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Director of Community Engagement (Open to Internal Candidates Only)

Job Description

Operating Title

Director of Community Engagement (Open to Internal Candidates Only)

Long Classification Title

Communication Director

Campus Location

Durham

Department

UNH COLSA Dean's Office - Life Science & Agriculture

Summary of Position

The Director of Community Engagement will lead public affairs, government relations, and community engagement efforts for the University of New Hampshire’s College of Life Sciences and Agriculture and New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station. Reporting to the Dean of the College and the Director of the Agricultural Experiment Station and working closely with the COLSA Integrated Director of Marketing, the Director will develop and implement a comprehensive and diversified public engagement program to reach key internal and external audiences about COLSA initiatives, priorities, and achievements. The position will create and launch the college-level infrastructure, in close collaboration with the COLSA Integrated Marketing Director, for the identification, creation and distribution of compelling content across a diversity of channels to inform, inspire, and engage relevant audiences/COLSA stakeholders and move them to supportive actions to advance COLSA, ensuring adherence to UNH branding standards. The position will also lead the planning and execution of public and community engagement events as well as directly engage with key audiences and stakeholders to increase COLSA’s research impacts, strengthen its reputation across New Hampshire, and identify opportunity for new partnerships. Work will include leading, directing, and creating communications content for high-level events and our electronic and print communications channels for the College’s primary audiences, including prospective and current students and their families, alumni and donors, faculty, and staff, and key College stakeholders, including federal and state delegations.
The Director of Community Engagement is a communications and public engagement expert with a passion to contribute to advancing the mission of the College of Life Sciences and Agriculture. Further, the Director will have a commitment to and focus on furthering the University of New Hampshire’s land grant mission to lead locally inspired discovery, deliver place-based instruction, and create impactful engagement to benefit the lives, livelihoods and landscapes of New Hampshire and beyond.

Acceptable minimum level of education

Bachelor's

Acceptable minimum years of experience

10+ years

Posting Number

PS4957FY25

Other minimum qualifications

  • Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field.
  • At least ten years of experience leading communications or related functions in a complex organization including, but not limited to demonstrated experience developing, socializing, and executing a communications strategy for public and community engagement.
  • Excellent written and oral communication skills.
  • Mastery of communications and public engagement strategies and tactics across print, digital, and broadcast marketing and communication channels; experience in digital and interpersonal storytelling.
  • Ability to engage with and bring together stakeholders from diverse communities to further the strategic goals of the organization.
  • Proactive, inspiring and self-directed work ethic with ability to lead a focused team within a large organization; supervisory experience and skills.
  • Ability to prioritize, multi-task, and shift priorities as necessary.

Additional Preferred Qualifications

  • Ability to make high-level decisions and provide communications advice to colleagues and direct the work of staff and external consultants, firms, etc.
  • Clear understanding of State and Federal government structure at the intersection of education and research funding.
  • Ability to translate a strategy or concept into effective public and community engagement programs with measurable results.

Salary Information

Salary is complemented by a comprehensive benefits package which includes medical, dental, retirement, tuition, and paid time off.

Quicklink for Posting

https://jobs.usnh.edu/postings/63856

Percent Time Information (FTE)

1.0

Grade

24

EEO Statement

The University System of New Hampshire is an Equal Opportunity/Equal Access/Affirmative Action employer. The University System is committed to creating an environment that values and supports diversity and inclusiveness across our campus communities and encourages applications from qualified individuals who will help us achieve this mission. The University System prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or marital status.

