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Position Purpose

The Director for Marketing and Communications oversees the management and administration of marketing and communications throughout the UW School of Social Work. This position is responsible for establishing long-range goals, objectives and strategies and assuming a leadership role in initiating and implementing marketing and communications projects that enhance the educational mission, academic priorities, and overall fund-raising efforts of the School.

About The School of Social Work

At the University of Washington School of Social Work, we commit ourselves to promoting social and economic justice for poor and oppressed populations and enhancing the quality of life for all. Recently ranked No. 1 in the world among social work schools for its influential scholarship and broad impact, we strive to maximize human welfare through education, research, and public service. We embrace our position of leadership in the field of social work and join in partnership with others in society committed to solving human problems in the twenty-first century.

The UW and the School of Social Work promote diversity and inclusivity among our staff, faculty and students; we seek applicants for this position who are committed to these principles and whose experiences have prepared them to fulfill our commitment to inclusion and have given them the confidence to fully engage with audiences from a wide spectrum of backgrounds.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Strategic communications & management

•Responsible for the day-to-day management, team supervision, professional development and evaluation of the Marketing and Communications team including overseeing the hire and training of over 2+ FTE in social media, marketing and website work to support core marketing & communications efforts.
•Works closely with the Dean of the School of Social Work along with the School’s executive leadership team and other faculty and staff leaders to manage both general as well as manage urgent or sensitive communications.
•Work with the Assistant Dean of Advancement to create, implement, and evaluate key fundraising messages and themes for the School of Social Work Advancement program. Oversee the creation, design, and writing of compelling case statements/concept papers for specific UW Social Work priorities and/or capital campaigns
•Serves as the School’s chief marketing and communications officer, acting as liaison with other departments, schools, and colleges within the University and outside community.
•Manages the writing, editing, design and production of communication materials, including web-based formats for the School’s marketing communications needs and advancing the three pillars of its mission in teaching, research, and service that are part of the School’s strategic framework goals.
•Oversees the School’s digital media efforts including producing a creative and compelling School-wide e-newsletter; developing and implementing a strategic plan for the School’s social media efforts; and managing an inclusive process for the upcoming website redesign and ensuring strategic content for the website that aligns with the goals of the strategic framework. As part of this work, the Director for Marketing and Communications will provide best practice insights to the School and its Centers, will partner with SSWIT oversee web services staff to ensure that content for the website is fresh and adheres to accessibility best practices and regularly measures the performance of these communications efforts and makes recommendations for improvement.
•Collaborates with student services and admissions staff in the School to create effective communications for prospective and current students with emphasis on creating a welcoming culture of inclusivity and belonging.
•Partners with the Associate Vice President for Brand Marketing Strategy along with central UW Marketing and Communications (Marcomm) and related units across the UW to promote both research and faculty and student activities to increase the School’s visibility across the UW and through broader journalistic channels.
•Represents the School on committees, task forces and forums, including university-wide committees such as the Marketing Roundtable, UW’s Marketing and Communications Executive Council and Advancement’s Shop Talk.
•Develops, organizes and implements messaging strategy and related communications that address key issues, strategic priorities and crisis or other situations that may arise (e.g., budget, reports to Provost, President and College Board, general School messaging and major campaign or fundraising initiatives).
•Creates inventive and innovative vehicles that will enhance constituents’ interests and effectively provide information that inspires and increases engagement with the School.
•Promotes and manages media relations for the School’s broader announcements of impact by collaborating with UW News for external impact. Engages with UW News to coach faculty members in media preparedness and accompanies faculty during interviews and video/photos shoots, as necessary.
•Manages and delegates messaging for the School internally via SSW website, events postings, and social media posts to 2.5 FTE new hires.
•Selects, hires and manages vendors and contractors across multiple disciplines including graphic design firms, public relations, advertising and marketing firms, freelance writers, photographers, event design, production vendors and others as needed using processes and practices that promote equity and diversity.

Strategic & Donor related communications & marketing

•Participates in School of Social Work leadership meetings at the direction of the Assistant Dean for Advancement. Provides guidance to School’s leadership including the Dean, Associate and Assistant Deans and center directors on messaging and marketing and communications strategies and tactics for the School consistent with college values expressed in the strategic framework.
•Prepares correspondences, talking points and scripts on behalf of the Dean, including internal communications sent on behalf of the School’s leadership team, crisis communications, and responses to controversial issues relevant to the School of Social Work communities that may impact its’ reputation.
•Provides strategy and messaging support for significant college events working with college leadership and high-level volunteers and major gift donors.
•In cooperation with University Marketing & Communications, work to promote campaign/advancement messages through broad communications channels. Serve as the School’s representative to the UW Marketing & Communications Executive Committee, and other communications committees and initiatives as necessary
•Collaborates with UW News public information officer to promote and assist with media relations for the School and work to capture media attention for significant and newsworthy stories from the School.
•Evaluates, creates, and implements key fundraising messages and themes for the Advancement program. Writes compelling case statements that describe the need for private philanthropy in a public university setting. Develops and produces other fundraising brochures and materials as necessary to meet communication objectives
•Helps coach faculty members in media preparedness and accompanies them to video/radio interviews and photo shoots as necessary.
•Sits on the Advancement Executive Team and provides messaging, marketing, and communications consultation to the Assistant Dean of Advancement and the Advancement team on fundraising priorities and issues.
•Collaborates with the Advancement team on Annual Giving and Constituency Relations programs for the School with a lens towards consistent messaging that also aligns with the greater UW’s messaging and positioning efforts.
•Serves as the overall strategist for the Advancement-related marketing and communications efforts for the School, working in conjunction with the Assistant Dean of Advancement.
•Provides strategic resource for other programs and centers within the School, advising them on editorial content and the production of print, web-based or electronic communications for everything from newsletters and announcements to website direction.

