Boasting a 300-acre tree-lined campus in Houston, Rice University is ranked among the nation’s top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has a 6-to-1 undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio, and a residential college system, which supports students intellectually, emotionally, and culturally through social events, intramural sports, student plays, lectures series, courses, and student government. Developing close-knit, diverse college communities is a strong campus tradition, which is why Rice is highly ranked for best quality of life and best value among private universities.
The Shepherd School of Music, one of the nation’s leading music schools, is currently seeking to hire a Digital Communications Manager to raise awareness of its students and distinguished alumni, faculty members, performance activities, programs, and enrollment efforts. In this role, you will serve as the primary staff member responsible for planning, producing, publishing, and measuring the performance of content on social media platforms, its website, and through email communications. You will track metrics, identify trends, recommend responses, and devise digital communications strategies to address assigned topics. In addition, you will collaborate with constituents of the Shepherd School to ensure that the school’s stories and priorities are reflected across its digital channels.
The ideal candidate for this role is a creative and motivated self-starter who thrives in a collaborative environment. You are passionate about celebrating the achievements of students, faculty, and alumni at one of the nation’s premier music schools. With strong experience in digital communications, you excel at producing, publishing, and analyzing content across social media, websites, and email platforms. You are adept at crafting engaging digital strategies and content that effectively raise awareness of the school’s performance activities, programs, and enrollment efforts.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Develop integrated digital communication plans to engage constituents and grow patronage at the Shepherd School, under the direction of the Director of Marketing & Communications
- Build, test, and deploy Shepherd School patron-facing emails related to marketing, communications, and ticketing
- Update the Shepherd School’s website content, including faculty bios, department pages, news items, and more
- Serve as the primary staff member responsible for establishing, developing, monitoring, and maintaining the Shepherd School of Music’s social media presence
- Write copy, design, and coordinate the production of social media communication content
- Curate dynamic content, including photography and video, for the Shepherd School’s website and social media channels
- Collaborate with students, faculty, and staff to tell the stories of the Shepherd School, creating processes to gather and share information in a timely manner
- Design and develop graphics for digital communications
- Manage social listening efforts and share with the Director of Marketing and Communications
- Provide customer service to constituents across digital channels
- Compile data, analyze, and report on social media and email efforts
- Act as an internal advocate for social media community efforts, build support for social initiatives among internal stakeholders, and drives best practices
- Monitor trends and develop relevant content
- Measure effectiveness of email communications in driving performance attendance
- Participate in school and university-wide initiatives with cross-functional teams to establish Shepherd School as a consistently top-ranked school of music
- Promote Shepherd School events by creating and updating listings on Houston online calendars
- Coordinate and execute cross-promotional marketing and communications efforts with other Rice schools/departments and community partners
- Coordinate with Rice Public Affairs teams as needed on photography and communications efforts
- Assist with the execution of paid marketing plans
- Perform other duties as assigned
REQUIREMENTS:
- Bachelor’s Degree
- 2+ years of professional experience in a performing arts environment on a marketing or communications team, handling social media content, email communications, design, and web
- Strong verbal and written communication skills
- Organized, creative, and able to take direction and work to meet expected deadlines and schedules
- Proven knowledge of social media/digital platforms, including current and future trends
- Proven experience updating website information using a content management system (CMS)
- Proven experience in designing and deploying public-facing email communications
- Demonstrated team player
- 3-4 years of professional experience on a marketing or communications team working with social media content, email communications, design, and web is preferred
- Bachelor’s degree or higher in English, journalism, marketing, or related communication fields is preferred
- Experience with digital media creation, analytics, and data tracking is a plus
Rice University is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to diversity at all levels and considers for employment qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, genetic information, disability, or protected veteran status.