Job Details

Marketing and Communication Specialist (Public Affairs/Communications Specialist Exempt III)
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Position Number: 1577710
Location: Rohnert Park, CA
Position Type: Communications - Public Relations and Advertising

Marketing and Communication Specialist (Public Affairs/Communications Specialist Exempt III)
Sonoma State University

Job ID: 104867
Location: Sonoma State University (Rohnert Park, CA)
Full/Part Time: Full-Time
Regular/Temporary: Regular

Department Name
Entrepreneurial Activities

Salary and Benefits
Starting salary placement depends on qualifications and experience and is anticipated to be in the range of $4,728 to $5,353 a month.

This position is eligible for a broad range of benefits, including medical, dental, vision, life and disability insurances, retirement (CalPERS), tuition waiver, vacation and sick leave. In addition, 14 paid holidays are offered each year; 13 scheduled on specific days and a Personal Holiday that may be taken any time during the year.

A comprehensive benefits summary for this position is available online by clicking the View Benefits Summary link or by request from SSU Human Resources.

Application Deadline
This position is open until filled. For full consideration, please submit application, along with cover letter and resume, by 8am on August 28. Please refer to the Application Process section of this posting for additional details.

Conditions of Employment
This is a full time, exempt position, which will lead toward permanent status following the successful completion of a probationary period.

Responsibilities
Sonoma State University is committed to achieving excellence through teaching, scholarship, learning and inclusion. In line with our Strategic Plan and our Seawolf Commitment, our values include diversity, sustainability, community engagement, respect, responsibility, excellence and integrity. We strive to cultivate a community in which a diverse population can learn and work in an atmosphere of civility and respect. We encourage innovation, experimentation and creativity, as well as contributions to equity and inclusion, in the pursuit of excellence for all members of our university community.

Reporting to the Marketing Manager, the Marketing and Communication Specialist is responsible for developing and executing marketing, communication, and public affairs initiatives to support strategic plans for multiple University departments, which includes Entrepreneurial Activities and portions of Student Affairs. Entrepreneurial Activities is a department within the Administration and Finance division, which includes: Culinary Services, Retail, Vending, Conference and Event Services, University Box Office, Campus Prints and the Student Center and support to a portion of the Student Affairs division, which includes: Residential Association and Campus Housing, Student Involvement, Campus Recreation and the Career Center.

The incumbent is responsible for working independently as well as collaboratively with the marketing team to fulfill the day to day needs of the department including but not limited to, research, marketing, branding, websites, graphics, public relations, social media strategy, email and video marketing, and overseeing marketing, communication, and public relations plans. Duties include researching and executing new and traditional marketing processes for the most effective marketing mix; developing and maintaining a social networking presence and evaluating its effectiveness; assisting with the creation of physical and digital collateral documents and determining the most cost effective solutions for production; working with vendors to assure items are produced to departmental standards; and planning and executing workflow timelines for all projects. In addition, the incumbent is responsible to work with the campus community to determine trends and unmet needs and create and implement marketing and communication strategies and programs to better serve the community; to advise the Marketing Manager in the creation of marketing budgets; and execute experiential marketing programs to cross market departments with other areas of the campus. The incumbent also provides support for the Seawolf Card operations serving as the prime contact for the system as needed and helps to maintain consistency in workflow production at all times. The incumbent also serves as the primary support for the digital signage system operations.