Institution Information

The University of New Hampshire is an R1 Carnegie classification research institution providing comprehensive, high-quality undergraduate and graduate programs of distinction. UNH is located in Durham on a 188-acre campus, 60 miles north of Boston and 8 miles from the Atlantic coast and is convenient to New Hampshire’s lakes and mountains. There is a student enrollment of 13,000 students, with a full-time faculty of over 600, offering 90 undergraduate and more than 70 graduate programs. The University actively promotes a dynamic learning environment in which qualified individuals of differing perspectives, life experiences, and cultural backgrounds pursue academic goals with mutual respect and shared inquiry.
The UNH Diversity Resource Guide with information and programming available in the seacoast area, New Hampshire, and the region can be found here: https://www.unh.edu/hr/diversity-resource-guide

Posting Date

11/07/2024

Open Until Filled

No

Closing Date

11/17/2024

Posting Open to Internal Candidates Only?

Yes

Interested Internal Candidates Exist?

Yes

Job Category

Salaried Staff (Exempt)

Appointment Type

Grant Funded

Drivers License and Physical Requirements. Please check all items that apply.

None applicable

Duty/Responsibility

College and Station communications
  • Supervise and manage the performance of all content development team members, including student and staff content production team members, ensuring the productivity and quality of work produced by the content development team. Direct and supervise activities of freelancers, and other independent creative content developers.
  • Stay current on relevant life sciences and agriculture-related topics and issues that should be referenced in executive communications.
  • Develop and support college events in alignment with college goals and priorities.
  • In partnership with the Integrated Marketing Director, ensure strategic alignment with UNH Marketing and Media Relations. Oversee development of college-level policies and practices to ensure branding compliance and strategic communications.
  • Develop and direct communications programming consistent with college and station goals and priorities, with responsibility for managing high-level events including special lecture series, awards ceremonies and graduation ceremonies, and identifying and ensuring necessary communications components and measures appropriate to each event.
  • Implement a comprehensive and diversified communications program to reach key internal and external audiences about college and station initiatives, priorities, and achievements, including serving as Editor in Chief of THRIVE, the College’s flagship print and digital publication.
  • Develop strong relationships with the campus communicators and development teams. Collaborate across these networks and ensure cross-promotion opportunities are secured.
  • Develop strong relationships with external media communicators relevant to the college and station and actively engage across these networks.

Duty/Responsibility

Public affairs
  • Identify NH communities that may be underserved by UNH / COLSA (including Indigenous Peoples populations) and strengthen those relationships.
  • Strengthen relationships with community, municipal, regional, non-profit leaders.
  • Lead the organization of public engagement events—at UNH and around NH—that will enable diverse communities to engage with COLSA/NHAES research and researchers.
  • Develop a strategic vision and execution strategy to increase communication among COLSA faculty/staff and diverse communities around NH.
  • Work with UNH Foundation to identify whether / how these stronger connections could be leveraged to increase support for COLSA.
  • Work with UNH admissions and CPA to identify whether / how these stronger connections could be leveraged to increase enrollment by in-state students to COLSA.

Duty/Responsibility

Government relations
  • In strategic alignment with UNH legislative affairs team, strengthen and establish new government relations for the college, with both State and Federal delegations.
  • Serve as a liaison between UNH legislative affairs office and COLSA/NHAES, helping strategically implement UNH-level government relations strategies and communicating new opportunities to the UNH legislative affairs office.
  • Actively identify earmark opportunities specific to COLSA’s strengths, build relationships with delegations and understand how their priorities can be aligned with COLSA strengths, and work with faculty and staff to develop targeted proposals that maximize the chances of successful earmark requests.
  • Establish regular communications with State and Federal delegations to ensure that there is a constant flow of information about how COLSA/NHAES is benefitting the state.
  • Work to increase opportunities for COLSA faculty and staff to testify at the State and Federal levels, bringing key knowledge back to NH communities.
  • Work with NHAES to strengthen the crafting and delivery of a stronger message to State and Federal delegations about the importance of capacity research funding.

Duty/Responsibility

Administrative management and budgeting
  • Determine and prepare budgetary recommendations and manage expenditures of budgeted funds for approved communications and events activities of the college.
  • Create timelines and budgets for communications and events projects and ensure timely and effective delivery.
  • Develop and rely on analytics and data to inform decision and make recommendations.

Duty/Responsibility

  • Other duties as assigned

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