Creative And Message Strategist

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The Research Institute for Social Equity ( RISE ) in the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs invites applications for a Creative & Message Strategist. The position is responsible for creating and executing digital content strategies for the school and its affiliated institutes. The position works with the Communications Director and in close collaboration with the Information Technology team to lead and create start-to-finish digital communications and marketing strategies and content that support the mission, business goals, and strategies of the Wilder School, The Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute, and The Research Institute for Social Equity. RISE advances racial equity and social justice through multidisciplinary scholarship, research, training, and engagement. The goal of the RISE is to be the national leader in advancing social justice to inform public policy, governance, and practice to improve conditions for marginalized voices within our society, including communities of color, LGBTQIA individuals, people with disabilities, incarcerated populations, survivors of domestic violence, and women.
The Wilder School’s mission is to:

• Engage, teach and inspire students and leaders to understand and solve challenges in our world.
• Advance research that informs public policy and decision-making to improve our communities.
• Collaborate with communities through innovative partnerships to enhance the quality of life.

The Wilder School’s vision is to be the premier resource for public policy expertise and social equity in public safety, governance, and economic and community development. The 2022 U.S. News and World Report rankings confirm the Wilder School among the top 15% of graduate schools of public affairs at No. 38 and tied for No.1 in Virginia. The School is also ranked No. 19 in Social Policy, No. 28 in Urban Policy, and No. 34 in Public Management and Leadership. The Wilder School has over 1,500 students and more than 11,000 alumni, with an established environment where diverse perspectives thrive and where a common interest in public service and the betterment of society unites these perspectives together. Our academic excellence attracts the highest quality faculty, staff, and students, and our graduates are leaders in their professions. Our location in Richmond, the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, combined with our proximity to Washington, DC, provides numerous opportunities for engaged scholarship, teaching and community engagement activities. A creative, interdisciplinary School with both academic programs and training/research centers in the social sciences and professional arenas, we reflect the diversity of the communities we serve, providing students and faculty with the knowledge, skills, opportunities, and experience necessary for success.
For additional information about the Wilder School, please visit our website at https://wilder.vcu.edu/.

Typical Duties:
Principle Messaging (30%):

• Develop an effective and thoughtful bridging strategy between The Wilder School, Institutes, and other VCU websites.
• Generate pre-event content for various communication platforms, including advisories, e-blasts- newsletters briefs.
• Document school events and programs through photography.
• Develop and execute an editorial calendar for event promotion in collaboration with the school’s communication director.
• Researching effective brand for products or services as needed.
• Continuously consider brand positioning, which involves defining the benefits the target audience thinks of when they hear the brand’s name.
• Identify new outlets for messaging to advance School and Institutes’ goals.
• Contribute content to and relaying of press conferences and interviews.
• Assists in the development and implementation of a comprehensive digital strategy.
• Stay up to date on trends in design and delivery.
• Other duties as assigned.

Content Production and Coordination (50%):

• Produce clear and engaging content for websites, social media, and print.
• Collaborate with the Communications Director, Institute Directors, and other partners to develop optimal website content strategy, including information architecture, site maps, navigation, and page templates.
• Stay abreast of University brand standards, nomenclature, and changes to ensure proper adherence.
• Lead website content development and maintenance in close partnership with the Wilder School Communications team and Institute Directors.
• Oversee the production of all brand creative— academic reports, presentations, social media campaigns, and blogs— ensuring they have a consistent design, tone, and message.
• Create consistent content for marketing materials.
• Assist in the production and management of electronic newsletters, podcasts.
• Create and Co-manage social media accounts for the Wilder School, and The Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute, The Research Institute for Social Equity; creating and posting announcements, engaging content to appropriate social media channels regularly.
• Manage stock photo gallery.

Evaluation and Analysis (10%):

• Establish key performance indicators for tracking and analysis.
• Ensure maximum effectiveness of the website by measuring, analyzing, and optimizing website performance.
• Analyze and report on social media performance metrics.
• Evaluate important metrics that affect our website traffic and target audience, identifying opportunities to optimize performance, and report insights to leadership.
• Identify messaging strategies and content from similar institutes and identify their strengths or weaknesses.

Risk Management (10%):

• Manage reputation and risk demonstrating a commitment to risk assessment considering cost, benefit, and impact.

Virginia Commonwealth University is an equal opportunity, affirmative action university providing access to education and employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, political affiliation, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or disability.
Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and 1 to 3 years of relevant professional experience or equivalent combination of education, training, and experience.
• Experience in creating a variety of marketing design materials in online and hard copy formats.
• Experience with design programs such as Adobe Creative Suite, Microsoft Publisher, and other design programs.
• Capable of generating original design ideas when creating content/material.
• A minimum of two years of experience with social media and must also have minimal knowledge of HTML coding for website updates.
• Experience with MS Office Suite software.
• Experience with G-Suite, including google drive, docs, google sheets, forms, and slides.
• Experience in all social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, LinkedIn, etc.
• Experience formulating performance and end-user insights from analytics and presenting to stakeholders.
• Experience with TERMINALFOUR (T4) web content management system
• Experience in identifying best practices in digital media content generation, design and testing recommendations.
• Ability to work in a diverse environment.
• Experience developing and writing professional communications.
• Experience collaborating with a team of professionals in a fast-paced, highly complex environment.
• Ability to embrace change and to organize and effectively manage multiple priorities and projects.
• Meticulous attention to details, deadlines, and protocols.
• Demonstrated experience working in and fostering a diverse faculty, staff, and student environment, or commitment to do so as a staff member at VCU.

Preferred Qualifications

• A Bachelor’s degree in communication arts, graphics design, communication, marketing, business or business-related field from an accredited university.
• Experience working with higher education clients.
• A minimum of 2 years of experience with content creation.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Strong organizational skills and ability to multi-task with demanding time frames.
• Experiences with DSLR Camera.

Special Requirements All applications should include a cover letter and a detailed resume with the names and contact information of three professional references. A resume does not take the place of work experiences on the application.

Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled.

Special Instructions to Applicants Please apply online on company site at:
https://vcu.csod.com/ux/ats/careersite/1/home/requisition/2172?c=vcu