In collaboration with the Marketing Manager, major duties of the position include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Develop and execute comprehensive marketing and communication plans based on the strategic plan for Entrepreneurial Activities and related units. Adhere to communications and brand strategies to bring brands to life through a variety of channels including but not limited to digital, print, web, email, social and video.
- Develop and coordinate operational calendars and assures all deliverables are met by deadlines.
- Meet business objectives, including collaboration with internal stakeholders and vendor partners.
- Research, evaluate and implement new and traditional marketing processes to create the most effective marketing mix possible.
- Provide lead work direction to full time staff including a graphic designer and student assistants as necessary. Convey work assignments and monitor progress to meet fast-paced deadlines.
- In coordination with the Marketing Manager, recruits, hires, trains, and reviews performance of student assistants.
- Lead relationship management strategies, leveraging direct marketing tools to drive results.
- Research, evaluate and advise on creative strategies for advertising in support of marketing and communication objectives.
- Develop systems for measuring metrics for each goal and campaign. Conduct and provide analysis reports of marketing and communication efforts to determine effectiveness and ROI. In addition to data analysis provide statistical and financial reports.
- Conduct market research including competitive benchmarking, and analyze campaign/program/service/event effectiveness used to inform decisions regarding strategic marketing direction, product segmentation and customer targeting.
- Coordinate integration of offline marketing activities into social media campaigns.
- Oversee the development of social networking opportunities and plans to enhance marketing and communication. Ensure consistency of messaging and voice across all social media platforms.
- Oversee design and production of marketing and communication materials from inception to deployment.
- Research and identify the most cost effective solutions for collateral production while working with vendors to assure items are produced to departmental standards.
- Coordinate promotions including selecting and ordering promotional items and oversee the production and delivery of promotional items and manage invoice processing.
- Engage campus community to determine trends and unmet needs and create and implement marketing strategies to better serve the community.
- Collaborate with the Marketing Manager to provide new systems and procedures to manage marketing workflow, storage and data retrieval.
- Provide leadership and complete website design and maintenance. Coordinate web design standards to align with university web standards.
- Support for the Seawolf Card operations. Work with the Marketing Manager to perform administrative tasks to the system as necessary including running reports and maintenance utilities.
- Serve as primary application support contact for digital signage system. Perform administrative tasks including system maintenance. Serve as primary contact for other users of the digital signage system and answer questions and troubleshoot projects as necessary.

Performs other secondary duties as assigned.

Duties take place mostly in an office setting located at Sonoma State University in a shared work environment with constant interruptions. The normal work schedule is Monday through Friday aligned with regular campus hours. As an exempt employee you have some flexibility in your schedule however must be available during the regular campus hours Monday through Friday to meet the operational needs of the campus and department. Your specific start time is determined by your Appropriate Administrator. Evening and weekend hours may be required and will be specified only by the supervisor to meet operational needs. The incumbent must maintain regular and acceptable attendance at such levels as is determined by the Appropriate Administrator. The position may require occasional travel, by automobile and airplane, and the incumbent must be able to work some night and weekend hours with overnight stays.

Qualifications
This position requires knowledge of the fundamentals of public affairs and/or media relations, and exposure to marketing and marketing research. This background is normally obtained through a college degree, which includes relevant coursework in the field, and up to two years of related professional or technical experience. Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration/Marketing or a related field, along with two or more years marketing experience, with proven experience in leading marketing and communications initiatives highly preferred. Higher education experience highly preferred. The incumbent must have extensive knowledge of making branding and marketing decisions based on analytics and trend data; creating marketing proposals; exceptional social media skills; thorough knowledge of and the ability to use "social networking speak" and online jargon in a correct and authentic manner; thorough knowledge of unique web communication strategies and formats; experience in creating effective video marketing campaigns; experience with digital, print, web, social media and email marketing. This position requires solid computer skills including, but not limited to, advanced proficiency with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel and PowerPoint) and experience using the internet as a research tool. Intermediate skills with desktop publishing software (such as lnDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, Acrobat Pro) required, along with thorough knowledge of and ability to use effectively media outlets (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Buffer, Sprout Social), and website content management systems (Dreamweaver and Drupal). Knowledge of ID card operations and points of sale preferred.

