"Director of Marketing and Communications"

APPLICATION PROCESS AND HIRING TIMELINE INFORMATION

To apply for this position, you should submit:

1. KWU Employment Application

2. Cover letter,

3. Resume/curriculum vitae,

4. Three references,

5. Desired salary (may be entered on application)

6. Please email your application materials to hr@kwu.edu.

The timeline for filling this position is:

• Applications will be taken until the position is filled.

• Interviews will begin when qualified applicants are identified and continue until a hiring decision is made.

• Expectations are that the person will begin transition into the position no later than June 1, 2024, with fulltime capacity beginning in July.

KWU is an Equal Opportunity Employer and encourages diversity in employment. We will check references of

past employers and personal references. We will acknowledge receipt of your application as soon as we receive it.

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

POSITION TITLE: Director of Marketing and Communications

POSITION’S OPERATING GROUP: Advancement, Admissions and Marketing

OPERATING GROUP’S PURPOSE AND MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES: The operating group of Advancement,

Admissions and Marketing works as one to grow, advance and maintain the high standards of KWU.

POSITION’S DEPARTMENT: Marketing and Communications (MARCOM)

DEPARTMENT’S PURPOSE AND MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES: The purpose of the Marketing and Communications

Office is to promote Kansas Wesleyan University, both internally and externally. This includes recruitment

advertising and fundraising campaigns, media relations and brand management, as well as disseminating

information to KWU staff and faculty. The MARCOM office is a staff of three full-time employees – including

this position – multiple part-time assistants and occasional interns. The office has won 12 notable awards in

the last three years. This position would be the fourth full-time role, with a targeted start date of the early

summer. The department operates in a positive, team-based culture of ideas and constant movement.

POSITION’S DIRECT SUPERVISOR: Assistant Vice President of MARCOM

DATE POSITION LAST REVIEWED OR ANALYZED: March 2024. Revised by MARCOM and Human Resources.

POSITION’S EMPLOYMENT STATUS: Staff, Full-Time, Salaried/Exempt (administrative professional exemption), AtWill

POSITION’S SALARY OR SALARY RANGE AND BENEFITS: Salary to be determined at hiring based on the applicant’s

qualifications and experience. Benefits are available for full-time employees.

Position Description – Director of Marketing and Communications | Page 2

POSITION INFORMATION

POSITION SUMMARY: This position is a director-level role in the Kansas Wesleyan’s Marketing and

Communications office. Its chief task is to serve as a project manager, helping ensure that operations continue in

the absence of the assistant vice president. This would include working with MARCOM staff, individuals this role

would not manage, already in place to produce elite-level products for the benefit of the institution. As such, the

successful candidate should have experience – with positive results – of working in an organization where success

depends on getting buy-in from people they do not manage.

• They should understand the importance of community in the marketing and communications efforts of a

small college, and the ideal candidate will work toward increasing community engagement through

fueling sponsorships that benefit the recruitment and advancement goals of the institution (these are

sponsorships made by the institution, not to the institution).

• This individual will be tasked with important work on the university’s social media accounts, to include

management, copywriting, and monitoring, and must have professional experience with social media

manager. Experience placing social media ads is also required.

• This individual should have on-camera and/or on-air experience, providing the ability to more easily serve

as a university spokesperson in the absence of the assistant vice president (AVP). Crisis communications

knowledge and experience is also required, as this person will work with the AVP in the event of a

university-level emergency.

• The role must have knowledge of AP style and the ability to contribute to the office’s writing needs,

whether through copywriting, press releases or production of letters, speeches and emails for executive

staff. The ideal candidate would be a high-level writer with notable professional experience.

• Finally, the role will work with the assistant director of marketing and communications to manage needs

surrounding the Community Resilience Hub. This includes written material, management of the group’s

website, social media assistance and graphic design (in coordination with the graphic designer).

POSITION WORKS WITH: 4-5 people who work directly in the Marketing and Communications Office and

numerous individuals in departments throughout campus.

POSITION’S BUDGET AUTHORITY: None

POSITION’S PHYSICAL WORKING CONDITIONS: This position is in a typical office environment.

