Assistant Director, Advancement Communications

Job Category: Fulltime Regular
Exempt Overtime Eligible: Exempt
Benefits Eligible: Benefit Based

Caltech is a world-renowned science and engineering institute that marshals some of the world's brightest minds and most innovative tools to address fundamental scientific questions. We thrive on finding and cultivating talented people who are passionate about what they do. Join us and be a part of the diverse Caltech community.

Job Summary

The division of Advancement and Alumni Relations fosters a thriving and engaged community of support for the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Through meaningful and calibrated connections with donors, alumni, and the campus community, we ensure that financial resources are available for faculty and students to expand human knowledge and benefit society through research integrated with education.

Reporting to the Executive Director for Advancement Communications, the Assistant Director's expertise in storytelling and digital media are essential to conveying the vital role and impact of philanthropy at Caltech. The position requires superb writing and editing skills and demonstrated ability to clearly communicate scientific concepts and manage complex projects under tight deadlines. Applicants must be able to produce communications that utilize both reason and emotion to inspire Caltech's constituents.

Within a high-performance environment, the Assistant Director helps to amplify the stories of our donors and their philanthropy to regional, national, and global audiences. As part of a three-member team, the Assistant Director manages a wide variety of communications projects, including maintaining the Caltech Giving and student initiative websites and helping to develop and implement multichannel communications that promote, celebrate, and directly solicit support for the Institute.

The team's projects include narrative and video content highlighting the impact of philanthropy at Caltech, website and social media content, brochures, print and electronic newsletters, event invitations, case statements, white papers, and principal and major gift proposals. In addition, the department uses data and multifaceted analytics to track and measure the effectiveness of their work and guide future projects. The Assistant Director works closely with colleagues in Advancement and Alumni Relations and throughout campus, including the Office of Communications and External Relations, and with freelance creative service providers.

As candidates advance through the consideration phase of the application process, they will be asked to submit a portfolio of written work and complete a writing exercise.

Essential Job Duties

Writing and Editing: 25%

• Write email and social media copy summarizing philanthropy stories that have been approved for publication.
• Research, conduct interviews, write, and proofread copy for impact stories, gift announcements, brochures, e-newsletters, web and social media content, solicitations and other mass-market fundraising efforts, white papers, case statements, and other communications to support Caltech's advancement enterprise.
• Analyze requests for assistance, develop realistic deadlines, and complete work on schedule.
• Independently incorporate changes, comments, and critiques from multiple reviewers, including donors, as well as academic, advancement, and communications colleagues.
• Exercise sound editorial judgment on content strategy, appropriate points of emphasis, and persuasive impact.
• Describe complex scientific and technical subject matter clearly and accurately and present concise and persuasive rationales for philanthropy.

Digital Communications and Social Media: 30%

• Pull and prepare mailing lists from the Advancement database.
• Build emails in Anthology Encompass.
• Prepare social media copy and collateral.
• Maintain the Caltech giving website and the student initiative microsite, continually refreshing and improving content, such as impact stories, gift announcements, and videos, to deliver a best-in-class experience to Caltech's constituents.
• Track and report on digital communications performance metrics, such as email open and click-through rates and web page views.

Project Management: 45%

• Maintain the all-AAR Communications Calendar.
• Maintain AAR's digital asset management system.
• Manage the production process of two annual print/digital newsletters for the Office of Gift Planning and one annual endowment report.
• Collaborate with Advancement Communications teammates to continually improve communications based on analytics.
• Assist in day-to-day supervision of consultants, freelancers, and vendors.
• Collaborate with Advancement Communications teammates to plan and implement high-impact digital and print storytelling.
• Uphold AAR and Institute messaging, tone, style, and brand guidelines.
• Stay abreast of Caltech news, along with national and global developments in science and technology. Actively seek out Caltech stories that support AAR's goals.
• Maintain a clear understanding of all AAR and fundraising goals, strategies, and messages.
• Other duties as assigned.

Basic Qualifications

• College degree, preferably in English, journalism, communications, or a related field.
• Three or more years of experience in a professional communications role.
• Proven superior writing and editing skills.
• Ability to communicate about a wide range of science and technology topics to the public.
• Proven experience producing multimedia content that integrates copy, photography/video, illustrations, and infographics.
• Ability to manage multiple complex tasks simultaneously, coordinate the roles of various project participants, set priorities and schedules, and meet deadlines with minimal supervision.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• Ability to facilitate mutual understanding and work effectively with a wide variety of people, including faculty, administrators, development colleagues, donors, alumni, students, and friends of the Institute.
• Understanding of the overall advancement enterprise-particularly within an academic setting-and ability to work within that framework.
• Authentic curiosity about science and technology, and an appreciation for the extraordinary intellectual accomplishments and contributions of Caltech donors, faculty, students, alumni, and volunteers.

Preferred Qualifications

• Science, medical, or technical writing experience.
• Advancement writing experience.
• Strong working knowledge of social media platforms.
• Proficiency using marketing automation platforms (such as Encompass) and content management systems (such as Wagtail).
• Experience working with graphic designers, videographers, and photographers.

Highly Desirable Qualifications

• Understanding of graphic design concepts and ability to positively influence the designs of communications projects.
• Proficiency using desktop publishing software, specifically Adobe InDesign.
• Proficiency using video editing software, specifically Adobe Premiere and/or Premiere Rush.

Required Documents

• Resume.
• Cover Letter.

To be considered for this position please visit our web site and apply on line at the following link: https://hr.caltech.edu/work/job_openings

We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

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