Marketing and Communications Associate

The University of Minnesota Twin Cities Office for Student Affairs is hiring a marketing and communications associate who will be a member of the central team that supports all 20 units in the office.

This position serves as an account manager for several units and is responsible for helping those units meet their business goals via strategic marketing and communications projects. Through this work, the position will advance the OSA Strategic Plan and raise the quantity and quality of communications to the University community, particularly current students on the Twin Cities campus. The ideal candidate should possess strong organizational skills, attention to detail and ability to work independently and collaboratively on multiple projects at once.

Project/Account Management (35%):

• Solely responsible, on a day-to-day basis, for delivering exceptional client service to OSA units in marketing, communications, public relations, branding, digital and web
• Consult regularly with clients to explore potential marketing and communications projects (purpose, audience, budget, timeframe, scope, etc)
• Design and implement strategy for projects using existing and new channels, including, but not limited to, social media, print, video, audio and web
• Write creative briefs and work closely with the OSA creative services coordinator to execute the project plan
• Propose plans to leverage other OSA and University communications and marketing channels to accomplish project objectives
• Review all materials for compliance with OSA and University brand guidelines/principles

Evaluation (25%):

• Responsible for data collection of web, digital and other projects
• Evaluate the data to identify insights and determine efficacy of implemented plan
• Recommend changes or additions as part of delivering metrics to clients
• Support additional research and assessment needs for units and Student Affairs as needed

Content Creation (20%):

• Identify student success stories that showcase a unit’s impact on the current student experience at the University
• Write and edit stories for placement on OSA’s website and other University publications and communications channels
• Determine approach and placement of stories on web, digital, video and/or other platforms

Media Relations (10%):

• Serve as point person for requests from campus, local, national and international media organizations
• Coordinate and prepare OSA expert(s) for media interviews
• Collaborate with University Relations as appropriate

Other Duties as Assigned (10%):

• Update job knowledge by participating in educational opportunities, reading trade publications and finding other ways stay up-to-date on current communications trends and best practices; identify opportunities to add value to the work
• Accomplish organizational goals by accepting ownership for completing new and different requests 

Required Qualifications:

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in marketing, journalism, communications or a related field or a combination of related education and relevant experience totaling 4 years

Experience:

• Day-to-day account services for internal or external clients
• Management of marketing and communications projects
• Gathering and analyzing metrics regarding project performance
• Ensuring compliance with brand guidelines/principles
• Writing and editing of short- and long-form content
• Mainstream social media tools and content planning
• Media relations

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Time management
• Attention to detail
• Strong critical thinking skills
• Understanding of current/future marketing and communications trends
• Understanding of marketing and communication strategy and how to implement it
• Confidence in suggesting different approaches to unit leaders
• Ability to manage multiple projects and activities simultaneously as part of a team
• Proficient use of Microsoft Office suite, Adobe Acrobat, related tools

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in a higher education setting, specifically communicating with/to students 
• Knowledge and understanding of student affairs programs and services 
• Experience in media relations, public relations and strategic communication 
• Photography/videography experience

This is a 100%, full-time, 12 month position with benefits.