Please excuse any unavoidable cross-postings....preferred candidates for this position do notı reside in North America > - > ICA COMMUNICATION DIRECTOR > JOB DESCRIPTION > > ORGANIZATION OVERVIEW > The International Communication Association (ICA) is an academic association > for scholars interested in the study, teaching and application of all aspects > of human and mediated communication. ICA began more than 60 years ago as a > small association of U.S. researchers and is now an international association > with more than 4500 members in over 80 countries. Since 2003, ICA has been > officially associated with the United Nations as a nongovernmental > organization (NGO). > > The mission of ICA is to advance the scholarly study of human communication by > encouraging and facilitating excellence in academic research worldwide. The > purposes of the Association are (1) to provide an international forum to > enable the development, conduct, and critical evaluation of communication > research; (2) to sustain a program of high quality scholarly publication and > knowledge exchange; (3) to facilitate inclusiveness and debate among scholars > from diverse national and cultural backgrounds and from multi-disciplinary > perspectives on communication-related issues; and (4) to promote a wider > public interest in, and visibility of, the theories, methods, findings and > applications generated by research in communication and allied fields. > > POSITION SUMMARY > The Communication Director (a new position within the organization) will be > responsible for spearheading strategic direction initiatives and planning, > coordination, and management of the ICAıs integrated marketing, public > relations, and strategic communications program. The Communication Director > (CD) will work with both external and internal constituencies to promote the > field of communication, with ICA as its standard bearer. In addition, the CD > will create and communicate the organizationıs messages and ensure overall > continuity of institutional brand consistency and image. Moreover, the CD > will support the organizationıs staff and board in developing and maintaining > strategic partnerships with external organizations and funders. The CD will > also develop and implement initiatives that would serve the association > membership, and thus increase the benefit of being a member. The association > is based in Washington, DC, but the CD can be located anywhere in the world > through telecommuting. Some travel is required. The CD reports directly to > the association executive director. Salary will be commensurate with > experience. > > RESPONSIBILITIES > The Communication Director is responsible for the overall planning, > organization, and direction of ICAıs communication strategies and public > information activities and promoting the importance of the field of > communication, with ICA as its standard bearer, to media elites, policymakers, > funders, and leaders in higher education. > > The CD is responsible for fostering and maintaining relationships with > international news media, editors, reporters, other Communication Directors, > partner organizations, international institutions and governmental officials > and their staff (when relevant); fostering greater awareness about ICA, > ongoing research, and dominant themes in the field among members; and > facilitating opportunities for ICA members to showcase their work and be > active in public life. > > Duties include but are not limited to: > * Planning, organizing, and directing overall communication strategies and > public information activities for the organization; > * Managing, planning, directing, controlling and implementing an proactive > communication program to enhance the reputation of the association and > visibility of the field; > * Overseeing internal and external communications and presentations, in close > relation with the managing staff of ICA divisions, interest groups and > committees; > * Overseeing the associationıs digital communication, including the content > for the Website, social media, and newsletters; > * Developing, maintaining and promoting an ongoing service for members and > interested external organizations that circulates updated news about member > research, teaching, and service; Coordinating, overseeing and attending press > activities, such as press releases and events; > * Maintaining extensive and positive relationships with national and > international media; > * Representing the organization in the media and other relevant occasions; > * Developing and implementing annual strategic communication plans that > include goals, activities, materials, and performance indicators; > * Providing detailed reports of communications activities, including > return-on-investment analyses; > * Supporting communication goals of ICA regarding national and global advocacy > around issues relevant to the field, disciplinary and cross-disciplinary > debates, and academia; > * Participating in strategic planning with the Executive Director and the > Executive Board > * Identify communication needs and goals of ICA. The CD will conduct a > periodic needs assessment to understand how ICA communicates within the field > and across fields and identify gaps and opportunities. > * Develop and implement a master ³branding² plan for ICA with input from key > expert members. > * Develop and implement annual plans that include goals, activities, > materials, and performance indicators. Annual plans should be discussed with > key ICA members. > * Serve as a liaison between communication scholars and key publics (e.g. the > media, policy-makers, other academic organizations). The CD will be > responsible for consulting with division chairs and fellows in order to > identify interesting research and events. Specific criteria for selecting and > highlighting work should be determined in the future. The CD should actively > seek out relevant information and materials following specific guidelines > agreed/endorsed by ICA. > * Produce content for distribution through several information channels and > platforms. Content could be gathered through several mechanisms. The CD should > work with journal editors and editorial boards to pick noteworthy and > newsworthy and policy relevant research findings and reflections from the > ICA-affiliated journals. Also, the CD should work closely with ICA officers to > identify relevant events and opportunities. The CD should maintain an updated > database of experts on various technical areas (e.g. health, gender, media > effects, media/information policy, environment, politics, race, ethnicity, > religion, war/conflict) in