In addition, this position requires the following:
- Comprehensive and in-depth knowledge of communication, public affairs, media and marketing theories and concepts in order to develop and execute communication strategies and plans to promote and position the university.
- Expert knowledge of university communication objectives and ability to translate them into effective communication and media campaigns. Exceptional project management skills, highly organized and able to prioritize and manage multiple deadlines while staying focused on attention to detail.
- Demonstrated experience with planning marketing and communication campaigns, data management, website maintenance and social media.
- Ability to provide lead work direction and convey skills to staff.
- Demonstrated ability to work independently as well a collaboratively with a team.
- Ability to understand issues from a broad, strategic perspective, solve, and develop solutions.
- Thorough knowledge of applicable copyright and other laws pertaining to publications and the media.
- Ability to effectively manage media relations and apply effective media strategies and techniques.
- Demonstrated ability to market story concepts to university officials and media outlets.
- Comprehensive knowledge of marketing and research techniques and methods. Ability to use market research to enhance the impact of communication strategies and campaigns.
- Working knowledge of appropriate use of statistical techniques.
- Expert networking and interpersonal skills including strong consultative and persuasive skills to work with internal and external constituents and the media.
- Expert writing and verbal communication skills with a solid foundation in grammar, spelling, and the composition of various communication channels.
- Outstanding interpersonal skills, demonstrated ability to independently initiate and mange change; experience and/or education that demonstrates professional judgement, initiative, creativity, flexibility, problem solving skills and the ability to function independently and to act as a team member are essential.
- Strong understanding of relationship between design, content, and user experience and therefore adapts content as needed for each medium and audience.
- Must be able to remain knowledgeable of industry developments to maintain the professional competence and skills necessary for all assigned responsibilities including changes in best practices.

Must have the ability to effectively communicate with all levels within the university and establish and maintain productive and effective, inclusive working relationships amongst diverse populations including staff, faculty, administration, students, and other internal and external constituents. Must be able to take initiative and plan work and projects including handling multiple priorities with firm deadlines. Must have demonstrated commitment to and track record of outstanding customer service. Must be able to accept constructive feedback and work cooperatively in group situations.

Qualification Note
Evidence of degree(s) or certificate(s) and/or license(s) required at time of hire.

Application Process
Click the "Apply Now" to apply to this position, materials submitted with your application will not be returned. For questions related to the application process, please reach out to Human Resources (hr@sonoma.edu | 707.664.3100).

Qualified candidates must submit the following to be considered:
1. Cover Letter and Resume - application system only allows one document to be uploaded, so cover letter and resume must be included in the same MS Word or PDF file (file name should not contain any spaces or special characters)

2. Online Employment Application (complete entire application, resume/cover letter will not substitute for any part of the application)

A background check (including a criminal records check) must be completed satisfactorily before any candidate can be offered a position. Failure to satisfactorily complete the background check may affect the application status of applicants or continued employment of current employees who apply for this position.

The ADA Coordinator is available at 707.664.2664, to assist individuals with disabilities in need of accommodation during the hiring process.

Other Information
Equal Employment Opportunity: The University is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. We consider qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, genetic information, medical condition, disability, marital status, or protected veteran status.

Mandated Reporting: This position may be considered a "mandated reporter" under the California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act and is required to comply with the requirements set forth in CSU Executive Order 1083 as a condition of employment.

About Sonoma State University
Sonoma State University, located 48 miles north of San Francisco, is one of the 23 campuses of the California State University. Sonoma State University is a liberal arts institution with an enrollment of approximately 10,000 students and 530 full-time and part-time faculty. Our beautiful campus is located in Rohnert Park, at the foot of the Sonoma hills in the Wine Country.

Sonoma State University is proud to be a smoke-free campus, where smoking and other uses of tobacco products, such as smokeless tobacco, the use of e-cigarettes and similar devices, are prohibited.

Sonoma State University's Jeanne Clery Act Annual Security Report is available at http://www.sonoma.edu/ps/about/jeanneclery.html; Annual Campus Housing Fire Safety Report is available at http://www.sonoma.edu/housing/general-info/emergency-prep/fire-safety.html.

Contact Information
Sonoma State University
Human Resources
Main (707) 664-3100
Fax (707) 664-3196
1801 East Cotati Avenue
Rohnert Park, CA 94928
hr@sonoma.edu