Director of Marketing and Communications

City Bureau is hiring a Director of Communications & Marketing who will create, manage and execute marketing & communications strategy for the organization.

Since 2015, City Bureau has been at the forefront of a movement to reimagine journalism as a public good. Our programs inform, engage and equip people to strengthen information systems in communities underserved by existing media. These efforts have earned us accolades including the Best Start-Up Award (Chicago Headline Club) and Rising Star Award (Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press).

We are seeking a digital marketing expert with a passion for community engagement who can thrive in a startup environment and help lead our organization through a period of significant growth. You will have wide latitude to create the structures necessary to promote our team’s work to our target audiences on Chicago’s South and West Sides, and to expand our reach beyond our existing community. You must be nimble enough to create strategy and processes as well as execute day-to-day tasks.

As a director-level staff member, you will be integrated into leadership conversations about organizational strategy. This may include hiring and managing contractors, as well as possible future staff hires to build out our marketing and communications capacity.

Responsibilities:

• Oversee all of City Bureau’s external communications, including promotion of City Bureau’s programming, content and the organization overall, maintaining cohesive messaging throughout 
• Work closely with the revenue team to create fundraising/awareness campaigns and develop messaging that furthers revenue strategies (donor communications, event promotion, sponsorship materials, etc.), analyze data and finetune messaging based on results 
• Manage the creation and distribution of promotional materials, both digital and physical 
• Create and/or maintain a Language Bank, Style Guide and Digital Assets Bank and monitor adherence to these standards across the organization 
• Coordinate with other staff members to manage City Bureau’s website, email newsletters and social media accounts 
• Coordinate press campaigns and media appearances

• Understanding and commitment to City Bureau’s core values, mission and vision 
• At least 5 years of professional experience creating and implementing marketing and communications strategy 
• Demonstrated track record of delivering a full range of integrated marketing and communications initiatives with measurable impact; fluency in digital analytics and audience segmentation 
• Experience working in startup environments, building audiences for new or lesser-known brands and building organizational structures and processes; ability to adapt quickly and solve problems creatively 
• Strong leadership skills; adept at rallying stakeholders and managing multiple concurrent projects with distinct budgets 
• Ability to write impeccable, impactful promotional copy; ability to identify and appeal to disparate audiences, with cultural competence for working in communities that City Bureau serves

• Full-time with benefits including health care, dental, vision, life insurance 
• $68,125 annual salary with annual raises 
• Professional development stipend, work tools stipend 
• 15 days paid vacation 
• Flexible work schedule; some night/weekend hours may be required 
• Relocation assistance available