Director of Communications

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Central Piedmont Community College is Mecklenburg County’s resource for academic excellence and cultural enrichment. Central Piedmont is in close proximity to the Queen City’s robust public transportation system, professional sports arenas, and a number of premiere restaurant and shopping outlets that attract visitors from Mecklenburg County and beyond. Today, close to 40,000 students call Central Piedmont home. With eight locations, it is one of the largest community colleges in the Carolinas and serves people of all ages who seek a real-world, affordable, hands-on education that will transform their lives and strengthen the economic, social, and cultural environment of Mecklenburg County.

Overview:
Central Piedmont is currently seeking Director of Communications in the Communications, Marketing and Public Relations department located on Central Campus – Sommers Building.

This position is on the communications team within the Communications, Marketing, & Public Relations unit.

General function:
This position serves as the primary contact for all internal and some external communication at the college by working collaboratively with all departments and the administration to draft and review messages before distributing them

Characteristic duties and responsibilities:
• Researches and develops comprehensive guidelines for internal and external communications across all college units. Work with other staff in Communications, Marketing, & Public Relations to assess and enhance the effectiveness of college communications
• Coordinates with Communications, Marketing, & Public Relations as well as other areas of the college, in the creation and implementation of a comprehensive, strategic internal communications plan – including maintaining ongoing client contacts college-wide for communications input and coordination year-round
• Will lead the Communications, Marketing, & Public Relations work in the creation of – and ongoing strategy and use of – a new SharePoint-based intranet to keep staff and faculty apprised of college news, information and updates. Sources and writes compelling, engaging, and concise Central Piedmont-related content and published on the intranet and also on the college’s public website homepage news section
• Helps the Vice President for Communications, Marketing, & Public Relations Community Relations and Marketing Services and the Executive Director of Communications in enhancing/updating the crisis communications plan and working as partners with the college’s Emergency Management team – and the overall Risk, Safety, and Security team – in implementing the components of the plan in the event of a critical event/emergency, as well as assisting in the training of Communications, Marketing, & Public Relations team members to execute the plan
• Monitors, assembles and edits submissions for all internal communications (email messages, weekly newsletter, etc.), publishes and distributes internally. Maintains the tracking of and archives for internal college-wide communications
• Researches, writes and distributes news releases as requested. Maintains the media list for distribution of news releases. Helps the Vice President for Communications, Marketing, & Public Relations and the Executive Director of Communications to respond to media inquiries in a timely and effective manner
• Conceptualizes, writes and edits copy for printed and online materials and publications for the college. Proofreads and also provides input regarding all written marketing communications during the internal approval process as requested
• Maintains, updates, and implements the Central Piedmont style guide (and lexicon guide) as needed
• Ensures proper usage of Associated Press (AP) style while managing the college’s style guide. Monitors official college communications for accurate and consistent compliance with the standards of the college’s style guide (which is largely based on Associated Press –AP – style)
• May serve as marketing account representative for units within the college by developing and implementing marketing plans and creating projects for internal clients
• May create and distribute social media content as backup for Social Media Manager
• Monitors social media for questions/comments about the college and replies as needed, as backup for Social Media Manager
• Proofs content for College Catalog project
• Posts items and manages information on college’s events calendar
• Serves on committees as assigned
• Performs other duties as assigned

Knowledge, skills, abilities and characteristics:
• Ability to write well (and quickly) for a variety of audiences, distilling complex information into consumable content
• Knowledge of effective communication practices and strategies
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Ability to understand and work with various media sources
• Expertise in journalistic writing styles
• Ability to assess media effectiveness
• Knowledge of marketing principles and practices
• Ability to prioritize tasks and manage time effectively
• Knowledge of Microsoft SharePoint – as well as generally-accepted web accessibility, web usability standards, and multimedia design standards

Qualifications:
Minimum
• Bachelor’s Degree from a regionally accredited institution in Marketing, Communication/Journalism or a related field and/or 4 years of experience in communications, marketing, internal / employee communications, feature writing, and/or social media. Knowledge of and familiarity with AP Style
Preferred
• Supervisory experience
• Strong writer and collaborative

Required documents:
A completed Central Piedmont application must be completed on-line. During the on-line application process, applicants will be prompted to upload or build a cover letter and resume.

College transcripts (if required for the position) must be attached on-line in the “additional documents” section of the application process.
Applicants that do not have an electronic copy of their transcripts, or find the electronic copy is rejected on-line due to the file size, may fax their transcripts to (704) 330-6066 for attachment to the on-line application.

All applications must be received in the Human Resources office by 11:59 p.m. on the closing date posted to be guaranteed for consideration. Applications of qualified candidates received after this date may be considered at the discretion of the hiring manager.

Conditions of employment:
Pay grade for this position is M. Salary for this position is $53,318 (entry) – $61,049 (25th percentile). Initial placement for new employees is customarily at entry level through 25% percentile. Contract type is Administrative. Ability to work a flexible schedule, which may include off-shift hours, evening and weekend assignments may be required of any position.

All positions are subject to budget approval. Central Piedmont offers an excellent benefits package to full-time employees including Health, Dental, Vision, Retirement, Life Insurance, Flexible Spending Accounts, Education Benefits, Disability and more.

As a recipient of federal funds, Central Piedmont is required to comply with Title IX of the Higher Education Amendments of 1972, 20 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq. (“Title IX”), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in educational programs or activities. Central Piedmont Community College does not discriminate on the basis of sex in its educational programs or activities, including in the context of admission or employment.