POSITION’S UNUSUAL HAZARDS OR WORKING CONDITIONS: None

POSITION’S WORK SCHEDULE: The successful candidate will work a full-time schedule, with attendance at

approximately 5-10 university events per year (Commencement, Homecoming, etc.) expected outside of that.

Occasional remote hours may be allowed for the successful candidate, but those hours will be limited and

should be discussed prior to accepting the role.

POSITION’S TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS: None

POSITION DUTIES AND PERFORMANCE MEASURES

POSITION’S ESSENTIAL DUTIES:

PROJECT MANAGEMENT/VENDOR MANAGEMENT

• Assists with the management of the university’s marketing and communications vendor and marketing

partner relationships, to include some portion of contracted assistance, printing needs, marketing partners

and more, with a goal of creating a mutually beneficial association.

• Serve as the university’s secondary marketing and communications project manager. This may include videos,

website maintenance and more.

• Works directly with the assistant vice president to monitor staff workload in correlation to projects needed.

Position Description – Director of Marketing and Communications | Page 3

COMMUNITY RESILIENCE HUB

• Manages the day-to-day MARCOM needs of the Community Resilience Hub, making sure that all staff

members are involved and kept “in the know” about future needs. Expected to attend monthly strategy

meetings and discussions with CRH leadership and report to the rest of the office. Involves all needed staff

members in CRH projects, as feasible.

o Works with the CRH to establish and enforce expected timelines for project submission and

turnaround times.

o Coordinates project-related work with the assistant vice president, in order to monitor staff

workload and manage overall university mindset.

o Works alongside the assistant director of marketing and communications to harmonize

brand and verbiage and determine content of written materials.

o Works with the graphic designer to output needed materials.

MARKETING

• Assists with marketing strategy at the institutional level. Will be given specific operational items to manage,

depending on experience.

SOCIAL MEDIA

• Assists with all social media content creation, posting and monitoring; serves as manager of designated

channels.

• Assists with all social media ads, as needed, in coordination with the coordinator of enrollment marketing, the

assistant vice president, and appropriate vendors.

• Provides social media training, upon request, to individuals with department/team account management

access.

COMMUNICATIONS

• Serves as the university’s secondary media spokesperson.

• In the event of the absence of the assistant vice president, expected to serve as university’s communications

lead during crises, to include social media monitoring and website updates, as well as communication with

media members. In other such events, may be expected to work in concert with the AVP.

• Assists with media relations as needed and provide training/coaching to interviewees.

• Assists with university-level writing, to include emails, press releases, social media copyrighting and more.

• May assist with management and production of the university’s email communications, whether through its

new CRM or Constant Contact.

STRATEGIC PLANNING/BRAND MANAGEMENT

• Aids in efforts to develop day-to-day marketing and communications usage policies for the institution, with a

focus on brand consistency, usability, and the betterment of KWU.

• Ensures all projects managed and produced adhere to KWU brand standards, in coordination with the

assistant director of marketing and communications.

OTHER DUTIES AS ASSIGNED

• May be asked to serve as voice on occasional radio ads, with initial supervision, depending on skill set.

• May provide assistance with campus photography on occasion.

• Will be asked to work with executive leadership for material production, particularly in the absence of the

assistant vice president.

Position Description – Director of Marketing and Communications | Page 4

POSITION’S PERFORMANCE MEASURES AND STANDARDS: Actual performance standards for each measure will

be set at least annually after consultation between the job holder and their direct supervisor based on the job

holder’s existing qualifications and experience.

1. Makes sure communications are distributed on time and error-free

2. Proactively seeks improvements and contributions, both to regular tasks and required contributions to

materials needed for position

3. Contributes to a positive culture around campus and, specifically, in the Advancement/Admissions/MARCOM

area

4. Show solid understanding of KWU brand and adheres to AP and university style

5. Improves brand through management of and contribution to various social media accounts

6. Communicates professionally and with a positive attitude, seeks to establish answers and find solutions

7. Successfully works alongside MARCOM staff to further Community Resilience Hub’s image and goals.

POSITION QUALIFICATIONS

EDUCATION:

• MINIMUM REQUIRED: Bachelor’s Degree

• PREFERRED: None

CERTIFICATIONS AND LICENSES:

• MINIMUM REQUIRED: None

• PREFERRED: None

WORK EXPERIENCE:

• MINIMUM REQUIRED: Eight years of professional experience

• STRONGLY PREFERRED: 10-12 years of professional experience

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, ABILITIES, and ATTITUDES – KSAA’s:

MINIMUM EXPECTED – Individuals with the majority of these qualifications are encouraged to apply.

