The Content Director is a creative and strategic thinker responsible for building relationships within the Development and Alumni Relations (DAR) department as well as with stakeholders in academic, athletic, programmatic and administrative areas. The director develops, manages and creates strategic content solutions and marketing communications. The director will assess a project’s needs and goals; shape appropriate plans, strategies and tactics; liaise with cross-functional marketing and communications teams; and develop content in various forms, including feature writing, announcements, social media, print collateral, photo, video and interactive design.

The director will manage a team of content creators, collaborate with departmental colleagues, participate in and contribute to content development, tailor content to different audiences, develop best practices for content approaches and stay abreast of content trends. The position’s direct responsibility is to plan and implement content for DAR’s main communication projects, including design collateral, digital channels, news and storytelling, event coverage and social media outlets.

Reporting up to the Senior Director, the content director will be responsible for directly managing a team, including writers, editors, photographers, videographers and social media. The director will also work closely with the Digital Director in the creation of interactive content and collaborate with members of DAR and Lehigh University Communications and Public Affairs Office as well as other college and unit communicators throughout campus. The Lehigh community takes seriously our commitment to antiracism and The Principles of our Equitable Community.

1. Drive marketing project plans and tactic implementation for DAR
*Strategize and implement tactics that support overall alumni and donor engagement goals
*Draft content and marketing plans that are audience and data driven and which support a positive, consistent and comprehensive alumni and donor experience
*Identify target market and audience segments, and make recommendations for best practices
*Manage projects to ensure timely and accurate implementation
*Initiate and drive idea sessions with colleagues to determine a set of tactics and deliverables for events
*Develop strategies for paid and unpaid print advertising
*Coordinate and collaborate strategies with the Director of Digital Design
*Provide oversight to ensure that projects stay within brand standards
*Review, proof and edit print marketing deliverables

2. Manage content projects
*Lead review of initial stakeholder requests, ensuring alignment with our strategic goals, allocating resources and then overseeing projects from kickoff through all reviews and approvals on to the successful launch all while staying on schedule
*Manage projects to ensure timely and accurate implementation
*Develop and manage content calendar that covers DAR initiatives and other campus and community events, news and activities that will resonate with alumni
*Ensure all projects align with the Lehigh brand
*Exercise industry best practices to define and optimize workflows, tools and templates to increase efficiencies and lead to the highest quality work

3. Develop and deliver reports and data on the effectiveness of content and marketing plans
*Analyze the impact of print tactics on attendance and/or responsiveness of the audiences being contacted
*Ensure that deliverables that can be coded are tracked
*Collaborate with the digital team to aggregate data and present reports that are easy to understand
*Analyze how communications plans performed and prepare presentations for senior leadership

4. Manage and support content team
*Oversee and build team
*Assign work and review and approval process of projects
*Manage external agencies, vendor and freelancers, as needed
*Develop strong relationships with team to support top quality content
*Recruit and hire at least one student per semester to support content and marketing initiatives

Grade: 11 - 40

Position Number: S98290

Special Considerations

The duties of this position may allow the employee to work partially remote as deemed appropriate by the supervisor

Qualifications

Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing, Advertising, Communications, Marketing or Public Relations or equivalent combination of education and experience

Five to eight years related work experience

Generate compelling stories in a variety of forms that convey messages of strategic importance to DAR, helping to inform, entertain and engage alumni constituencies

Strong idea generation

Strong writing skills

Basic proficiency with video and photography equipment, interactive design and social media

Superior account management skills

Strong project management and organizational skills

Strong creative thinking mindset

Demonstrated ability to identify strategic opportunities and develop effective solutions to advance departmental and institutional objectives
Ability to take initiative in developing on-brand messaging

Ability to work under pressure and set priorities within a fast paced environment

Ability to set and meet deadlines, particularly those requiring very quick turnaround, on an ongoing basis

Willingness to work during non-standard business hours

Ability to work on multiple projects at a time, both independently and as part of a team

Outgoing and engaging personality, a sense of humor, strong work ethic, and the desire and ability to take the initiative in exploring new strategies DAR should consider

Willingness to meet the varying need states of a layered organization

Successful completion of standard background checks including but not limited to: social security verification, education verification, national criminal background checks, motor vehicle checks, PATCH, FBI fingerprinting, Child Abuse Clearance and credit history based upon the requirements of the position

All Lehigh faculty and staff are required to be fully vaccinated and receive a booster shot six months after their second vaccine; unless they receive an approved medical or religious exemption from the requirement.

Only complete applications will be considered therefore please complete the application in its entirety.  Once the posting is removed from the website applications may no longer be allowed to be completed.

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About Lehigh University

Lehigh is a premier residential research university, ranked in the top tier of national research universities each year. We are a coeducational, nondenominational, private university that offers a distinct academic environment of undergraduate and graduate students from across the globe.

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