Associate Director of Marketing - Chicago Humanities

ORGANIZATION

Chicago Humanities presents the most compelling authors, artists, and thinkers of our time, connecting people to the ideas that shape and define us. Insightful, entertaining, and interactive Chicago Humanities events are a platform for authors, journalists, scholars, policymakers, and other thought leaders, as well as for artists, actors, musicians, comedians, and cultural figures. Our programs provoke conversations, celebrate creativity, build community, and explore the boundaries of contemporary knowledge and culture. Chicago Humanities values programming that reflects multiple viewpoints and lived experiences, is accessible and inclusive, and speaks to diverse audiences. We program across Chicago, bringing people and ideas together in various neighborhoods. Chicago Humanities seeks to facilitate an engagement with ideas that transcend individual concerns to enable empathy and connection through shared experiences. We are a hybrid office, working together remotely and in the office; evening and weekend availability is required during festival seasons—more information is available at chicagohumanities.org.

POSITION DESCRIPTION

The Associate Director of Marketing plans, executes, and finalizes projects across the organization to support branding, marketing, programming, executive, and fundraising initiatives across print and digital platforms, from concept to deliverables. This role helps define and support the overall strategies of the Marketing department, and oversees a number of key domains such as print, email, YouTube, social ads, analytics, brand collateral, as well as partnerships with designers and vendors.

This role oversees a number of complex interdepartmental creative and data management projects including graphic and advertising assets, program guides, brand and fundraising print pieces, annual reports, mass mailings, special branding and fundraising projects, seasonal and year-end reporting, board materials, on site collateral, and special reports and analyses as requested.

The Associate Director of Marketing manages the Social Media Manager and the paid social media strategy in close coordination with the Director of Marketing and Communications, focusing on strategic plan priorities related to brand awareness, reach and visibility; audience growth, attendance goals, and initial trial; and meaningful levels of engagement.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

Online Reach and Advertising Campaign Management

• Manage social media initiatives with the Social Media Manager, including institutional practices, paid social media strategy, design, and brand implementation. Provide updates to the Director of Marketing & Communications.
• Oversee Chicago Humanities’ Facebook Business Manager platform and manage social ads strategy.
• Support refinement of paid social media strategies with external consultants, Social Media Manager, and Director of Marketing.
• Serve as the primary manager of the Festival’s YouTube channel, working closely with the Production & Audience Services department in scheduling and preparing online programs, including livestream and video premiere scheduling, thumbnail and slides workflows, video privacy settings, URL management; fundraising, and channel homepage/playlist organization.
• In concert with the Director, liaise with local media and promotional partners (i.e. Do312, Chicago Reader, WBEZ) to administer paid, trade and promotional advertising campaigns including asset creation and fulfillment, scheduling, and programmatic placements/strategy.

Reporting and Strategic Communications

• Serve as internal audience data clearinghouse by developing and maintaining Google Data Studio and reporting platforms to bring together Raiser’s Edge, Airtable, Meta Business Suite, Mailchimp, and ticketing data, and provide recommendations based on audience data and alignment with strategic plan priorities.
• Work with the Development team to strategize, implement, and steward institutional sponsorships.
• Compile audience, programmatic, and marketing impact data in biannual Marketing Report, the Annual Report, as well as ancillary reports throughout the year as requested.
• Lead the creation and execution of audience event and membership surveys and the reporting out of actionable insights and customer service improvements to the appropriate departments.
• Provide support to the Director of Marketing and Executive Director in preparing reporting materials for the board of directors on an ad-hoc basis.

Email

• Serve as the primary manager of the Chicago Humanities’ email strategy, calendar, and content in coordination with the Director of Marketing, ensuring accuracy of information, recognition, and brand voice.
• Work closely with the Development department to build and implement a membership communications and segmentation strategy that is consistent with the Chicago Humanities’ brand and audience goals.
• Oversee continued growth of email list and segmented email strategies (i.e. lead gen campaigns, targeted emails, drip campaigns, membership conversions, etc.)
• Provide training, support, and oversight to the Audience Services team for event communications.

