Assistant Director of Digital Strategy

University of Southern California / Rossier School of Education

Los Angeles, CA

The USC Rosier School of Education is seeking an assistant director of digital strategy to join the school’s department of communications. The assistant director of digital strategy will serve as the content owner and manager of rossier.usc.edu and will oversee the execution of digital strategy and content quality assurance across the site. As a part of USC Rossier’s web communications team, the assistant director of digital strategy will be the main point of contact for outlying web contributors, provide oversight for authors and the web publishing process, and direct the school’s web governance policies. The assistant director of digital strategy will also write and edit content for the website and oversee the school’s editorial calendar.

This position will reside in communications and work closely with USC Rossier’s management information systems team, enrollment and marketing department as well as faculty and other staff to provide oversight and hands-on project management of school web-related project. The assistant director of digital strategy will ensure that the overall web vision and strategy supports communications, enrollment, marketing and advancement goals and an engaged student/prospective student experience.

What You'll Do:

In collaboration with relevant staff, the assistant director of digital strategy will help develop and oversee digital content strategy for USC Rossier. You will align digital strategy across multiple platforms, including the school website and social media, to support key school goals, including the work of the admissions and advancement teams. And you will oversee rossier.usc.edu, writing and editing web content that informs users, enforcing communications and branding goals, and managing web governance policies. 

Web Strategy

• Provides holistic direction and vision for school website, emphasizing content.

• Leads the design and development of web-based elements that reinforce key message points in ways that are creative, compelling, innovative and influential and that fully support brand and positioning strategies.

• Analyzes site traffic statistics, reviews user research, identifies issues/trends and makes recommendations to management for onsite changes/improvements.

• Supports digital advertising (if any) conversion reporting.

Content Creation/Management

• Write/edit news and feature stories that support school’s overall communications goals.

• Interviews and maintains positive relationships with staff, faculty, alumni and other stakeholders in order to identify and pitches news and features stories.

• Assists the communications team with e-news and social media strategies to maximize effectiveness.

• Manages web budget and editorial calendar.

• Reviews and copyedits web content to ensure it meets USC Rossier style standards.

Web Governance

• Functions as product manager and trainer for Drupal CMS, which includes maintaining a content management strategy and supporting needed education and training for web contributors.

• Provides meaningful feedback and guidance to team and school partners on all aspects of web, including user experience, technical requirements, research, visual design, information architecture, content and search engine optimization.

• Ensures effective project management of critical web projects.

Required Qualifications

• Demonstrated success in planning, developing and executing a results-oriented web strategy.

• Knowledge and command of current and emerging web development tools and trends, content management systems, design and content strategies, Section 508 (ADA) Compliance, user research and user experience design, and content management system architecture.

• At least three years’ experience (five preferred) in increasingly advanced responsibilities in the fields of website strategy, web content creation/management, and web governance/quality assurance.

• Demonstrated ability to identify business and communications/branding goals and develop smart web solutions to support them.

• Demonstrated success in building consensus in collaborative team environments;

• Demonstrated success in planning, managing and delivering multiple web projects simultaneously.

• Ability to work both independently and as part of a collaborative team.

• Knowledge of and experience with the technology infrastructure necessary to support an engaging web environment.

• Demonstrated success as a team leader, manager, strategist and thought leader.

• Demonstrated success communicating technical concepts to web experts and non-experts.

• Outstanding communication skills, written, verbal and in presentations.

• Minimum of a bachelor’s of arts degree; master’s degree preferred.

• Interest in and knowledge of the field of education

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS: In order for your application to be considered, a cover letter and resume must be attached.