The Associate Director leads, coordinates, and disseminates strategic communications, primarily focused on supporting the communications efforts for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and Human Resources and is an essential resource that is fully integrated with the broader marketing and communications team. Under the general direction of the Director of Internal Communications, the Associate Director helps ensure brand consistency, mission/DEI alignment, quality assurance, and functionality/accessibility of mission-critical promotional and communications channels and content utilized to engage the identified target audiences. The incumbent serves as a senior client relationship manager, project planner, and digital expert to ensure successful delivery of projects and tasks within established deadlines and budgets. The Associate Director leads a comprehensive portfolio of activities ranging from strategic to tactical, technical to creative, training to production--and in all aspects, ensuring excellence in quality. The position supervises professional staff, external partners, students, and/or other resources as assigned. This position will split time evenly supporting the Office of DEI and Human Resources Department.

Position Specific Responsibilities/Accountabilities

Communications Strategy, Management, and Planning

• Create, develop, and implement all phases and elements of robust communications and engagement plans, tactics, and strategies. Share annual plans with DEI, HR, and MarComm leadership to ensure awareness and understanding of efforts and approach.
• Manage and implement concurrent, independent short-, medium-, and long-term communications projects that support DEI and HR goals and priorities. Develop and implement communications plans, website maintenance and editorial schedules, and production schedules for DEI and HR communications efforts.
• Direct DEI and HR communications strategies, including digital communications channels such as social media, and mobile apps to ensure a unified and visually cohesive and integrated user experience that reflects identified outcomes.
• Ensure projects are completed by identified deadlines and on budget. Assure successful outcomes by adopting best-practice project management methodologies, quality assurance metrics, and risk mitigation plans. Assure the integrity, high-quality, and consistency of the university's image, tone, style, narrative, visual identity, and brand.
• Serve as the communications producer for DEI and HR leadership. Collaborate closely with leadership as a thought partner and strategist, translating complex concepts and vision into clear, compelling, and thought-provoking messages and narratives that engage community constituents.

Writing, Editing, and Producing

• Create and curate content (feature stories, spotlights, etc.) to be disseminated across various communications channels. Produce, edit, and approve traditional and digital communications products that support activities and programs and engage identified target audiences.
• Ensure projects are completed by identified deadlines and on budget. Assure successful outcomes by adopting best-practice project management methodologies, quality assurance metrics, and risk mitigation plans.
• Set and ensure high standards for accuracy, narrative structure, consistency and tone, voice and cadence, word usage, style, brand narratives, and other quality assurance guidelines for communications from DEI and HR.
• Assure attention to detail through fact-checking and verification protocols. Devise and implement production workflows to support objectives and streamline requests, reviews, and approvals.
• Stay abreast of news topics and trends related to higher education, leadership, economic, popular culture, politics, or other subject matters that may be reflected or referenced in communications. Maintain an organized, current, and functional library of reference information, statistics, rankings, news sources, articles, etc. for immediate retrieval.

Collaboration, Coordination, and Training

• Coordinate with MarComm colleagues to incorporate objectives into broader communications and marketing activities, talking points, presentations, reports, social media efforts, and other channels.
• Provide guidance and leadership on emerging trends, content, design, presentation and production of communications engagement tools and platforms.

Quality Assurance, Reporting

• Ensure quality assurance standards are applied to and integrated with all work and projects. Review and monitor compliance with branding standards, visual identity, and messaging guidelines. Audit digital media channels and recommend solutions. Devise plans and educate clients regarding alternative approaches and emerging trends.
• Guide colleagues, content providers, faculty, campus administrators and freelancers in a variety of topics including writing styles, design and functionality. Recommend information architecture approaches and photography selections. Review and/or audit client copy/design/functionality and report whether objectives are being met.
• Maintain the integrity and accuracy of public information while seeking new and innovative ways to improve the presentation of content, functionality, and design of all assigned communications.
• Complete other duties and projects as assigned.

Loyola Marymount University Expectations

Exhibit behavior that supports the mission, vision, and values of the university. Communicate and employ interpersonal actions that model high standards of professional, responsible, accountable and ethical conduct. Demonstrate a commitment to outstanding customer service.

