to speeches, to fundraising cases and appeals;
• knowledge of industry editorial guidelines and superb written communication skills, including the principles of plain language and Canadian Press Style Guides, to create compelling messages, to prepare and edit a variety of written materials;
• excellent interpersonal and verbal communication skills including ability to work effectively with a large number of constituents – administrators, faculty, students, donors, alumni, media professionals, etc;
• strong technical proficiency in Microsoft Office, social platforms, WordPress, and InDesign skills would be an asset;
• the political acuity to be aware of issues, processes and outcomes as they impact the university’s strategic directions and reputation;
• good judgment in the handling of confidential information.

Closing Date: Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Salary Range: $56,923 - $68,028 

To apply for this position, please forward resume and cover letter to:

Dolly McIntyre
Human Resources & Compensation Officer
University of King’s College
6350 Coburg Road
Halifax, NS B3H 2A1
dolly.mcintyre@ukings.ca

We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

The University of King’s College is an Employment Equity/Affirmative Action Employer. We encourage and welcome those who would contribute to the diversification of our staff and faculty including, but not limited to women, Aboriginal persons, persons with disabilities, visual minorities and persons of any sexual orientation or gender identity. 

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Associate Director Integrated Marketing
Advancement Office
Reporting to the Director of Advancement

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The Associate Director Integrated Marketing will lead strategy, contribute to and champion initiatives, engage in consultation with key internal audiences, and conduct external research to enable significant positive impact on the direction and performance of the marketing communications functions at the University. The Associate Director will blend strong strategic capabilities with hands-on tactical execution, overseeing –and personally contributing to – all creative marketing projects to ensure high quality and consistent execution of brand, messaging, design, and content.  

The goal of the Integrated Marketing position is to make all aspects of marketing and communications work together as a unified force.  An integrated approach ensures consistent messaging regardless of the communications platform or channel.  To that end, the Associate Director Integrated Marketing will work closely and collaboratively with the President, Vice-President and the Registrar and their teams.

Associate Director Integrated Marketing will manage Advancement’s communications coordinators, student assistant, and a small number of external service suppliers.   

The Associate Director of Integrated Marketing will work with the Associate Director of Communications. Together, as a team within Advancement, they will conduct research, strategize, share, and collaborate to positively influence King’s external reputation, build on its ability to attract students, influence donors, heighten alumni engagement, and enable King’s to keep its relevance in the world.

SPECIFIC DUTIES

Include but are not limited to:

Leadership

• lead university-wide engagement around marketing communications functions and build discipline around tracking progress, soliciting feedback, and managing to improve performance;
• drive strategy decisions by facilitating regular development planning processes with leadership and various interoffice teams to determine strategic objectives, targets and initiatives;

Research & Reporting

• work with the Associate Director of Communications to conduct reputational research;
• work with the Registrar to broaden and share market research to build competitive analysis and develop complementary strategies;
• conduct research to determine the target audience’s reaction and response to materials;
• conduct regular digital presence reviews to lead the development of communications plans for the website and social media;
• determine metrics that matter and develop analytic capabilities; 
• present regular reports on goals, progress, and recommendations;

Integrated Marketing

• responsible for linking the University’s recruiting publications, web and social platforms, and traditional media tools together to create one cohesive brand;
• develop key messages, voice, tone, and value propositions in collaboration with others throughout the college community;
• consult with counterparts at Dalhousie to seek their input and, when necessary, their approval;
• responsible for overall brand management and visual consistency;
• pro-actively source story ideas, create content, and build depth across communications platforms;
• produce well-written content and edit the work of others;
• work closely with the Associate Director of Communications sharing story ideas to leverage and maximize content across all channels;
• work with the Associate Director of Communications to create and implement an annual communication plan, with specific responsibility for:
  • ukings.ca and related websites,
  • social media,
  • print materials for recruitment/retention,
  • advertising and promotion;
• work with the Associate Director of Communications to create and manage a marketing & communications calendar;
• liaise with the Assistant Registrar Communications to provide support for content generation and strategic and creative direction as needed, while ensuring that the content developed in the Registrar’s office is consistent with the quality, tone, and messaging for King’s;
• assist the Registrar with yearly training for recruiters;

Management

• responsible for the timely development and delivery of all related print and web materials for recruitment needs;
• manage creative briefs as the primary stakeholder for all creative reviews, approvals and creative deliverables, striking a balance between consistency and flexibility;
• coach & mentor direct reports;
• hire and manage student tech/design assistants and engage external service providers to keep our digital presence up to date and secure;
• manage external creative and advertising agencies, from guiding overall direction to ensuring quality of work;
• hire photographers and videographers and other related professionals as needed and when volume demands additional assistance with copywriters, editors, web and print designers;
• maintain an efficient, collaborative, and engaging work environment to ensure the team meets deadlines and goals;
• manage a budget, determining the most effective use of funds and adherence to budget limits.

REQUIRED SKILLS/KNOWLEDGE

The successful proponent will have:

• a related bachelor degree, graduate level degree is desired;
• at least five (5) years of progressively senior experience in communications and brand management;
• at least (2) years managing personnel; 
• combination of agency and post-secondary experience is ideal;
• proven stakeholder management and strong facilitation skills, ability to work up, down and across the organization is a collaborative, inclusive and productive manner;
• high level of technical proficiency with adobe creative suite, social platforms, and WordPress.
• demonstration of creativity and collaboration to further the brand vision with proven track record of inventiveness in a highly competitive landscape;
• outstanding writing, presentation and verbal communication skills;
• from development through to deployment, a demonstrated ability to manage multiple simultaneous projects requiring frequent communication with others;
• analytical rigor and proven capability managing and interpreting hard data and metrics to measure performance and make adjustments accordingly, including primary and secondary research as well as marketing performance and the management of brand health.

Closing Date: Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Salary Range: $56,923 - $68,028 

To apply for this position, please forward resume and cover letter to:

Dolly McIntyre
Human Resources & Compensation Officer
University of King’s College
6350 Coburg Road
Halifax, NS B3H 2A1
dolly.mcintyre@ukings.ca

We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

The University of King’s College is an Employment Equity/Affirmative Action Employer. We encourage and welcome those who would contribute to the diversification of our staff and faculty including, but not limited to women, Aboriginal persons, persons with disabilities, visual minorities and persons of any sexual orientation or gender identity.