Job Title:

Marketing & Communications Manager

Job Category:

Exempt

Reports to:

COO

Travel:

5%

Salary:

$50-60k, Commensurate with qualifications and experience

Position Type:

Full Time

Benefits:

Benefits for all FT/PT staff include: 401(k) with match up to 5%; paid time off (PTO) and paid holidays including up to one week winter holiday closure; company apparel and employee assistance plan.  Auto, home and pet insurance options are also available.

Employees who regularly work 30 hours or more per week are eligible for full health, dental, life/AD&D insurance and additional supplemental choices including vision and STD/LTD; all insurance effective immediately upon hire.

Additional Perks:

Updated office space with patio, relaxed casual work environment, easy access to major highways, intentional company culture, electronic access to paystubs and W2’s, annual compensation reviews, flexible schedule, professional development and networking opportunities, company laptop, mileage reimbursement.

FRIENDS FIRST is a non-profit, peer mentoring organization serving schools and communities with quality programming since 1993.  Our mission is to educate and mentor teens to make positive life choices and develop healthy relationships. 

Our signature program is the STARS Peer Mentoring Program. STARS stands for Students Teaching About Relationships and Success, and is an evidence informed, cross-age peer-to-peer mentoring program in which adult FRIENDS FIRST Program Coordinators mentor older high school students who in turn mentor younger high school and middle school students, ages 11-14.  One core element of STARS is MentorLife™, which encourages participants to always have someone investing in them and then pay it forward by investing in others.

Job Summary: As the department head and middle level manager, the Marketing and Communications Manager is a strategic, self-motivated leader with experience creating and directing communications and marketing initiatives for a mission driven organization.  With an emphasis on program marketing, communications and consistent branding, this position also supports event marketing and donor engagement through communications and various marketing channels. Experience with event marketing and stakeholder engagement is crucial to the success of this role.  Particular skill in organizational communications strategy both internally and externally is also key.  Campaign and project level strategy with organizational metric development is essential.  With the support of the CEO, this person will be responsible for raising the organization and the programs’ profile amongst targeted audiences both locally and nationally as FRIENDS FIRST seeks to be known as the premier peer to peer mentoring organization.  This person will collaborate with the Executive Team to create and write overarching external and internal messaging.  The ability to drive, measure and evaluate communications, messaging and branding to various stakeholders including students, parents, schools, community partners, and funders is vital.  In addition, the marketing and communications manager will create and/or oversee the design and content of a wide range of marketing collateral including brochures, invitations, campaign emails, flyers, reports, external presentations, videos and social media postings.

Job Responsibilities:

·       Manage, direct and create all needed organizational messaging in alignment with the strategic plan and the vision of the FRIENDS FIRST Board of Directors and Executive Team.

·       Oversee and execute an annual organization communication strategy and plan.

·       Identify, create and maintain a collection of programming and organizational  success stories, especially as it relates to programming to be used for the website, creation of promotional and testimonial videos, stakeholder quotes, social media communications, marketing collateral, reports, presentations and events.

·       Support event marketing and donor engagement through communications and various marketing channels.

·       Provide development campaign and project level strategy with organizational metrics.

·       Support the development team by creating ongoing marketing and communications plans for fundraising efforts.

·       Provide support, coordination and technical direction and assistance for events. 

·       Using a variety of techniques and communication channels, tell the FRIENDS FIRST story in a way that engages key stakeholders, including parents, students, funders, schools, partners and community leaders.

·       Manage and implement the goals and objectives of the strategic marketing plan, providing monthly status reports with annual reviews and adaptations as needed.

·       Measure and analyze the effectiveness of all marketing efforts.

·       Manage the marketing budget adhering to the overall plan.

·       Oversee the design and dissemination of the annual report, holiday and thank you cards, event invitations, success stories, stakeholder reports and other marketing materials.

·       Work closely with external partners, vendors and internal support staff on design, quality and production within budget parameters.

·       Develop systems and processes to support marketing strategy and ensure all staff and programs maintain brand integrity.

