Marketing Communications Specialist

St. Petersburg, FL (Hybrid)

$58K/yr – $65K/yrMid LevelFull time

Posted 4 months ago

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Job Summary

Lead strategic marketing for Poynter teaching programs, driving digital campaigns, content creation, and audience engagement.

  • Must-have: 3+ years in email marketing and integrated marketing with strong writing/editing skills.
  • Standout: Experience with WordPress, Salesforce, and MailChimp plus data-driven campaign reporting.

Job Description

Responsibilities

  • Communication Planning and Execution: In partnership with brand managers, develop and execute omni-channel communication plans designed to meet program objectives including enrollment targets, open rates, and brand awareness.
  • Excellent writing and editing skills: Regularly produce written materials including newsletters, targeted emails, press releases, social media posts, website stories and promotional content designed to increase Poynter brand awareness and achieve program goals.
  • This role demands an individual with substantial expertise in digital marketing, web and campaign strategy. In this position, you will plan and optimize a digital approach, work with the engagement and digital teams to execute and monitor performance, and communicate results with the organization.
  • Data-driven marketing: Use performance metrics and audience insights to inform marketing strategy and communication recommendations across teaching and ethics programs. Monitor campaign performance across platforms, and provide regular, structured reporting to internal stakeholders to ensure transparency, continuous optimization and alignment with enrollment, revenue and brand awareness goals.
  • Overall audience engagement: As a critical part of this role, this marketing leader will cater to the needs of the journalists and future leaders enrolled in our training sessions. Beyond course enrollments, they will provide support and oversight to all communications and activities associated with this core group, including partnership with the donor teams, events, and repeat communications designed to foster brand loyalty and advocacy.
  • Event support: In-person training activities are instrumental to the success of Poynter teaching. This person will support pre-, during-, and post-event communications required to ensure a successful brand experience. This also includes necessary on-site event management, signage, swag, and other marketing needs required.
  • Teaching brand leadership: This position will formalize and execute brand-related recommendations for the teaching and ethics teams. This will include on-site branding opportunities, as well as guidelines for teaching courses including templates and hashtags.
  • This position will ensure that assignments are completed in a timely manner and are carried out in accordance with the Poynter brand vision and 3-5 year goals.
  • Utilization of content management systems for online publishing, including active execution in WordPress. Regular use of customer relationship management systems and marketing automation tools, with experience in Salesforce and Mailchimp. Proficiency in general office software suites. Experience leveraging AI tools responsibly to support marketing efforts, including content development, audience targeting and workflow efficiency, with an emphasis on accuracy, ethics and brand alignment.
  • Leadership with marketing and promotions, integrated marketing, strategic communications and public relations principles and practices.
  • Develop and execute email marketing campaigns, with a strong understanding of email marketing principles, strategy and practices. Report on results, making and implementing proposals to improve key performance metrics.
  • Strong planning, organization and time management skills to balance multiple projects and meet deadlines. Expectation to manage work through Asana as a Product Owner. Product Owner training will be provided if required.
  • Metrics are critical to success, and it is required that this person manage several systems to report on metrics throughout given programs. This also includes gathering metrics specific to grant requirements. This includes, but is not limited to, enrollment goals, Google analytics, Mailchimp, SFDC, and CVENT.
  • Weekly activities include various tasks such as building teaching product pages, email campaigns, the Poynter Pro Weekly, recruitment management, content curation, and onsite promotional needs.

Requirements

  • Bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications, journalism or related fields is required or substituted with equivalent experience. An appreciation for Poynter’s mission of strengthening journalism is essential. Past experience in journalism is an advantage for this position, but not a requirement.
  • Excellent writing and editing skills, spelling and grammar, with knowledge of AP style strongly preferred.
  • At least three years of experience in email marketing, with a strong understanding of email marketing principles, strategy and practices.
  • At least three years of experience with marketing, events, and promotions, integrated marketing, strategic communications and/or public relations principles and practices. Work in education, non-profit, philanthropic or media fields is a plus.
  • Strong planning, organization and time management skills to balance multiple projects and meet deadlines.
  • Ability to take initiative and work independently to carry out complex assignments.
  • Demonstrated ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships across units and groups within the Institute.
  • Knowledge of content management systems for online publishing. Experience in WordPress is a plus.
  • Knowledge of customer relationship management systems and marketing automation tools. Experience in Salesforce, CVENT, and MailChimp is nice to have.
  • Understanding of Google Analytics, Facebook and LinkedIn analytics for assessing impact of campaigns.
  • Strong skills in general office software (Google suite or Microsoft suite) and a solid digital publishing acumen.

Preferred

  • WordPress experience
  • Experience in Salesforce, CVENT, and MailChimp is nice to have
  • Past experience in journalism is an advantage

Benefits

  • Full-time staffers enjoy a competitive benefits package and the added bonus of a paid two-week winter break at the end of each calendar year in addition to PTO allotment.
  • Dental insurance
  • Flexible schedule
  • Flexible spending account
  • Health insurance
  • Life insurance
  • Paid time off
  • Retirement plan
  • Vision insurance
Poynter Institute logo

Poynter Institute

Poynter is a school that teaches and writes about journalism and the news industry. Through workshops and events, in person and online, as well as newsletters and news coverage, we exist to make good journalism better.Our alumni include journalists you know, working for the most respected news organizations in the world, and those whose names you might not recognize but who cover the stories that matter most to your community. We also teach the writers, editors, educators, public relations and marketing professionals and more who bring the craft and values of journalism to work with them every day. Our job board offers career advancement, and our training prepares tens of thousands of people each year for new challenges and opportunities.And through the fact-checking of PolitiFact, the International Fact-Checking Network and MediaWise, our news literacy program, Poynter holds public figures to account and helps the public know what to believe.

Founded in 1975
USA
121 employees (33 in marketing)

Traffic Signals

Monthly Visitors
370.6K
Traffic Source Mix
Search
35%
Direct
50%
Referral
9.4%
Social
4.8%
Paid
0.6%

Headcount Trend

Current headcount: ~121

Marketing Team

Marketing Team Size
26 (21% of company)

Funding

Total Funding
$13.2M
Last Raise
$13.2M
Grant, 3 years ago

Funding History

  • Nov 2022
    Grant • $13.2M

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