Branding / Design / Strategic Marketing Initiatives

• Support the strategic and practical dimensions of Chicago Humanities branding initiatives and implementation.
• Support cross-departmental efforts in developing and maintaining brand consistency in digital content, print content, and on-site executions.
• Develop print and digital creative assets for multiple placements, including fundraising and executive materials, ad placements, and internal communications.
• Work in close collaboration with the Digital Marketing Manager to manage and map the year-round Google advertising strategy for Google paid display ads, search campaigns, and the grant for nonprofits.

Interdepartmental Project Management

• Direct and manage interdepartmental project development from beginning to end; understand the needs of the stakeholders and target groups, develop project plans and scheduling; serve as primary point of contact for design, mail house, and print partners; and triage projects based on timelines, facilitating the relevant internal and external communication.
• Effectively communicate project expectations to team members in a timely and clear fashion.
• Plan and schedule project timelines and milestones using appropriate tools, track project milestones and deliverables, issue status reports to the project team, analyze results, and troubleshoot problem areas.
• Proactively manage changes in project scope, identify potential crises, and devise contingency plans.
• Utilize, manage, and help implement workflow systems (Asana, Airtable, Google Suite) to support Marketing timelines and initiatives.

QUALIFICATIONS

• The ideal candidate has 6-8+ years of experience leading organizational wide marketing projects, leading collaborations across departments, and/or managing and developing strategic promotional partnerships.
• Experience and success with live event marketing and advertising placements across traditional (print and broadcast) media and newer forms of digital, social, and content marketing.
• Additional consideration is given to applicants with tactical marketing and communications experience in membership (or subscription) based business models.
• Excellent organizational and time management skills; the ability to produce high-quality content, manage multiple projects simultaneously while meeting established baselines and adhering to strict deadlines.
• A strong skill set in collecting attendance, sales, and demographic data and creating insights and visualizations that inform stakeholders and CH business strategy.
• Passion for arts and culture, the humanities, and Chicago-centric content.

WORK LOCATION

Chicago Humanities maintains a collaborative and congenial environment. We work in a hybrid model, currently requiring in-person Tuesdays and Thursdays at our River North office. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays allow remote work; exceptions might occur based on organizational and/or departmental needs. While working remotely, you can access a laptop computer and a $50 per month stipend to offset home internet and personal phone expenses. All full-time positions at Chicago Humanities may require additional night and weekend hours to support aspects of our in-person events across the city.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

This is a full-time position with a $60,000-65,000 salary range. Benefits include fully covered health insurance (with an option to upgrade), dental, vision, 403(b) with 7% employer match, equitable parental leave, tax-free commuter spending plan, life insurance, short and long-term disability, and 17 days of accrued paid time off. In addition, we offset busy seasons with additional office closures during the summer and a communal winter break (December 25 through New Year’s Day). Chicago Humanities observes ten holidays, provides one floating holiday, and one day of Volunteer Time Off.

COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY, ACCESS, AND INCLUSION

Chicago Humanities is committed to providing a diverse, equitable, accessible, and inclusive workplace where all employees and volunteers, whatever their gender, race, religion, ethnicity, national origin, age, sexual orientation or identity, education, or disability, feel valued and respected. We are committed to a nondiscriminatory approach and provide equal employment and advancement opportunities in our departments, programs, and policies. We respect and value diverse life experiences and heritages and ensure that all voices are valued and heard.

TO APPLY:

Please submit your application here, including your resume and cover letter (please submit them as PDFs). Applications are due by Friday, December 6, 2024.

If you need accommodations to complete this application, please email our Associate Director of People and Culture, John Rooney, at jrooney@chicagohumanities.org.

Candidates selected for an interview will be notified via email. Please do not call. We look forward to reviewing your materials.