Within this portal you'll find hundreds of career opportunities. We offer free access to all job seekers in the journalism community, member and non-members, including confidential resume posting, career-related content and multiple ways to search for jobs.
Executive Director, Digital Content & Distribution
George Mason University
Application
Details
Posted: 05-Jan-23
Location: Fairfax, Virginia
Salary: Open
Internal Number: 56182
Department: Office of University Branding
Web Announcement:
Executive Director, Digital Content & Distribution
The George Mason University, Office of University Branding, invites applications for an Executive Director of Digital Content & Distribution. George Mason University has a strong institutional commitment to the achievement of excellence and diversity among its faculty and staff, and strongly encourages candidates to apply who will enrich Mason's academic and culturally inclusive environment.
In addition to a first-class culture at Virginia's largest public university, this position offers:
Potential for hybrid telework scheduling
Competitive salary
Outstanding benefits including:
Excellent health/dental/vision insurance that are below the industry average for out of pocket costs due to being state supplemented, industry leading retirement plans available including the state VRS Hybrid retirement pension plan and a full match option, 24 accrued paid days off per year, paid holidays, over a week of paid winter break, paid sick leave, paid family and personal leave, professional development, tuition exemption at GMU, and employee assistance programs.
Purpose of the Organization:
The Office of University Branding, formerly Communications and Marketing, manages university-wide strategic communications, marketing, creative services, digital strategy, and events. Today, we are tasked with building and leading an institutional brand strategy that positions Mason as an indispensable university in the world to come.
About the Position:
The Executive Director of Digital Content & Distribution directs the digital strategy for the University and provides the framework and leadership in supporting the local units' integration and cross-promotion within the full Mason eco system to ensure a well branded, current, customer-focused experience.
This position provides leadership and oversight in ensuring brand consistency and uniformity for Mason's website and digital content channels in support of strategic institutional goals – including institutional reputation, enrollment, student and faculty engagement recruitment, fundraising, alumni and community relations, academic excellence, access and inclusion, research and innovative partnerships, and regional economic and talent growth.
As part of the leadership team in the Office of University Branding, the Executive Director collaborates with the Creative and News Team, as well as other university communications teams, to lead Mason's consumer facing digital ecosystem, including content and design, as part of a brand refresh. The Executive Director enables and tracks measurement tools and analyses to improve brand awareness and expand digital experiences across all platforms – including social, streaming, and email newsletters – to educate and engage Mason's core audiences. The Executive Director exhibits applied knowledge and understanding of how to build and deploy a multi-contributors content management platform, and manage a proliferation of social media channels to Mason's brand advantage, alongside effective storytelling, information architecture and collaboration skills, within a decentralized system. Reporting directly to the Deputy VP, the Executive Director manages a team of content creators, developers, and a project manager.
Responsibilities:
Define and drive long-term digital editorial strategy and positioning of new brand image through multiplatform content;
Develop the University visual news-style and social media video storytelling strategy and process for editorial guidance and production training across University teams;
Develop original content ideas and concepts for video, audio, text, animations, graphics and other multimedia formats that aligns to news and marketing campaigns;
Oversee short-form video from pitch to final production, including conceptualization, storyboarding, interviewing, videography, and providing critical feedback to the video editors and producers;
Collaborate with OUB's Creative to build and launch a new digital asset management system;
Lead and develop the web team. Provide strategic oversight of an enterprise platform and Content Management System (CMS) for the main Mason website (gmu.edu), and guidance for associated sites, in collaboration with ITS, driving accuracy and improvements to enhance brand and communications strategies;
Develop and maintain a plan to foster brand alignment and adoption of new brand theme with other university-related sites and channels, integrating best practices around content creation, user experience, SEO, mobile-optimization, and measurement tracking;
Direct and develop a team of social media strategists for Mason's social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Snap, and TikTok), expanding reach and engagement, while providing overall strategic direction for organic and paid campaigns and influencer engagement in collaboration with social team leads within Mason's network of Colleges, Institutes, and Centers;
Expand opportunities for audio and podcasting production and distribution; and
Lead a metrics-driven team responsive to audience data (i.e., behaviors and interests) in a rapidly changing media environment.
Required Qualifications:
Master's Degree in related field or equivalent combination of relevant education and experience;
Extensive experience (generally 10+ years) of increasing responsibility in digital strategies, narrative and story development, web management, and multiplatform content management;
Demonstrated experience in media, public relations, and/or journalism is preferred, bringing an ability to identify digital story opportunities and an editorial judgement and integrity to the position;
Demonstrated experience managing complex projects and teams of writers, producers, and editors to create compelling multimedia work;
Demonstrated experience and proficiency in web development and technologies including large content management platforms with multiple contributors, search engine marketing/web site optimization and mobile websites, usability testing and measurement tools, email and text marketing tools;
Demonstrated experience helping subject-area experts translate curriculum, research, legal and policy, health and environmental advancements, and technological advancements into dynamic visual-led content meeting audiences where they are; and
Considerable knowledge of relevant social and media analytics tools for monitoring social engagement, audience intelligence, KPI development, and data visualization with the ability to stay up-to-date on all social platforms and identify emerging trends to advance the Mason brand and education.
Preferred Qualifications:
Skilled in effective writing, organization, situational judgment, interpersonal relations, and communications;
Ability to generate, analyze, and interpret various digital audience metrics to inform strategic decision making;
Demonstrated sense of creativity with an ability to collaborate with diverse groups with various stakeholder priorities, and ability to display leadership through a high level of creative solutions and change management;
Competency and commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion; and
Interest in developing talent and teams, as well as working with students.
