
Associate Director, Advancement Communications
- Brandeis, CA
- Permanent
- Full-time
- Sets overall content strategy for IA, in partnership with the executive director.
- Generate content ideas and repurposes existing content in order to create integrated marketing campaigns across channels
- Create and maintain story/content idea database
- Create and maintain editorial calendar(s)
- Build strong working relationships with clients and stakeholders across and outside Advancement so they regard team as trusted advisors.
- Serves as lead writer for Institutional Advancement; personally, writes high-priority projects
- Assigns writing assignments to staff and freelance writers; serves as editor and coach
- Writes content for all channels, including websites, broadcast email, brochures, appeals, and more.
- Edit the work of other IA writers.
- Educate colleagues and clients and advocate for engaging, concise, audience-focused content
- Maintain and enforce IA editorial style guide
- Establish a proofreading process to ensure all communications are reviewed before they are published.
- Supervise the Integrated Content Strategy Manager. Set annual goals and conduct annual performance reviews. Establish priorities and monitor work output.
- Serve as a mentor and coach to manager and other colleagues.
- Experience in higher education preferred, as well as knowledge of alumni relations and especially development/fundraising.
- Sophisticated, versatile writer able to write compelling content for different audiences and different mediums (e.g. articles, appeals, brochures, video, social media). Able to seamlessly embed key marketing messages within content while telling engaging stories.
- Strategic mindset with demonstrated ability to align content choices and creation with organizational priorities.
- Ability to balance competing interests of internal stakeholders while putting our audiences first.
- Knowledge of best practices and trends in marketing communications. Curiosity and commitment to learning/growth.
- Experience working with graphic designers and photographers helpful
- Strong organizational, interpersonal, analytical, and project management skills.
- Proficiency in office applications (Brandeis uses the Google Workspace suite and MS Office) with an ability to become comfortable and productive with our alumni and donor systems. (We recently converted to Ascend, a Salesforce CRM for higher education.)
- Demonstrates sound judgment and discretion when dealing with highly confidential information about alumni, donors, and other constituents.
- Must be willing and able to work occasional evenings and weekends as needed to cover events and/or meet deadlines.