Other Duties as Assigned

•Other critical duties as assigned by the Dean of the School of Social Work.  This includes but is not limited to editing special projects, video and photo shoot planning to compiling data for external use for either rating agencies and/or donors.

Supervision Received
This position reports to the Assistant Dean for Advancement in the School of Social Work.

KEY COMPETENCIES

Core

Effective communications: Expresses oneself clearly and empathetically in interactions with others and prioritizes an accessible and transparent style in all forms of communication, i.e., verbal and written, one-on-one and group, etc.
Interpersonal Awareness:   Builds and maintains positive and productive relationships and actively contributes as a member of working teams to achieve results.
Professional Credibility:   Takes responsibility for meeting goals, objectives, obligations, and solving problems while representing the mission, vision and values of the organization.
Critical Thinking:   Obtains, analyzes and evaluates information effectively in the face of ambiguity.  Makes appropriate decisions based on relevant information and experience.
Ethics and Trust:   Models and upholds the values of candor, openness, inclusiveness and honesty despite internal and external pressures.  Acts consistently with Washington State ethical guidelines and organizational core values and beliefs.
Valuing Diversity & Inclusiveness:   Respects, values and contributes to the UW’s commitment to inclusiveness and diversity.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

Bachelor of Arts in Journalism, English, Communications, Marketing, Public Relations or related field and at least 4 years of experience managing a marketing and communications team.

Equivalent education/experience will substitute for all minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license/certification/registration.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

•Strong interpersonal skills and an ability to communicative effectively.
•Strongly values the School’s and University’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. Demonstrated skills and/or curiosity about intercultural fluency, adapting messages to diverse audiences.
•Experience dealing with high level administrators, corporate executives and professionals. Ability to communicate clearly, diplomatically, inclusively and effectively. Ability to establish and maintain cooperative working relationships with the dean, department chairs, directors of centers, development officers, faculty, students, donors, prospects and alumni.
•Experience in administering and coordinating the activities of multiple parties, preferably in higher education or a comparably complex setting.
•Demonstrated ability to conceive, implement and evaluate creative marketing and communications strategies that reinforce a welcoming culture that is inclusive and promotes a sense of belonging.
•Ability to formulate short- and long-range goals and objectives for oneself and the communication team. Demonstrated management skills necessary to create a high functioning team that is able to make effective decisions.
•Demonstrated expertise in the application of writing skills to a fundraising program.
•Substantial knowledge of fundraising techniques and basic philosophy of fundraising in a higher education environment.
•Ability to communicate complex information to diverse audiences, including lay audiences and the ability to work with individuals who are leaders in their respective areas of expertise, to create compelling presentations and communications materials.
•Ability to work independently, problem solve, take initiative, set priorities, handle multiple projects, and exercise good judgment in leading and/or contributing to team efforts in a fast pace, dynamic, deadline driven environment and in an organized and professional manner.
•Ability to plan, direct and monitor budgetary matters, including the preparation of budgets and administration of expenditures.
•Familiarity with tools and skills for communicating and tracking effectiveness of messages, including:
•large content management system such as SalesForce
•market automation tools such as Marketo
•Proficiency working with Microsoft Suite (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, etc.) and database management
•social media tools and techniques
•media monitoring and targeting

DESIRED:

•Demonstrated desire to stay abreast of current trends in marketing and communications such as participation in continued professional education programs including attendance at marketing and communications conferences and online trainings.
•Demonstrated interest and personal commitment to social justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion.

WORKING CONDITIONS:

•Ability to work evening and weekend hours, as necessary, on short or limited notice.
•Must have regular and reliable transportation for local travel and willing to travel when necessary

Application Process:
The application process for UW positions may include completion of a variety of online assessments to obtain additional information that will be used in the evaluation process.  These assessments may include Work Authorization, Cover Letter and/or others.  Any assessments that you need to complete will appear on your screen as soon as you select “Apply to this position”. Once you begin an assessment, it must be completed at that time; if you do not complete the assessment you will be prompted to do so the next time you access your “My Jobs” page. If you select to take it later, it will appear on your "My Jobs" page to take when you are ready. Please note that your application will not be reviewed, and you will not be considered for this position until all required assessments have been completed.