• A Bachelor's degree is required.

• Demonstrated ability to work both independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced and rapidly changing

environment.

• 5-10 years of regional marketing experience, to include both digital and traditional promotion methods.

• 5-10 years of professional social media management, including copywriting.

• 3-5 years of experience with writing press releases; has the ability to contribute to the office’s writing needs.

• Experience managing social media ads on various platforms, such as Bing, Google, YouTube, Facebook,

Instagram and LinkedIn.

• Documented, successful experience on air or on camera (i.e. being interviewed).

• Crisis communications experience, other than COVID-19.

• Experience managing vendors and marketing partners.

• Experience working with different departments and/or organizational groups to achieve successful outcomes.

• Experience developing and implementing organizational marketing and communications policies, including

conducting needing training throughout the organization.

• Documented project management experience, both significant and small, that led to positive outcomes.

• Demonstrated ability to meet project deadlines and successfully manage multiple priorities.

• Ability to maintain quality of product by reviewing material for content, accuracy and neatness.

• Demonstrated ability to execute and communicate creative vision.

• Demonstrated effective verbal, written and interpersonal communication skills.

• The ability to relate to individuals in varying positions within an organization; i.e., being comfortable in

meetings with the university President and with part-time employees.

• Documented experience with media relations.

Position Description – Director of Marketing and Communications | Page 5

• Experience with brand consistency and management.

• Experience managing video projects from start to finish (both working with a vendor and work managed

through in-house staff will be accepted); editing skills NOT required.

• Knowledge of AP style.

PREFERRED

• 1-3 years’ experience working in higher education.

• 1-3 years’ experience with recent versions of WordPress.

• Expertise in AP Style; a higher-level writer is strongly preferred.

• Experience working with executive leadership to craft necessary messaging.

• Documented experience with Constant Contact or similar email marketing program is strongly preferred.

• Comfort with MAC platforms and software

• Experience working in a matrixed organization; one where successful project outcomes depend on input

from individuals not managed by the position.

• Ability to see a position holistically, not just how it will affect the candidate’s office or position.

• Experience with DSLR camera usage.

NOTICE OF SPECIAL JOB OR EMPLOYMENT REQUIREMENTS

1. THIS JOB/POSITION DESCRIPTION IS NOT DESIGNED TO COVER OR CONTAIN A COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF ALL

DUTIES AND RESULTS TO BE PERFORMED IN THIS POSITION. DUTIES AND PERFORMANCE STANDARDS MAY BE

ADDED, SUBTRACTED, AND/OR CHANGED BY YOUR SUPERVISOR AT ANY TIME DUE TO CHANGES IN

DEPARTMENT OR UNIVERSITY REQUIREMENTS.

2. Unless exempt due to an employment contract signed by the President of the University, all employees of

Kansas Wesleyan are to be considered as an “at-will” employee.

3. All employees of Kansas Wesleyan University are considered to be “responsible employees” pertaining to Title

IX regulations concerning both the prevention and reporting of sexual assault or harassment situations. As

such, all employees must communicate with the Title IX Coordinator if they witness or hear about a sexual

assault or harassment situation.

4. Kansas Wesleyan University is an equal opportunity employer and complies with EEOC and ADA employment

requirements. It is and has been the policy of Kansas Wesleyan University to grant equal opportunity to all

qualified persons without unlawful discrimination based on race, color, gender, age, national origin, ancestry,

ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, religion, or veteran status. In order to fulfill its mission as a United

Methodist affiliated institution, preference in hiring shall be given to persons who can affirm the Institution’s

mission.

5. All “offers of employment” are subject to a criminal background check prior to employment.

6. All items created by this position are the sole property of Kansas Wesleyan University