Director of Marketing and Communications

DESCRIPTION OF USCJ 

USCJ is the synagogue network organization for the Conservative Movement of Judaism in North America. Our services and programs are focused on three key areas:

• We are supporting and strengthening congregations. We support and connect congregations and their leaders. We develop and deliver a portfolio of services and programs, including leadership training for congregational lay leaders and professional staff to help them identify, embrace, and respond to the needs of the 21st-century Jewish community. 
• We engage teens. Our USY program engages thousands of teens in synagogues and other settings. Our Nativ program provides first-year college students with an immersive gap year in Israel.  
• Through a partnership with the Rabbinical Assembly, we also serve as a vital resource for the Movement, working strategically to expand our reach to engage individuals beyond synagogue walls.

Mission Critical: This position is integral to achieving the vision and mission of The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, as the Marketing and Communications Department serves as the central internal agency for several departments within the organization.

Position Purpose: The Director of Marketing and Communications will lead the internal marketing team and external resources to:

1. Create an overarching strategic umbrella that includes innovative marketing strategies to build our brand, leading to increased awareness, positive perceptions, attitudes, and relevance.

2. Drive awareness, engagement, and participation across our portfolio of programs and services

3. Enhance organizational fundraising revenue among our target audiences.

Our ideal candidate possesses excellent communication, relationship-building, and leadership skills, with proven success in traditional and innovative campaigns across today & marketing channels. We are looking for a groundbreaking leader with strategic, creative, and financial acumen, as well as a strong business intellect and relationship-building skills, to take our organization and its programs to the next level.

The Director of Marketing and Communication will work directly with the Chief Programming Officer (CPO) and work collaboratively with the other USCJ senior leadership team members to develop and implement a comprehensive marketing strategy that helps achieve organization-wide goals. The Director of Marketing will need to collaborate and build strong relationships with Program leaders, Board, and Marketing Committee, as well as oversee, manage and mentor the marketing team and all communications contractors.

The successful candidate will:

• Design, develop, manage, and continually optimize a comprehensive long- and short-term marketing plan that sets clear and measurable goals and metrics, including specific financial outcomes.
• Create the “brand standard” for USCJ, develop and manage the brand messaging and oversee the 360-implementation of the brand across the organization and its external relationships.
• Launch, manage and optimize innovative program-specific marketing campaigns that drive engagement and participation for USCJ lines of programming:

o Synagogue Leadership

o Teen Engagement (USY teen recruitment for regional/branch programs, summer programs, and Nativ Israel gap year programs).

o Direct to-consumer initiatives to current synagogue members with new content and news about our movement

o Expanding Our Reach initiative to directly engage new audiences not currently impacted by our member synagogues

• Work cross-functionally with other USCJ departments to fulfill USCJ’s communications and larger goals.
• As necessary, oversee public relations and all communications leveraging external vendors and internal subject matter experts.
• Develop and implement direct mail (physical and digital) fundraising operations in partnership with the Financial Resource Development (FRD) Department.
• Exemplify a commitment to ongoing learning and excellence.
• Become the subject matter expert on modern-era Jewish journeys.
• Understand and document how our constituents interact with us and develop communications that support the progression from gaining awareness to participating to becoming advocates.
• Leverage market data, key customer insights, competitive intelligence, emerging channel trends, and input from colleagues leading the initiatives to craft annual marketing plans for the USCJ and USY segments.

SCOPE OF RESPONSIBILITIES

Brand Marketing

• Create the “brand standard” for USCJ, develop and manage the brand messaging and oversee the 360-implementation of the brand across the organization and its external relationships.
• Design, develop, manage, and continually optimize a comprehensive long- and short-term marketing plan that sets clear and measurable goals and metrics, including specific financial outcomes.
• Develop and execute data-driven marketing campaigns, traditional paper mail, email, social media, word of mouth (WOM) marketing, referral marketing, and influencer marketing to attract participants and communicate the value of USCJ.

o Lead the collection and analysis of data to optimize efforts and results for departmental and pan-organizational initiatives. Utilize data to tailor communications to specific customer segments within our audience to increase relevance, readership, and perceived value. 