order to contact them to address press inquiries > and participate in various venues and events. > * Manage and handle several information channels and platforms (from live > interviews to press releases to social media). > * Support communication goals of ICA regarding national and global > policy-making around issues relevant to the field, disciplinary and > cross-disciplinary debates, and academia. > * Coordinate/provide logistical support to members/groups/divisions organizing > local, national, and international events primarily aimed at raising the > visibility of ICA. > * Develop and maintain a web-based ICA Communication Digest platform that > promotes the work published in ICA journals, monitors media appearances, and > links key institutions and people. > * Monitor appearances of ICA and its members in prestige media, as well as > participation in forums focused on higher education, funding, and > policy-making. > * Travel as assigned by the Executive Director. > > REQUIREMENTS > * Masterıs or Ph.D. degree in a relevant field, including public relations, > journalism, communication, or marketing (Ph.D. preferred) > * A minimum of three years professional experience, ideally with some > experience with nonprofit or academic organizations > * Excellent communication skills, particularly when dealing with an > international, multilingual audience > * Ability to handle multiple projects under time and resource pressure > * Be detail and results-oriented, and have strong knowledge of budget > processes and evaluation of outcomes analysis > * Comprehensive knowledge of media operations and expertise in the field of > public relations and release of information for publication > * Proven ability to develop communication strategies related to organizational > policies in collaboration with a diverse team > * Familiarity with academic circles in humanities and social sciences > internationally, and with the field of communication in particular > * Extensive knowledge and experience in the application of theories, > principles and practices of communication as they relate to public information > services > * Knowledge of the latest advances in effective use of digital and social > media for effective corporate communication, including (ideally) online > communities, search engine optimization and other digital marketing tools > * Develop and maintain strategic networks of people and institutions to > disseminate ICA-related news and information. > * Develop task orders, and manage part-time, task-specific consultants > depending on circumstances and needs with a knowledge and understanding of > various key publics and networks to be engaged > * Multilingual skills. > > KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS > Although a financial evaluation of outcomes will be key to sustaining this > position in the long-term, we recognize that the value of a successful > Communication Director is measured more by the benefits (tangible and > intangible) that they bring to the association and its members. Below is the > list of key performance categories and indicators on which we expect this > position to be evaluated. > > > Category Outcome Indicators > Association Visibility Increased national and international media coverage > # of news stories High conversion of press releases into news stories > Increased traffic to ICA website or other digital platforms Increased > website (or other platform) traffic Lower website bounce rates Higher search > performance Increased newsletter viewing > Increased visibility at events relevant to the association and > membership Increased invitations to relevant events, panel discussions, > hearings, etc. internationally > Association Brand Value & Reputation Increased positive brand perception > among members Overall association membership positive value (as measured in > annual conference or other survey) > Increased positive brand perception among external partner/audience > Increased partnerships and sponsorships Increased invitations to relevant > events Increased press interviews Increased partnerships with both private and > public institutions > Increased number of ICA-branded events Number of events (workshops, > regional conferences, gatherings) supported by or explicitly associated with > ICA > Member Engagement Increased Conference Attendance among members % of ICA > members at conferences > Increased Member Retention % of ICA members retained YoY > Increased Member Satisfaction Overall satisfaction ratings (as > measured in annual conference or other surveys) > Increased Non-Conference Member Activity Increase in amount of > activity occurring in non-conference venues set up, such as virtual > conferences, discussion communities, social networks, etc. > Financial Increased Membership YoY membership increases across all > categories or stable membership in the event of an increase in membership fees > Increased Sponsorships YoY increase in # of sponsors Increased > sponsorship/exhibitor rates > Increased Advertising Revenue Increased ad revenue on all relevant > platforms (e.g., conference program, Website, social media) > > For some of the less tangible outcomes, such as increased association > reputation, brand value, and member satisfaction, we recommend that the new > Communication Director implement clear measurement plans (e.g., annual member > and partner surveys, post-conference exhibitor satisfaction > interviews/surveys) to help assess the effectiveness of their and the > associationıs overall efforts. > > EVALUATION > > The CD position will include regular and rigorous monitoring of performance > impact by the Executive Director and a special Task Force appointed by the ICA > President. The data should help ICA to assess the value of the position and > make future recommendations. Illustrative impact indicators could be: > * Number of social networks built. > * Number of members actively participating in ICA online platforms. > * Number of appearances in global prestige media. > * Tone of media stories that mention ICA and members. > * Integrity of transmission of ICAıs ³key messages² in media stories. > * Number of ICA members who participated in policy-making debates, gave > parliamentary/congressional testimonies, informed funding policies of > foundations. > * Number of ICA members who participated in debates and task forces in higher > education. > > Evaluation criteria of the work will be built into the annual work plan of the > CD. > Want to be removed from this listserver? Please email Maureen Coote at > [log in to unmask] and SPECIFY WHICH LIST YOU WANT TO BE REMOVED FROM. > > >