Director, Research Communications

Director, Research Communications

Required Qualifications (as evidenced by an attached resume):
Bachelor's degree (foreign equivalent or higher). Five (5) years of full-time communication, marketing and/or branding experience. Conference management, event planning and event execution experience. Experience managing and supervising a team of professionals. Demonstrated experience writing feature stories and/or other written content aligned with strategic objectives/goals of an organization for print and digital media. Demonstrated experience with oral, written, and visual communications and presentations. Proven design and/or creative direction experience. Experience conceptualizing, designing, and implementing communications programs or initiatives within budget parameters. Experience writing for Social Media and working within a Content Management System (CMS). Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and Google suite applications.

Preferred Qualifications:
Advanced degree (foreign equivalent or higher). Four (4) or more years of full-time, directly related, progressively responsible experience in Communications, Advertising, Public Relations, Publishing, Content Development, Marketing, Business, Journalism, English or a related field. Experience writing for crisis or emergency management matters. Experience creating predefined reports measuring results and/or client feedback on communications programs. Experience in managing Communications, Public Relations, and/or Media Relations, website, social media, or video content for a higher education, government, or non-profit organization. Experience handling sensitive and/or highly confidential communications. Experience with graphic design programs such as Adobe InDesign, Quark Express, or Adobe Photoshop.

Brief Description of Duties:
Under the guidance of the VP and in cooperation with leaders of Research and Economic Development’s Programs and Centers, the incumbent will lead efforts to advance its visibility and reputation with faculty, industry, legislative, and ecosystem audiences by managing, developing and implementing comprehensive marketing, branding, and communications practices and leading the effort on all Research/Economic Development special projects, conferences and events.

• Marketing & Communications:
• Provide leadership in the design and function of all communications activities - working with department leadership, develop communication strategy for all centers, programs, and units to define the respective unit’s branding strategy, and support the implementation of all strategies. Collaborate with program managers, faculty, and researchers to develop integrated internal and external communications that support the needs of departments, centers and programs (e.g., website content, targeted email design, press releases and social media content).
• Assist in crafting speeches and talking points for the VP.
• Coordinate with the University's offices of Communications, Conferences and Events, Media Relations and President’s Office to ensure optimal representation of Research/Economic Development on the University website, in University news channels, at university events, and in other public relations materials.
• Advise and shape Research/Econ Dev, center, program, and unit social media practices, including developing a model for evaluating appropriate social media platforms and mechanisms, types, and frequency of communication.
• Ensure all Research/Economic Development marketing, branding, communication, and event materials and projects conform to SBU guidelines and practices for brand. This includes all departments, centers, programs, and units.
• With the VP, define Research/Econ Dev branding strategy and then lead its implementation.
• Periodic reports on Research/Econ Dev accomplishments and activities.
• Develop internal mechanisms for continuous quality improvement in communications, including protocols and standard operating procedures.
• Define, implement, and track performance measures.
• Events:
• Coordinate with VP and departments, programs and centers managers in directing overall planning and executing of Research/Economic Development’s in-person and virtual events, advisory board meetings, tours, visits, and conferences from inception to completion. Develop planning standards, policies and procedures required for successful event coordination.
• Responsible for developing, managing, and reporting on budgets for each event.
• Where appropriate, supervise contracted service/vendors and events/conferences staff and volunteers.
• Responsible for post event evaluation and performance to metrics and goals, including but not limited to analysis budget/cost, attendance, quality, follow up opportunities, and attendee feedback survey and outcomes.
• Maintain a calendar of all Research/Econ Dev events.
• Define, implement, and track performance measures.
• Community Relationship Development:
• With VP and leadership team, together with Government Relations where appropriate, develop a strategy and target audience among local and regional gov’t officials, industry community, SBU senior team and community for purposes of furthering the Research/Econ Dev mission.
• With the VP and leadership team, identify, develop, and deepen a network of relationships.
• Define and execute a program with individuals and organizations, including site visits, and identify areas of collaboration. Ensure areas of collaboration advance.
• Track and evaluate the level of engagement with Research/Economic Development for lead constituencies.
• Website Development and Oversight:
• Provide strategic oversight for the direction, content, and ongoing development of the Research /Economic Development’s website, working collaboratively with program directors and senior staff, to keep the website current, the content fresh, and handle edit requests.
• With respective leaders, assist and advise all departments, centers, programs, and units for their individual websites, with content provided by centers, programs, and units.
• Evaluate and enhance website performance using search engine optimization strategies and user interface design principles.
• With OU Campus and SBU Communications and DoIT, ensure the site is ADA-compliant and optimized for modern web browsers.
• Define, implement, and track performance measures.
• Supervision of Direct Reports:
• Oversee and manage direct report(s) including but not limited to developing position descriptions, recruiting, hiring, defining objectives, workload distribution, annual performance appraisals, approval for time off, personnel issues, counseling, and terminating staff.
• Together with VP Coordinators for Research/Economic Development, develop and implement appropriate professional development and training programs for direct reports.
• Through excellent use of Performance Programs and Evaluations, inform, develop, and correct direct and indirect reports’ performance.
• Other duties as assigned.

Special Notes:
The Research Foundation of SUNY is a private educational corporation. Employment is subject to the Research Foundation policies and procedures, sponsor guidelines and the availability of funding. FLSA Exempt position, not eligible for the overtime provisions of the FLSA. Minimum salary threshold must be met to maintain FLSA exemption.

Due to U.S. Export Control laws and regulations, the candidate hired will need to be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or other "protected individual" (as defined by 8 U.S.C. Sec. 1324b(a)(3).

Resume/CV and cover letter should be included with the online application.

Stony Brook University is committed to excellence in diversity and the creation of an inclusive learning and working environment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, pregnancy, familial status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status and all other protected classes under federal or state laws.

If you need a disability-related accommodation, please call the university Office of Equity and Access (OEA) at (631) 632-6280 or visit OEA.

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The starting salary range (or hiring range) to be offered for this position is noted below, it represents SBU’s good faith and reasonable estimate of the range of possible compensation at the time of posting.