Director of Communications & Engagement, Every Mother Counts, Boston, MA

Director of Communications and Engagement

Posted on: May 15, 2013
Posted by: Every Mother Counts

DESCRIPTION

Every Mother Counts (EMC) is a campaign to end preventable deaths caused by pregnancy and childbirth around the world. Every Mother Counts informs, engages, and mobilizes new audiences to take action to improve the health and well being of girls and women worldwide. Every Mother Counts is still a very small organization but has offices in both New York and Washington, DC and is currently establishing an office in Boston, MA. This position will work out of our Boston location, under the supervision of the Executive Director.

PRINCIPAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

EMC is looking for a Director of Communications and Engagement with proven experience in communications strategy, as well as the ability to build and nurture a community dedicated to supporting EMC's mission and goals.

The Director of Communications and Engagement will drive engagement across stakeholder groups (e.g. partners, community, influencers, consumers, activists) using a holistic strategy that encompasses digital, communications, and special project/events. This person will create and implement the strategy and marketing plans around key campaign moments, ensuring scalability and metrics for success measurement. This person will also lead research and analysis for EMC that measures the health and impact of the organization and depth of engagement and awareness and develop tools and case studies demonstrating EMC's value to partners. This person will focus on each of these areas, with the goal of increasing awareness of the Every Mother Counts campaign amongst the general public, increasing web and social media traffic, driving activity around key campaigns, outreach efforts and managing the strategy for maintaining the Every Mother Counts website. The position will work in close collaboration with EMC leadership, social media, and partnerships staff.

Specific responsibilities include:

• Developing a holistic "engagement strategy" (encompassing creative, communications and marketing strategies and campaigns) to generate and increase awareness about EMC and its mission/messaging and assess the most effective ways to reach EMC's target audience.
• Mobilizing EMC's constituents to take action through meaningful engagements across a variety of media.
• Utilizing EMC's digital presence to attract new supporters, grow EMC's audience and implement EMC's campaigns online.
• Managing the relationships with EMC's communications and digital personnel and agencies.
• Overseeing the day-to-day communications activities (including digital).
• Setting the strategy for and leading the maintenance of the EMC website both in terms of design and content.
• Setting the strategy for the editorial calendar as per the organization's goals.
• Overseeing the PR agency, all EMC media materials, press materials (releases, kits, etc.) and approving all external press releases and speaking points.
• Working in concert with the PR agency for traditional media and digital placements, increasing and retaining media relationships and proactively pitching EMC.
• Developing new ideas for feature stories, placement and new media relationships.
• Managing EMC's presence in social networking sites including Facebook, Twitter, and other similar community sites, posting on relevant blogs, seeding content into social applications as needed and encouraging dialogue amongst the community.
• In collaboration with the Partnerships Manager, working closely with corporate partners and their functions to engage employees in supporting EMC's efforts and achieve media coverage of cause-marketing campaigns.
• Arranging public appearances, lectures, contests, or exhibits to increase awareness of maternal health issues.
• Responding to deadline driven press inquiries, setting up interviews, and responding to information requests.
• Pitching media at EMC branded events including securing celebrities or other notable figures to enhance EMC press opportunities.
• Monitoring all EMC coverage and providing regular reports of all EMC coverage, impressions and contacts.
• Developing monitoring and evaluation metrics to measure success in outreach efforts.
• Planning and directing the development and communication of EMC's accomplishments to supporters.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILL & EXPERIENCE

• Master's degree in Communications, Marketing, Digital Media or a related field required
• At least 7-10 years experience working on internet-based campaigns, particularly for corporate or issue advocacy
• Strong project management and ability to self motivate and direct
• In-depth knowledge and understanding of social media platforms and their respective participants and how they can be deployed in different scenarios
• Strong knowledge of blogging ecosystem relevant to maternal and child health and enthusiasm to engage and build relationships within the community
• Superior writing and editing skills
• Superior critical thinking, communication, and relationship-building skills
• Ability to produce under pressure and tight deadlines
• Passion and collaborative spirit to maintain a creative team
• Basic knowledge of HTML and comfort with internet-based applications
• Self-motivated and results-oriented
• A record for being reliable, utilizing sound judgment and responding well to adversity
• Entrepreneurial spirit
• Knowledge of international development issues a plus
• General interest and dedication to the mission of EMC

HOW TO APPLY

Applications including a cover letter describing your interest and qualifications, your resume (in Word format), salary history, and where you learned of the position should be sent to the EMC HR Director, Kristen Kirkland at kristen@everymothercounts.org.