·       Strategically plan communications for press releases and social media posts (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Snapchat, YouTube)

·       Plan direct mail, and e-news communication for the FRIENDS FIRST community at large.

·       Ensure ongoing maintenance of the FRIENDS FIRST and STARS National Conference websites.

·       Attend the STARS National Conference, MentorLife Summit, Graduations and other FRIENDS FIRST events for event administrative and promotional support as assigned.

·       Provide technical and marketing support to team members for internal and external presentations.

·       Supervise and coach Digital Media Assistant.

Contribute to team effort by accomplishing other duties as assigned.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

·       As part of the team, will have a role in the preparation and execution of MLS, SNC and other events driven by the STARS Program.

·        Must have reliable transportation with proof of insurance and acceptable driving record.

·       Able to drive to multiple locations in a single day.

·       Available to work some evenings, occasional weekends and overnights, with out of state travel if job requires.

QUALIFICATIONS:

The Marketing and Communications Manager must possess strong overall communication and presentation skills to effectively network with and engage a wide range of community members and stakeholders around the mission, vision and values of the organization. Must own and drive the marketing strategy, goals and branding while leading staff with passion and enthusiasm in understanding and embracing marketing efforts and initiatives. A highly organized and assertive individual with excellent, writing, editing, communication and mult-media skills; attention to detail and the ability to work independently to meet deadlines and project goals is critical. This person must be excellent at creating clear departmental processes and procedures to support the strategic goals of the department and the organization at large; an inspiring leader who thrives in an environment of innovation and change.

Required

·       Bachelor’s Degree in marketing, communications/business or a related field.

·       Minimally three years of marketing industry, leadership and management experience.

·       Experience in communications and marketing for fundraising and friendraising events.

·       Experience with event marketing, stakeholder and donor engagement.

·       Ability to lead campaign project level strategy with organizational metrics.

·       Experience managing organizational social media presence.

·       Experience managing multiple projects and meeting goals in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.

·       Successful at organizing, planning, strategizing, and prioritizing work.

·       Skilled with Constant Contact, Adobe Premier, Adobe Creative Suite and video making software applications.

·       Basic HTML language and familiarity with text to donate processes and programs.

·       Ability to create and maintain a website using WIX platform.

·       Excellent writing and editing skills with attention to detail.

·       Excellent interpersonal, collaboration and communication skills.

·       Sound decision making and problem solving capabilities.

·       Ability to create engaging written communication such as formal letters, short articles, online communication, and general event and marketing correspondence.

·       Skilled at graphic design and proficient with Microsoft office suite.

·       Effective internet and social media strategies that have increased company outreach to target audiences.

·       Strong interpersonal skills, sound judgment, superior decision-making.

·       Well developed, demonstrated teamwork skills.

·         Previous supervisory experience.

·       Ability to build strong, symbiotic, reciprocal relationships with peer managers to also serve as accountability partners working together for the greater good of the organization and in alignment with the strategic goals and initiatives.

·       Ability to see the big picture and provide useful advice and input across the company.

·       Flexible and adaptable; able to lead and thrive in an environment of innovation and change.

Preferred

·       Experience using a customer relations management database for marketing campaigns.

·       Creative eye for photography/videography.

·       Intermediate experience with Prezi.

·       Non-profit experience.

·       Experience working in a federally grant funded organization.

·       Fluent Bilingual (Full command of both Spanish and English).

Physical Demands:

This position is regularly required to sit, stand, walk, speak, and hear. The position requires extensive computer use so the employee must have sufficient hand dexterity to use a computer keyboard and be capable of reading a computer screen. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 30 pounds. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable otherwise qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Limitations and Disclaimer:

This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the employee occupying this position.  Employees will be required to follow any other job-related instructions and to perform other job-related duties requested by their supervisor in compliance with Federal and State Laws.

Requirements are representative of minimum levels of knowledge, skills and/or abilities.  To perform this job successfully, the employee must possess the abilities or aptitudes to perform each duty proficiently.  Continued employment remains on an “at-will” basis.