Career Center
Berkeley, California
San Francisco Bay Area, CA
Merced, California
San Bernardino, California
Rohnert Park, California
Posted: 10-Nov-22
Location: La Jolla, California
Employment Type:
Organization Type:
Preferred Education:
Internal Number: SENIO001958
Reporting to the Vice President for External Relations, the Senior Director for Communications oversees the comprehensive communications program for the Salk Institute, further enhancing the Institute’s local, regional, national and international reputation as a world leader in basic biological research. The position leads and oversees campaign messaging; brand marketing; scientific writing; media relations and Salk TV; publications; audio-visual management; and creative graphic arts services for the Institute. The Senior Director is directly responsible for the supervision and management of all personnel and budgetary activity in the Communications & Multi-Media (MMR) Departments.
The Senior Director must be an experienced leader with the knowledge, expertise and poise to work effectively and proactively with all levels of the Institute. Responsible for establishing and maintaining the strategic planning process and organizational structure for the Communications/MMR team, the Senior Director must be self-directed and possess superior written and verbal skills, as well as experience working and communicating with the media.
The Senior Director is a member of the ER’s direct reports and leadership team and serves as the primary contact with the media, meets regularly with President to ensure consistency of messaging, and supports the President with talking points and presentation needs.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS
(50%) Communications Program Management
- Establishes an overall communications and brand management strategy and operating structure for the Communications/MMR team, utilizing proven expertise in program and personnel management.
- In consultation with the President and VP, External Relations, oversees and ensures effective internal and external communications strategies for the Institute.
- Provides expert communications counsel to senior management, helping to meet the Institute's objectives by applying proactive and reactive communications strategy, including rapid/crisis communications.
- Establishes and maintains an effective working relationship with all levels of Institute, including board members, employees, faculty, as well as community and business leaders, and the general public.
- Prepares annual communications plans as well as regular reports on media highlights for Institute leaders.
- Responsible for the development, design, maintenance, updating of Institute internet and intranet web sites.
- Creates communications tools which establish and enhance the Institute's brand and message.
- Ensures that all materials used for communications efforts are drafted and edited appropriately.
- Develops and manages annual operational budgets for Communications and MMR, including the publications budget.
- Ensures financial and operating goals are established and met via objectives and evaluation metrics.
- Oversees the production of all print and electronic publications produced by the Communications Department.
- Through direction of communications team, responsible for the design and creation of logos, posters, flyers, and other materials that follow a consistent visual system.
(20%) Media and Public Relations
- Oversees all public relations for the Institute in consultation with the President. Serves as the primary contact and spokesperson for the Institute, ensuring that all public relations are conducted in a professional, effective and creative manner.
- Oversees all media relations for the Institute. Serves as the public information liaison and Institute spokesperson with the media. Builds media programs which project a unified message and increase exposure.
- Directs media relations outreach and participates in overall messaging and strategy.
- Oversees development and maintenance of contacts with local and national media, placement of stories with local and national media for maximum exposure of Salk science, employment of effective publicity and media strategies, handling of media inquiries, and provision of assistance to Institute spokespersons to manage the media.
- Develops and implements print, audio-visual, and web-based publications, products, and communications to support and promote Institute media relations. Devises and implements successful communications plans and media outreach programs to generate quality print, broadcast, and online media coverage for the Institute.
- Provides counsel and proposes strategies regarding the feasibility of media activities for the Institute. Oversees the prioritization of projects, programs, and activities.
- Provides guidance to faculty members and administration on best practices in media relations.
- Oversees and executes specialized publications, speeches, talking points and other communications, primarily targeting external communities, particularly in support of friends and fundraising.
(20%) Supervision and Personnel Management
- Responsible for the daily senior level management of the Communications and MMR staff.
- Ensures appropriate resources and skill set breadth are maintained to provide expected service levels to the Institute.
