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The Dean's Office within the College of Engineering has an outstanding opportunity for an Associate Director of Online Communications.
The Associate Director of Online Communications is responsible for directing and managing the College of Engineering’s (CoE) web team and ensuring an innovative online presence for the CoE including the strategic creation, management, planning, implementation and evaluation of the College’s websites in support of institutional marketing and communications objectives. This position manages the web team’s partner relationships with five academic departments within the CoE to develop and sustain their online presence, guide strategic planning, consult on new web-based initiatives and drive content updates.
The Associate Director is on the CoE’s Marketing Communications team, part of the CoE’s advancement team, and works within the Integrated Advancement Model. The work integrates development, advancement services, alumni relations and marketing/communications. This position also works closely with academic leadership, staff and faculty. This position ensures that the websites of the CoE reflect brand standards and best practices of the CoE and UW while meeting the needs of its users, including internal and external audiences such as current and future students, faculty, staff, alumni, industry partners and the public.
The Associate Director works closely with the Director of Marketing Communications to advise on strategy and program development in the web space, including: analyzing data and disseminating reports to drive web strategies; developing roadmaps for digital communications that incorporate data-driven decision making; build, enhance and continuously improve the web presence for the CoE and partner departments; educate partners on new and available tools, analytics and strategies; incorporate emerging tools and technologies; follow trends in website management; and advise on adoption of new technologies.
The position requires strong independent judgment to advise and build plans and strategies for the College, its departments, centers, programs and faculty while mediating relationships, building consensus, and ensuring the production of high-quality work under tight timelines and within a multi-faceted, multilayered culture, both at the University level as well as at the complex College level. The position is able to advance multiple complex projects simultaneously, often without clear ownership, prioritize work while communicating with stakeholders, and cultivate relationships with partners that have conflicting priorities.
The Associate Director manages a team of two or more professional staff members and is responsible for their staff development and career enrichment, ensuring the web team unit works closely and collaboratively within the team and with its partners. The Associate Director is the primary liaison to the academic departments and directs the planning and strategic development of all new online projects. The Associate Director trains, collaborates and consults with faculty and staff from engineering departments and programs.
The Associate Director supports marketing and communications goals and objectives in the management of the College of Engineering’s online presence, ensuring accurate, timely, and professional content development and maintenance of all College of Engineering web pages.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
•Site-wide strategy and implementation (30%)
- With Director of Marketing Communications, ensure CoE and partner web sites meet strategic goals; create and execute roadmap of strategic plan for site in near and long-term.
- Create College-wide standards for web sites and ensure web pages reflect branding and messaging of CoE/UW, meet needs of stakeholders and positively represent CoE.
- Work with developers to maintain existing websites, map and drive brand redesigns and other large-scale updates.
- Develop and direct user testing to ensure sites are accurate, complete and easy to use; lead design/redesign of user interface layouts, site maps, high-level content as needed.
- Work as the main liaison to departments for project intake, scope and plan development.
- Assign projects and oversee workflow of web team professional staff.
- Advise and consult on best practices to ensure the site is aesthetically pleasing, navigable, up to date, and incorporates user data.
•Content programming and support, and maintenance (30%)
- Lead periodic content audits for accuracy, completeness and relevance.
- Partner with Associate Director of Content and public information officers on a 6 and 12 month editorial calendar for key initiatives.
- Create and maintain annual web plan for CoE and partner departments, tracking large scale projects and prioritizing efforts for web team.
- Work with Drupal on an administrator level; collaborate with web developers on the back end to create and configure content types.
- Create, manage and maintain content to ensure accurate, timely and professional websites, both in response to support requests and independently as needed.
- Ensure timely responses to support requests by the web team; maintain positive collaborative relationships with web editors in partner programs and departments.
- Review web and electronic communication content for consistency, accuracy, readability, editorial conventions and brevity.
- Advise and help develop design and implementation of web forms and other interactive components.
- Verify that web sites comply with current operational requirements and UW policies.
•Data analytics, system and process management (20%)
- Analyze web usage and other analytics data, set benchmarks and best practices for CoE and partner sites.
- Use tools such as SiteImprove, Google Analytics and others to track performance; stay up to date and recommend adoption of new tools as needed.