Program Marketing

• Launch, manage and optimize innovative marketing campaigns that drive engagement with USCJ programs.
• Partner with the department of Synagogue Leadership and serve as a resource to member congregations in developing marketing plans, campaigns, communication, and social media strategies. Offer workshops and webinars to our member synagogues on these strategies. Partner with our Teen Engagement Department (USY and Nativ) to create compelling value propositions and develop and implement communication plans that drive engagement, recruitment, participation, etc.

Public Relations

• Oversee public relations and all communications.

o Work with external media consultants to address press inquiries, publicity, and appropriate advocacy.  

o Reinforce USCJ thought leadership of the organization’s professionals

o Publicize innovative pilot programs and success stories inside and outside of the organization.

Fundraising

• Support and enhance fundraising efforts:

o Participate in the development of a case-for-giving

o Drive direct marketing, cultivation, and solicitation of small and mid-level donors and USY/Nativ alumni using all direct channels to achieve a specific fundraising goal. Coordinate with the development professionals, outside fundraising consultant, and volunteer leadership across these efforts. 

Team Development/Management

• Manage, mentor, and motivate a dedicated communications/marketing team to support the development and execution of the marketing and communications strategy.
• Establish and monitor staff performance and development goals, set objectives and evaluation metrics, and conduct annual performance appraisals.

Board Engagement

• Serve as primary staff for the Marketing and Communications Committee.

REQUIREMENTS

• At least eight years of strategic brand and product/program marketing, at least four years in a supervisory role. Must be adept at distilling complex program benefits and attributes into clear, compelling messaging and targeted campaigns
• Energetic team player who creates trust, exudes credibility, and elevates enthusiasm.
• Track record in creating high-impact, integrated communication plans that build the case for investment in communications to gain significant results/ROI
• Motivated by a constant desire to improve, both personally and professionally
• Transparent about challenges in addition to progress and success
• Excellent public speaking skills
• Excellent written communication skills
• At least four years of relationship marketing experience using direct and digital channels (including social media, word of mouth (WOM) marketing, referral marketing, and influencer marketing), ideally in an “in-house” leadership role within a complex (number and variety of constituents) organizational environment and covering areas such as website content, newsletter, and donor communications. 
• Understand and have experience in customer segmentation and personalization and expertise in planning, executing, and measuring campaigns utilizing direct marketing and social media. 

o Be data-driven, adept at collecting, analyzing, and utilizing data to optimize efforts and results. Must be familiar with CRM systems and related tools (Salesforce and Pardot a plus).

• Experience with customer journey mapping, communication planning, and content strategy and development.
• Experience working within an organization that serves constituents across multiple locations. 
• Experience in the teen and young adult market is preferred. 
• A bachelor’s degree in communications, Journalism, Public Relations, English, Marketing, or a related field. Graduate degree in Marketing or Communications preferred.

RELEVANT SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

• Proven ability to distill, articulate and execute a vision
• Experience developing and implementing data-driven, multi-modal strategic communications plans.
• Ability to coordinate the efforts of multiple parties and to work in team environments
• Strong administrative and project management skills
• Outstanding writing/editing and verbal communication skills

DESIRED ATTRIBUTES

• A "get-it-done" personality who thrives in executing visionary and sometimes untraditional ideas. Detail-oriented and exemplifies a willingness to do any kind of work required to achieve a goal.
• Enjoys partnering with other senior executives to achieve goals collaboratively.
• Strong relationship-building skills, internally and externally, at all levels.
• Goal-driven and results-oriented 
• Entrepreneurial
• Creative and strategic thinker
• Ability to inspire and motivate others
• Collaborative team player
• Self-starter/independent 
• Builds strong relationships
• Kind and approachable 
• Familiarity with Judaism and the Conservative movement

 Compensation: $100,000 to $120,000

• Commensurate with education and experience
• Senior staff benefits