Job Description

This position is located out of our Bloomington, IN office.

Hybrid work is available with at least 3 days per week in the office and 2 days per week with the option to work remotely.

The salary range for this position is $100,000-$130,000/yr

The Indiana University Foundation (IUF) is seeking a master problem solver, relationship builder, and strategic business partner to serve as the Senior Director of Communications. In this pivotal role, you will champion and advocate for the communication needs across our organization, overseeing our internal and external comms, social media, publications, and content teams.

We are looking for a visionary guru and expert in the communications field eager to help build a new team from the ground up, allowing us to take deliberate steps in creating an advancement-driven organization.

Someone with a strategic mindset who thrives seeing big ideas brought to life and enjoys harnessing and leveraging the skills of others to realize those lifts. A strong leader who can help us create the infrastructure, build the processes, and design the tactics to reposition us in the marketplace. Someone to set the pace and signify an advancement focal point, so we can streamline the experience for our constituents that increases brand recognition, engagement, and donations.

The right candidate is someone who has a big-picture mindset and a can-do attitude. A true strategist and deadline wrangler—excited about driving strategy while simultaneously rolling up their sleeves to manage our employee, alumni, and donor outcomes.

You’ll thrive in a fast-paced and dynamic environment, drawing on your strategic communications experience. This individual will lead a small, but mighty team of 5 that supports an organization of 300+. So, you will know how to incorporate the skills, talents, and ideas of others and empower and motivate them along the way.

You will help shape and guide the team to lead audience-centered communication initiatives, including magazine and newsletter oversight, internal communication support, government relations management, content curation, presidential touchpoints, and response management.

The Communications division will bring awareness to the University’s philanthropic needs and share that impact broadly. From Identifying and finetuning our voice and market position to creating a comprehensive communication plan and blueprint for the org, you will:

Showcase the Foundation’s impact locally, nationally and globally.
Drive alumni and donor engagement through communication, participation, volunteerism, and philanthropic outreach.
Promote our notable alumni and donor stories to inspire others.
Help position the work we do as a leader in our space.
Maximize private support for IU.
Track, monitor, and measure the team’s efforts and leverage analytics to inform our team’s decision-making.

The right candidate will have a hand in supporting the Foundation’s President and CEO, which includes counseling and advising the President, shaping his image, and helping to promote him as an advancement expert and philanthropic leader. You will create a thought leadership plan, design speeches, write talking points, and build presentations.

In addition, as the point person for media relations, you will spearhead all media relations activities in local and national markets, establishing working relationships with the media and serving as the Foundation spokesperson.

So, join us in shaping the narrative and strengthening the mission, vision, and purpose of the Indiana University Foundation.

Qualifications

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities Required:

Proven ability to prioritize and manage multiple projects for a variety of stakeholders successfully and independently.
Stellar written and oral communication skills, with the ability to grasp and translate complex and disparate ideas into cohesive and clear key messages.
Graceful, resilient, and flexible in the face of change.
Proven ability to work under tight deadlines and deliver high-quality work quickly.
A clear understanding of audience segmentation, considering the impact of messaging on all stakeholders.
Expertise in the development of visual content for a variety of platforms to help reach organizational goals.
Media relations experience.
Demonstrated ability to lead and manage a team, keeping organizational values as a guidepost.
Deep crisis-communication experience.
Proven ability to leverage metrics to inform decision-making.
Impeccable problem-solving skills.
Successful and inspiring record of crafting, planning, and executing focused, creative, purpose-driven, and integrated communications strategies to support multiple long-term objectives.
Ability to create appropriate content and tone for a wide variety of voices in a mix of mediums including news releases, executive communications, speeches, emails, blogs, media briefings, and presentations.
Ability to analyze, conceptualize, research, and implement projects and initiatives, even in the absence of existing models.
Collaborative spirit which fosters the building of relationships across all levels of the organization.
Ability to facilitate, negotiate, and resolve conflicting viewpoints.
Strong attention to organization, detail, quality, and timeliness.
The highest level of interpersonal skills and ability to establish and maintain excellent working relations with colleagues across IUF, the university, donors, alumni, corporate partners, media representatives, and the public.
Ability to be confidential and discreet.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications with an emphasis on Teams, Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.
A working knowledge of current best practices and how to apply them to communication initiatives.

Minimum Qualifications:

A bachelor’s degree in communications is required.
A minimum of 8 years of relevant experience in marketing and communications is required.
Executive-level/c-suite experience is a must!

Preferred Qualifications:

A master’s degree is preferred.

Combinations of education and experience will be considered.

Company Description

Are you a high-performer who wants to contribute to a mission-driven and values-based organization? If you are motivated by doing impactful work and making a difference in people’s lives, then the Indiana University Foundation (IUF) is the place for you. At the IUF, we believe in making the dream of higher education attainable, providing support for life-changing research, and preparing the next generation of leaders.

As a trailblazer among our peers, we provide fundraising leadership and endowment stewardship to support needs and initiatives across all of Indiana University’s campuses. As part of our team, you will help make IU donor’s dreams last forever.

At the IUF we work hard, celebrate achievements, and foster an environment where everyone’s contributions matter. We are nimble and innovative, and we want you to bring your ideas and energy to join forces with some of the best talent in our industry.

In addition to being part of a meaningful mission as an IUF employee, you’ll find there are many ways to connect and collaborate. Our diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives ensure that our colleagues are celebrated for who they are and have a voice. Our FUNdation (see what we did there?) Committee helps us connect and unwind with food truck lunches, holiday gatherings, costume contests, free snacks, IU spirit-wear Fridays, and spontaneous gestures that surprise and delight. Our Wellness Committee ensures that the health and well-being of our employees is top of mind, offering yoga, a lunchtime walking group, meditation breaks, the Headspace app, and topical workshops. We encourage community leadership and service and make space for our staff to pursue their passions. Our total rewards philosophy ensures that we support employees financially, emotionally, and in their career growth.

If the IUF sounds like a fit for you, we invite you to join us today.

Additional information

Apply today!

We are accepting applications now through July 1, 2024. A cover letter articulating your interest in the position is highly recommended for consideration. In addition, we welcome writing samples or other publications.

The IUF is committed to providing a safe, respectful and professional work environment that is free of Discrimination and Harassment. The IUF will not tolerate any form of Discrimination or Harassment based on the Individual’s race, ethnicity, religion, color, sex, age, national origin, genetic information, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity or expression, ancestry, marital status, protected veteran status, pregnancy, or any other basis prohibited by law.

Indiana University Foundation

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Senior Director of Communications