Director of Marketing and Communications

About the SouthCoast Community Foundation:

The SouthCoast Community Foundation, headquartered in New Bedford, mobilizes philanthropy by matching donors and resources with community needs for the benefit of our region. The Community Foundation serves thousands of people who share a desire to improve the quality of life across the forty-one cities and towns that make up southeastern Massachusetts. Since our founding in 1995, the Community Foundation has granted more than $50 million in partnership with more than 200 donor fund holders – supporting humanitarian, educational, and cultural organizations in the region. As a community-rooted organization, we are called to lead and serve in ways that help ensure that our region is inclusive, welcoming, and equitable for all who live, work, and learn here. The Community Foundation is focused on becoming an anti-racist organization, with a deep commitment to racial equity and social justice. For more information, visit www.southcoastcf.org and view our 2021 annual report. 

 

Responsibilities

The Director of Marketing & Communications will be responsible for all public communications from the Community Foundation and will represent the organization in many external gatherings and venues. This is a senior position that requires strategic capability as well as skills to execute across a range of marketing activities and communications platforms. The Director will be a vital member of the Community Foundation executive management team, working closely with the CEO, staff colleagues, and Board of Directors to activate marketing and communications approaches that reflect and advance the organization’s overarching priorities, including developing the Community Foundation’s voice as a champion for racial equity and social justice. 

 | “The SouthCoast Community Foundation has an opportunity to make a forceful case for racial equity by explaining the challenges, highlighting the areas of opportunity, and taking bold action to embed racial equity into our organization, our work, into our community’s fabric, and more importantly, into our personal growth. Only by actively renewing the social contract, starting with a race-conscious approach at the Foundation, can we begin to address the impact of rising inequality and damaging social disparities and help our communities heal.”

-MARIA A. ROSARIO, MEMBER, BOARD OF DIRECTORS, AND RACIAL EQUITY WORKING GROUP CHAIR  

Combatting systemic racism and celebrating the many cultures and groups that compose the South Coast is central to carrying out all job responsibilities, which are further described as follows. 

Strategy formation and execution: Creating the Community Foundation marketing and communications plan, including goals, strategies, and primary tactics for engaging key audiences – who include nonprofit and public program partners, individual and institutional donors, and civic and community leaders. This responsibility also involves overseeing implementation of the plan, including managing a calendar of key activities and events, preparing, and monitoring the marketing and communications budget, and gathering data and feedback that translates into improved approaches. 

Brand development: Building awareness and credibility for the SouthCoast Community Foundation brand. This responsibility involves increasing external visibility in tandem with stewarding related internal actions, e.g., evolving the organization’s voice and visual style, shaping key messages, managing brand guidelines, and ensuring that all staff and board members are equipped to deliver brand messages comfortably and consistently. Core to this work is understanding public awareness and perceptions of the Community Foundation. 

Content development: Managing the Community Foundation’s narrative and key messages in the context of overarching organizational priorities, audience perceptions and interests, and an ever-shifting external context. This includes generating stories and other content that supports ongoing audience interaction. 

Digital strategy and platform development: Increasing audience engagement through the Community Foundation website, e-blasts, and social media sites – currently Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn – and sustaining a robust blog platform. This includes building and managing subscriber lists for Community Foundation communications.

Events: Designing and managing implementation of marketing and communication for convenings, webinars, donor gatherings, and tours, as well as other events hosted by the Community Foundation. This includes our Annual Meeting of partners and community members and other recurring large-attendance events.

Audience outreach and campaigns: Advancing Community Foundation priorities through engagement of target audiences. This includes messaging for our annual fundraising appeals as well as promotional campaigns related to specific events, program grant cycles, and other calls to action. 

Public relations and media outreach: Pursuing earned media coverage of Community Foundation programs and stories of impact, including press releases and op-ed placements by maintaining relationships with journalists at key news outlets and serving as the primary contact for media inquiries.

Publications: Developing and promoting communications products that inform, and invite the involvement of, Community Foundation audiences. Currently, these publications feature our Annual Report, monthly e-newsletters, and special research reports.

Qualifications

Education and experience 

•         Bachelor’s degree in communications or a closely related discipline

•         Four years of relevant work experience in the marketing and communications field

Values and characteristics

•         Deep commitment to racial equity, social justice, and inclusion

•         Collaborative, open work style; team-focused

•         Takes initiative; confident working in a dynamic, fast-paced environment

Technical skills

•         Strong intrapersonal as well as professional communications skills, including writing and presentation abilities

•         Familiarity with and ability to lead marketing and communications across all dimensions and platforms described in this position description – strategy, brand, digital, events, etc. 

•         Capability with the Microsoft Office suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook)

Other

•         Flexibility to work nights and weekends 

Employment  

•         The Community Foundation offers competitive compensation and benefits including paid time off, paid sick leave, health and dental insurance, short/long term disability insurance, and 401k with employer match.

•         The Community Foundation provides a comfortable office environment as well as information technology to support remote work access.

Organizational Relationships

•         The Director of Marketing and Communications reports directly to the President & CEO; has no direct reports. 

Application Process

Please email your cover letter, including salary requirement, and resume to kheard@southcoastcf.org. We are only considering applications submitted through email. Please name your documents as follows: LAST NAME – RESUME and LAST NAME - COVER LETTER. 

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until the position is filled. No phone calls, please.

 

SouthCoast Community Foundation strives to attract and develop a staff that possesses diverse backgrounds, life experiences, and perspectives and is committed to the principles of equal employment opportunity to comply with all federal, state, and local laws concerning employment discrimination, including the Americans with Disabilities Act. To this end, the Community Foundation ensures equal opportunity to all employees and applicants regardless of race, color, age, gender, sexual orientation, religion, marital status, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, lawful alien status, physical, mental, and medical disability, veteran status, or liability for service in the United States Armed Forces. 

SouthCoast Community Foundation is an Equal Opportunity Employer and strives to attract and develop a staff that possesses diverse backgrounds, life experiences, and perspectives.