Director, Social Media - Marketing and Communications

Job Summary

The Marketing & Communications Division leads and coordinates strategic marketing and communications for Carnegie Mellon University, raising the institution's global visibility and deepening its reputation as one of the world's great universities. We tell the university's stories through its own rich array of tools and platforms; we cultivate ambassadors among CMU's extended global community; and we build great relationships with influential audiences through a variety of traditional and new media. We strive to improve the CMU experience for faculty, staff, students and alumni by facilitating clear communication within the university community.

Additionally, we provide leadership, mentorship and coordination for communicators across campus, collaborating with other offices, colleges, schools and departments. We provide expertise in websites, creative design, videos and photographs, news packages, media relations, social media, leadership communications and more. We help articulate and highlight the distinctive excellence of CMU and its broad and deep impact on the human condition.

Reporting to the Senior Director of News and Media Relations, we are searching for a Director of Social Media. This is an exciting opportunity if you thrive in an interesting and challenging work environment. In this role, you will be responsible for setting, leading, and executing on the strategy and tactics that align to our strategic plan, build our brand, ties into overall messaging, and positions the university as a leader in this space. Daily, you will drive the messaging, content, production and engagement for the central social media channels and manage a small team, which is part of a larger group of communicators that handle the main CMU website, PR, and media relations and crises communications.

Responsibilities will include:

• Developing editorial calendar and daily posts for social media channels, working reciprocally with colleagues to determine priorities.
• Following blogs, news sites, and news alerts to obtain story ideas, using sound judgment on which CMU stories and content best represent the brand and university priorities.
• Assessing and analyzing risks, issues, suspicious or controversial posts that may compromise project performance and communicating information to leadership and necessary partners.
• Responding quickly and making on-the-fly changes to editorial calendar, based on timely news and/or crisis situations.
• Monitoring channels, engaging audiences, and staying on top of cutting-edge trends and tools for the best use of social media for the university.
• Providing leadership in social media strategy across the university, consulting with units to provide advice and best-practices for unit-specific social channels.
• Developing substantial relationships with online constituents on behalf of CMU to include alumni, prospective students, thought-leaders, current students, faculty and staff, media, and the general public.
• Using analytics to make content decisions, providing counsel on social media marketing and advertising, as well as developing important metrics, conducting ongoing measurement and analyzing performance to ensure team is highly effective.
• Supervising staff that maintain social media of executive leadership, developing strategies and standard methodologies to enhance communication outreach.
• Acting as the social media communications lead in crisis and emergency situations to include communicating directly with senior leadership to craft messaging for urgent matters, as well as sensitive university issues or announcements.

Flexibility, excellence, and passion are vital qualities within the division. Inclusion, collaboration and cultural sensitivity are valued competencies at CMU. Therefore, we are in search of a team member who is able to effectively interact with a dynamic population of internal and external partners at a high level of integrity. We are looking for someone who shares our values and who will support the mission of the university through their work.

You should demonstrate:

• Strong writing and editing skills with outstanding attention to detail;
• Proficiency in assessing needs, developing long-term plans and strategies, and excellent project management skills;
• Research, interpersonal, organizational, reasoning, problem-solving and analytical skills;
• Capability to interact effectively with university community and external customers, collaborating and building strong relationships based on adding value (i.e. expertise, training, coordination, tools);
• Capacity to work under pressure, meet inflexible deadlines, and prioritize multiple tasks simultaneously; and
• Ability to deal with difficult situations, people and frequent interruptions while maintaining composure.

Work outside of business hours (occasional weekend and evening hours), as well as traveling within campus and to off-campus locations will be required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required, advanced degree preferred; may consider a combination of education, experience and training.
• Minimum five years of experience crafting social media strategies, dynamic content and relevant metrics required.
• Experience with web information architecture and SEO strategies, coordinating a large, decentralized social media structure, as well as previous supervisory experience and exposure collaborating with senior level leadership highly desired.

More Information

Please visit " Why Carnegie Mellon " to learn more about becoming part of an institution inspiring innovations that change the world.

A listing of employee benefits is available at: www.cmu.edu/jobs/benefits-at-a-glance/ .

Carnegie Mellon University is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Disability/Veteran.