- Communicate with leaders at CoE and partner departments on website performance bi-annually. Create and disseminate reports and make recommendations for data-driven updates; apply to long term web strategy.
- Ensure websites use best practices for SEO (search engine optimization) and report on performance; advise on growth strategies.
- Evaluate existing web sites and online technologies. Recommend improvements as technologies evolve.
- Ensure compliance with ADA accessibility standards.
- Evaluate ticketing systems for web support; advise on process updates to meet administrative needs.
•Technical support and training (10%)
- Understand and train users on administrative aspects of Drupal, Trumba, Marketo and other web tools.
- Assist department staff on web issues, including use of engineering department templates.
- Working with Director of Marketing and Communications to ideate content, and present and provide relevant training at CoE-wide communicator meetings.
- Advise and train CoE web content team and editors within the CoE workspace on design and development of Marketo email messages, announcements and newsletters.
- Understand, work in and advise on project management tools (such as Teamwork, Slack, ticketing systems, Google Drive, MS Teams, Dropbox, etc.), including best practices and recommendations for process changes.
•Other (10%)
- Work with Marketo on an administrator level, advise on technical updates and edits, train users, refine processes and best practices.
- Design, update and edit templates for Marketo for CoE and partner departments.
- Serve as approver in CoE’s Marketo approval process; provide editorial and design feedback for messages.
- Represent the College of Engineering at UW Web Council meetings; participate in other digital and in-person UW-forums for web to share and learn skills and keep apprised of new developments.
- Serve as backup publisher of social media content.
- Other related work/projects as needed.
REQUIREMENTS:
•Bachelor’s degree in communications, marketing, technical communication, or related field AND 6 year’s professional client-facing experience.
•Demonstrated knowledge of website development lifecycle. Able to conceive, implement, and evaluate creative online strategies. Experience developing website plans that incorporate strategic planning and stakeholder goals and benchmarks, best practices, web analytics and user-driven feedback.
•Demonstrated understanding of web design including experience in web graphic design, interface design, user experience design and web accessibility.
•Understanding of web analytics, SEO and related tools; experience applying analytics to improve the performance of online properties.
•Demonstrated experience and interest in leadership to manage staff; this position is responsible for mentoring, coaching and providing support and feedback to a team. Able to communicate decision-making and mediate problems, promote consensus and foster positive relationships.
•Experience working and communicating with diverse collaborators; customer service minded with interpersonal skills and experience working in and maintaining confidentiality; strong written and verbal communication skills; able to flex communication styles.
•Strong capacity to prioritize work. Able to synthesize information and balance interests in a decisive and timely manner. Demonstrated ability to make decisions in ambiguous situations, exercise good judgment based on information and analysis in a fast pace, dynamic, deadline drive environment in an organized and professional manner.
•Demonstrated technical skills, including proficiency in HTML, CSS, and Drupal or other content management systems. This position must also understand basic web technology concepts (e.g. HTTP, DNS, SSL, JavaScript, and PHP) as well as familiarity with database design and SQL as it relates to dynamic web content.
•Other technical skills required include experience with digital marketing services like Marketo or MailChimp; knowledge of web standards, including W3C compliance and accessibility; familiarity with Photoshop or other image-editing software.
•Experience using project management tools such as Teamwork, MS Teams, Slack, Jira and ticketing systems.
•Experience working within and extending an existing set of brand guidelines and standards.
Equivalent education/experience will substitute for all minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license/certification/registration.
DESIRED EXPERIENCE
•Experience working in higher education.
•Experience in web development and other back-end work to build web tools, modules and templates in a CMS.
•Familiarity with social media ad campaigns.
•Proficient in Bootstrap, LESS and/or Sass, JavaScript, PHP programming experience.
•Equivalent education/experience may substitute for stated requirements.
Application Process:
The application process for UW positions may include completion of a variety of online assessments to obtain additional information that will be used in the evaluation process. These assessments may include Workforce Authorization, Cover Letter and/or others. Any assessments that you need to complete will appear on your screen as soon as you select “Apply to this position”. Once you begin an assessment, it must be completed at that time; if you do not complete the assessment you will be prompted to do so the next time you access your “My Jobs” page. If you select to take it later, it will appear on your "My Jobs" page to take when you are ready. Please note that your application will not be reviewed, and you will not be considered for this position until all required assessments have been completed. |