- Screens applications, interviews candidates, and recommends individuals for hire. Trains and assigns work. Responsible for performance reviews, promotional decisions, and pay actions for all levels within department. Independently conducts annual performance evaluations of direct reports. Reviews annual performance evaluations of indirect reports. Determines disciplinary or corrective actions for direct reports as needed, with the authority to apply as appropriate and approves/denies disciplinary or corrective actions for indirect reports.
- Responsible for balancing the workload demands of the department within budget availability to determine the number(s) and skill(s) of temporary employees required to provide adequate event coverage.
- Determines what level of independent decision-making authority is appropriate for all levels of supervisory personnel within the department. Mentors direct reports to help them develop their skill sets.
- Ensures the provision of departmental policies and guidelines, and the associated compliance and accountability. Approves/denies time off in accordance with operational needs.
- Provides guidance on performance standards and Institute policies and procedures. Identifies training and professional development needs and budgets accordingly to ensure timely training is provided.
(10%) Leadership and Communication
- Participates in professional associations, industry groups, community, and business groups, to continually increase the Institute's visibility to the public.
- Builds and maintains positive relationships with principal investigators, members of management, and staff to maximize communication and information dissemination in a collaborative manner.
- Participates as a member of various Institute groups, task forces, events planning groups, and committees as needed or by request.
- Interacts with senior management to develop strategic plans for effective management and improvement of Institute communications in alignment with Salk goals and objectives.
- Participates in ER direct reports and management team meetings.
EXPERIENCE
Required:
- A minimum of 10 years of experience in increasingly responsible communications, public relations or client relations positions.
- Five years of functional and personnel management.
- Demonstrated experience to formulate budgetary planning and prioritization of projects, programs, and activities, using sound judgment while meeting the organizational requirements and being accountable.
- Demonstrated experience at creating and implementing a fundamental plan for successful internal and external communications plans and media outreach.
- Extensive writing and editing experience.
- Experience with communications strategy development and crisis management.
Preferred:
- No additional experience preferred
EDUCATION
Required:
- Doctoral degree and/or Master’s degree preferred in Science, English, Journalism, Public Relations, Communications, Marketing, or other related discipline.
SKILLS AND ABILITIES
Required:
- Proven excellence in developing and implementing proactive communication strategies that support the Institute’s goals, events and major programs, and to identify and use resources to carry that effort.
- Sophisticated level of knowledge of the needs and interests of local, national, and international news media.
- Demonstrate superior level of knowledge of strategic public relations and communications research functions.
- Demonstrate strong writing skills and the ability to develop effective and substantive speeches and talking points for the President. Excellent written and verbal communication skills and ability to employ various styles in a clear, consistent, and creative manner. Proven excellence in editing for conciseness, clarity, and tone, and the ability to communicate ideas constructively.
- Demonstrated knowledge of all phases of production in publications, from the editorial plan to final proof, from first layout to delivery.
- Demonstrated personnel management and leadership skills to provide guidance to maintain a strong team; direct the professional activities of the staff; and provide training to develop the professional skills of the staff.
- Excellent interpersonal skills including tact and diplomacy that are used in a professional and effective manner to interact with faculty, staff, and administrators to produce amenable outcomes.
- Demonstrated multitasking and project management skills and the ability to adhere to deadlines while maintaining high-quality work.
- Ability to think strategically and proactively, yet also be skilled in reacting quickly to effectively manage crises.
- Capable of managing shifting priorities in a rapidly changing environment.
- Strong computer skills in commonly used applications (Word, Outlook), databases, and internet search engines.
Preferred:
- Demonstrated experience with web site design and development.
- Familiarity with social media sites, their uses and applicability to public relations efforts.
SPECIAL CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT
- Able to work a flexible schedule based on workload and deadlines.
- Ability to travel and work after hours for events and meetings.
- Access to own transportation for business usage.
- Satisfactory completion of the Institute’s background investigation.
- Must sign an employee confidentiality agreement.
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS/MENTAL ACTIVITIES/ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS
The incumbent in this position will be constantly adjusting focus, grasping, hearing, keying, reaching, seeing, talking, analyzing, calculating, communicating, reading, reasoning, writing, working in confined areas, and working indoors.
Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities
The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)