Salary: Commensurate with education and experience
Location: Fairfax, VA
Mason Ad Statement:
Great Careers Begin at Mason!
George Mason University is an innovative, entrepreneurial institution with national distinction in both academics and research. Mason holds a top U.S. News and World Report
George Mason University is a public, comprehensive, research university established by the Commonwealth of Virginia located in Northern Virginia, outside of Washington, D.C. Mason was initially founded as a branch of the University of Virginia in 1949, and became an independent institution in 1972. George Mason University is an innovative and inclusive academic community committed to creating a more just, free, and prosperous world.
George Mason University has 37,000 students from all 50 states and 130 countries and a residential population of more than 6,000 students. Mason is a vibrant and dynamic community of scholars. 80% of our students are employed within six months of graduation. Nearly two-thirds of the 140,000 Mason alumni live and work in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.
Mason is a young university that, in just a short time, has made impressive strides in size, stature and influence. Today, as Virginia’s largest public research university, we are setting the benchmark for a bold, progressive education that serves the needs of our students and communities. To that end, we have 10 schools and colleges devoted to a variety of study.
Mission.
We prepa...re Mason students for the demands of work, social responsibility, and life in an ever-changing global society. University Life's mission statement is core to our work. We support every student at Mason, from orientation through graduation.
George Mason: Patriotism Personified.
George Mason, for whom our university is named, was one of the greatest of the founding fathers of the United States. Mason drafted the Virginia Declaration of Rights, which became a model for the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights.
We Are in Virginia. But We Serve the World.
Mason is committed to creating a more just, free and prosperous world. Located in one of the most important political, economic and intellectual hubs in the world, we accept our responsibility to serve others: to help our students succeed, enrich the life of our community, and contribute to solving some of the most complex global problems of our time.
Washington, D.C.: Land of Opportunity.
Mason’s main campus is in Fairfax, Virginia, just 15 miles outside of Washington, D.C. The nation’s capital is easily accessible by car or public transportation.
At Mason, you can enjoy the best of both worlds: a beautiful wooded residential campus and outstanding college experience, as well as numerous internship and recreational opportunities that only a world-class urban setting like D.C. can offer.
You can intern with National Geographic or the Justice Department, visit the numerous museums with your Art History classmates, take a selfie in front of Lincoln Memorial, catch a Nationals baseball game, kayak along the Potomac, or check out the many neighborhoods where you’ll discover lots of great shopping, places to eat, art galleries, music venues, and much more. You can attend events and hear nationally recognized speakers. You’ll run out of time before you run out of things to do.
There’s more to explore. Students participate in a field trip to the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., organized by the Office of International Programs and Services.
In just a short drive, you can be hiking in the Shenandoah Mountains or walking the boardwalk in either Ocean City, Maryland, or Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Our closest airports are Dulles International Airport and Ronald Reagan National Airport, and Mason is easily accessible by public transportation. Free shuttle buses help you get to the nearest Metro station in Vienna, Virginia, just a short distance from our Fairfax Campus. The Arlington Campus is within walking distance of the Virginia Square-GMU stop on the Orange Line.
Enriching Work Environment.
We will invest in recruiting, retaining, and developing talented and diverse faculty and academic and professional staff. We will create a vibrant campus life in which all members can grow and thrive.
Diversity.
Diversity is one of our core values; everyone is welcome here. Mason was recently named the most diverse university in Virginia by U.S. News & World Report.
We bring together a multitude of people and ideas in everything that we do. Our culture of inclusion, our multidisciplinary approach, and our global perspective makes us more effective educators and scholars.
While at Mason, you’ll be making your own decisions and forming your own view of the world. Engaging with diverse groups of individuals, including students, faculty, and staff, will enrich this experience. You will learn from them, and they will learn from you.
We have a variety of communities here, and you're sure to find a group of people who are like you. The great thing is you'll also be embraced by communities of people who are not like you. At Mason, you'll be in a place where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Interacting with people from a variety of backgrounds will:
•Widen your outlook of the world,
•Show you how to work and collaborate with people of differing views,
•Expose you to new perspectives from people with disparate life experiences, and
•Give you the social skills to interact with all kinds of people.
Diversity also enhances learning and creative thinking by prompting the study of new material and the awareness of fresh viewpoints. The power of many perspectives will boost your capacity to explore original ideas and solutions. Seeing issues in a new way heightens your creativity and problem-solving abilities.
Another benefit: As our nation becomes more diverse, students who learn in a diverse environment will be more competitive in an increasingly global economy. You’ll enhance your critical thinking skills and improve your ability to develop nuanced solutions to real-world problems.
Campus-Wide Accessibility.
Accessibility @ mason provide information regarding the physical access of all campuses and online accessibility of programs and services. Information for disability related services and resources available to all employee, students, and visitors the entire university include physical access to buildings, parking policies, and emergency evacuation procedures.
Accessible.
We are an open and welcoming community. We partner with public and private organizations in our region and around the world. We proactively engage with our community. We define our success by how many talented students with potential we serve, not how many we leave out.
Social and Cultural Venues.
Our venues bring world-class performances to the community through vibrant concerts and events. Community members are invited to take part in many artistic and cultural offerings at Mason. Spaces are also available to rent for your next event.
ONA's programs are supported by an array of premiere foundations and leaders in journalism and technology. Explore the database and you'll discover new tools, educational opportunities, potential partners and more.