Marketing Communications Director

If your perfect career involves applying your strategic marketing and leadership skills in a place where you work hard, with exceptional quality in a mission-driven environment, we want to hear from you.

Charleston Regional Development Alliance (CRDA) is focused on building a vibrant, resilient economy by attracting the world’s best companies, talent and entrepreneurs to our region. Our work is designed to strengthen and diversify the local economy, create high-quality jobs and foster economic growth throughout the greater Charleston area.

We seek an experienced professional to develop and implement comprehensive marketing communications strategies, write across multiple platforms, serve as a community spokesperson, and present Charleston’s business and career attributes to the world. CRDA offers you the opportunity to become part of a team that is positively impacting Charleston’s economic future.

The ideal candidate is a creative thinker and storyteller who understands the marketing ecosystem and can identify the right tools for every job, every time. The position requires a strategic mindset and an entrepreneurial spirit; powerful written, verbal and presentation skills; a proven track record managing and executing successful, multifaceted communications campaigns; experience working with in-house and/or outsourced creative partners; knowledge of media relations best practices; and solid team building and management experience.

The position also requires a polished professional who is prepared to serve as ambassador, connector, ally and coach. Your confidence and creativity will get you here; your competence and professionalism will make you a star. Experience playing a high-level role in the field – and understanding a wide range of disciplines within marketing communications – will position a candidate well for this opportunity. Candidates should have an interest in global perspectives, economic development, and/or place branding and marketing. Finally, this position demands an ability to pivot from projects with long horizons to those with short lead times; a successful candidate is adept at both.

Key Responsibilities:

• Partners with CRDA leadership to set annual priorities, establish related performance metrics, and identify cross-functional teams to accomplish organizational goals.
• Provides leadership and oversight for CRDA’s comprehensive, results-driven marketing communications program. May include brand development and integration, media relations, digital campaigns, web pages, print collateral, presentations, video, social media, sales materials, white papers, promotional items, special events, tradeshows, etc.
• Works with internal team and external partners to plan and execute local stakeholder and community relations programs to positively position CRDA and our economic development mission. May include local speaking engagements, thought leadership events, stakeholder briefings, media outreach, print collateral, digital campaigns, etc.
• Guides and motivates marketing communications team, coaching for high performance and encouraging creativity and risk-taking. Responsible for quality, accuracy, consistency and timeliness of team’s work product.
• Develops and manages annual marketing communications budgets.
• Represents the organization and CEO in the public arena.

Key Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in communications, marketing, journalism or related field
• Minimum 8 years of relevant, progressive experience
• Proven success as a team leader or supervisor
• Experience providing direction and oversight to in-house and/or outsourced creative partners, such as graphic designers, videographers, photographers, copywriters, etc.
• Practical experience with place marketing a plus
• Ability to gather, interpret and distill complex data from multiple sources
• Strong organizational skills with ability to manage multiple projects and/or priorities
• Proficiency with MS Office and social media platforms plus experience with SEO, digital analytics, etc.
• Will work in our office on Daniel Island, with some flexibility as outlined by CRDA policies

CRDA welcomes individuals with diverse backgrounds and perspectives, and values unique approaches to every challenge. We offer competitive pay plus comprehensive employee benefits including medical, dental and vision insurance; 401(k) Plan with employer match; life insurance; paid holidays and PTO; and a flexible work environment.

Join us and be part of a team that is helping to shape the future of the Charleston region!

Note: this search will be open until the ideal candidate is seated. Send resume with work samples (links to portfolios fine), or a persuasive cover letter and resume, to [email protected]. Initial interviews will be scheduled in late September.