The incumbent must have the ability to supervise creative, communications and technical personnel and manage complex projects with dependencies, deadlines, budgets and outside resources. The incumbent must possess the ability to implement marketing and communication principles and strategies in the execution of complex communications projects. The incumbent must have the ability to initiate ideas, develop concepts and review the effectiveness of processes to ensure professional standards and high quality. The incumbent has the ability to assess the needs of internal clients and suggest appropriate measures to meet those needs or redirect those requests to the appropriate areas. The incumbent is able to work effectively and independently with internal and external constituencies. The incumbent has the ability to operate in an environment in which skilled relationship management and consensus-building is required to deliver successful outcomes.

Requisite Qualifications

• Typically a Bachelor's degree or equvalent experience. Master's degree preferred in communications, marketing, journalism, or business management, or equivalent experience in a related field. Incumbent will be expected to continue upgrading knowledge, skills and abilities needed to stay abreast of best practices and industry trends.
• Minimum four years' experience in an institutional, corporate, or executive consulting role coordinating digital strategy and marketing/communications with progressive managerial and supervisory experience. Must posess ability to work effectively and independently with internal and external consistuencies and with professionals of varied disciplines to accomplish tasks and projects.
• Proficient in current web technology including HTML, CSS, XML, SQL, MySQL, PHP, and JavaScript, web servers and server-side technology, code versioning technology such as Git, JS libraries and frameworks; Google analytics; search engine optimization, schema; best practices for content marketing, responsive design; usability testing and tools; HTML email tools; content management systems (in particular, Terminal 4 and WordPress); proven ability to generate, analyze, and interpret web metrics to inform strategic decision making; visual design, Adobe Creative Suite, web animation, audio/video; knowledge of best practices for user interface (UI) and user experience (UX).
• Must be able to demonstrate experience and commitment in aligning with an organizational brand and be able to articulate support for the university's DEI commitments through role.
• Demonstrated expert-level understanding of creative process and ability to synthesize highly complex information into the formulation of editorial concepts. Demonstrated ability to implement communications projects to satisfy objectives.
• Demonstrated computer proficiency with common software production suites.
• Possesses exceptional verbal and written communications skills and compelling and impactful presentation abilities. Can demonstrate the ability to motivate and inspire teams as well as colleagues, constituents, and audiences.
• Highly collaborative style with experience developing and implementing communications strategies successfully; background that demonstrates relationship cultivation, consensus building, flexibility, team orientation, and managing through influencing.
• Must be able to perform effectively in a fast-paced, intellectually intense, creatively challenging, service-oriented environment, while also managing multiple projects with varying deadlines.
• Experience working successfully in a complex organization, preferably in higher education.
• Willing and able to adjust to changing demands and shifting priorities, and address urgencies that arise on evenings or weekends.
• Evidence of positive, energetic, and flexible leadership style with a track record for producing high-quality deliverables with meticulous attention to detail. Must be metrics driven and results oriented with excellent analytical skills. Ability to provide quick turnaround and updates for multiple requests while maintaining high quality work.
• Self-starter, able to work independently and entrepreneurially; experience creating, developing and implementing new initiatives.
• Excellent judgement and creative problem-solving skills, including negotiation, mediation, and conflict resolution skills.

For full consideration, please provide the following:

• Resume
• Cover Letter

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required of personnel so classified.

Reasonable Expected Salary - $80,000 - $85,000. Salary offer commensurate with education and experience.

#HERC# #HEJ#

Staff Regular

Salary range

$64,480.00 - $83,600.00 Salary commensurate with education and experience.

Loyola Marymount University, a Carnegie classified R2 institution in the mainstream of American Catholic higher education, seeks outstanding applicants who value its mission and share its commitment to inclusive excellence, the education of the whole person, and the building of a just society. LMU is an equal opportunity employer committed to providing an environment free from discrimination and harassment as defined by federal, state and local law. We invite all persons in the full diversity of their being, life experience, and beliefs to apply. (Visit www.lmu.edu for more information.)