Vice President, Marketing & Engagement

WHO WE ARE

United Way of Greater Los Angeles (UWGLA) is home to the change makers and justice seekers. We're individuals from various walks of life making collective steps towards a better future for our community. Our focus is on bringing about real and sustainable change by unleashing the collective power of people to open minds, unite diverse communities, and convert compassion into action for a more just, inclusive, and thriving L.A. County. Together, we make tangible impact on some of our toughest community issues including poverty, homelessness, education equity, and economic mobility . For us, being 'united' isn't just in reference to our organization but to our hope for the future of Los Angeles. Regardless of race, gender, orientation, or self-identification - we do our part as one by making room for all.

WHAT WE DO

Our Marketing & Engagement department advances United Way's mission by connecting our mission to the key constituents, donors and partners who are help drive awareness, action, giving, volunteerism and advocacy. We bring the organization’s vision for community change to life by creating engaging content, events, communications and experiences that grabs the attention of our partners, donors, neighbors, and challengers alike.

WHY WE NEED YOU

We are inviting innovative and flexible leaders with a passion for inspiring donors and supporters to apply for ourVice President, Marketing & Engagement role.

You will contribute to growing and deepening our supporter base by successfully inspiring your team of communicators and strategists to do their best work, developing new approaches to connect with our current and future supporters, and creating new ways to connect the organization to the larger conversation about L.A. County’s future.

You will have the unique opportunity to drive the organization into its next century with a strong foundation of strategy and talent that is in place now.

HOW YOU’LL CONTRIBUTE TO THE CAUSE

• Marketing Leadership
  • Oversee the development of comprehensive, multi-faceted marketing campaigns utilizing a broad mix of content tactics to engage with both existing supporters develop new revenue channels.
  • Guide small-dollar digital marketing and fundraising efforts to ensure team reaches and exceeds an annual online fundraising goal of $500k.
  • Ensure that the organization has personalized, end-to-end, donor-centric experiences that drive engagement, build loyalty and create positive donor experiences, with the ultimate goals of increasing revenue, donor participation and taking the donor from awareness to ownership on the donor commitment continuum.
  • Work in partnership with the Strategic Partnerships department to ensure donors are properly thanked and recognized.
• Cause Marketing
  • Develop and implement cause marketing initiatives to engage corporate partners and align their brand with the organization’s mission.
  • Create and manage cause marketing campaigns that drive public awareness and generate funds.
  • Work closely with the Strategic Partnerships department and corporate sponsors to create mutually beneficial marketing programs that highlight their support and amplify the organization’s message.
• Communications & Content
  • Guide the development of all organizational communications and content strategies to ensure that the organization is communicating its vision for change with dynamic and compelling strategies and tactics.
  • Strengthen the organization’s brand identity and ensure consistent messaging across all platforms.
  • Develop regular communications for United Way’s key constituents: corporate partners, individual donors, foundations, community partners, Board of Directors, United Way team.
  • Provide support to Strategic Partnerships on fundraising efforts including development of cases for support, philanthropic proposals, stewardship and impact reports, and donor presentations.
• Public & Media Relations
  • Oversee the media relations strategy development to position United Way in key media outlets.
  • Strengthen the organization’s brand identity and ensure consistent messaging across all platforms.
  • Build and maintain relationships with media outlets, influencers, and key stakeholders to enhance the organization’s visibility and reputation.
  • Manage crisis communications and serve as the organization’s spokesperson as needed.
  • Ensure United Way is part of the policy and civic dialogue on a range of topics including economic mobility, education, homelessness, housing affordability and racial justice, and secure opportunities for team members who are experts in these areas to engage with local, regional and national media outlets both on and off the record.
• Event & Experience Strategy
  • Develop an organizational events strategy that includes plans for securing sponsorships, increasing attendance and participation, budget and resource allocation, risk management, and return-on-investment (ROI) analysis.
  • Develop concepts of in-person and visual experiential events and activations, and oversee the team that implements events to achieve key metrics including sponsorship revenues, and attendance goals.
  • In relation to large-scale tentpole events (10k+ attendees) such as Walk United, ensure cross-departmental collaboration to develop segmented audience strategies that will result in positive, tailored experiences for all participants from community neighbors to executive/corporate leaders and maximize ROI for United Way.
  • Ensure teams are working cross-departmentally to execute events that are aligned to meet both fundraising and programmatic needs.
• Department & Team Management
  • Mentor and coach a diverse team of communicators and creators to grow skillsets, support individual professional development goals, and inspire team members to both lead and follow.
  • Provide direct but respectful constructive feedback in real-time and during formal review periods to elevate team performance, maintain accountability, and reach goals.
  • Manage and track the departmental budget, in collaboration with department Directors.
  • Raise additional funds as appropriate to support department projects and programs.

WHAT 1 YEAR OF SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE

• Drive the creation of strategies that increase online small dollar giving towards the annual digital fundraising goal of $500k.
• Create new and dynamic forms of content that inspire current donors to keep giving and inspire new donors to give with increased metrics around retention, upgrades and new donors.
• Create new forms of storytelling, events and engagement to communicate the organization’s community impact work for our diverse audiences.

SKILLS YOU’LL NEED TO SUCCEED (The Must-Haves)

• Education & Experience:
  • Bachelor’s degree required.
  • Minimum 10 years of relevant experience in strategic communications, brand and audience strategy, advertising, promotions, marketing, membership, or community engagement is required.
  • Minimum 3 years of experience successfully supervising and developing direct reports.
  • Must have demonstrated experience engaging diverse audiences in membership communities and driving them to action.
• Personal Qualities:
  • You enjoy ahybrid environment that includes both in-person and remote work styles and are able to work from our DTLA office on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
  • You are able to provide documentation of your status as fully vaccinated with primary series of COVID-19 vaccine upon being hired.
  • You understand the value of racial equity as an organizational operating principle and are committed to continued learning on issues related to race, equity, diversity, and inclusion.

HOW TO KNOW IF YOU’RE A FIT (The Nice-to-Haves)

• You are a strategic planner who can successfully transform thoughts to action and goals to success with a well-crafted play-by-play strategy.
• You know how to talk the talk by communicating clearly, concisely, and persuasively to small and large groups alike.
• You understand that audience is everything , and you’re comfortable crafting strategies that are anchored in that premise.
• You always know just what to say and can lead a team that develops scripts, narratives, and talking points that give others award-winning confidence in delivering a message.
• Your written communications are concise and clear when it comes to ensuring messaging is compelling, accurate and tailored to the audience.
• You feel that copyediting is a labor of love - from making sure the text resonates to checking that all I's are dotted, T's are crossed and commas are where they belong - you know exactly what to look for.
• You enjoy well- designed content that makes a good first impression and can lead a process that translates complex information into a visually engaging and aesthetically appealing masterpiece.
• From Twitter to Tiktok, you are #confident in your knowledge of all the social media trends and platforms and your ability to drive forward a strategy that resonates with the right audiences.
• You know how to manage a team in a way that holds everyone accountable while also creating opportunities to provide guidance, feedback and mentorship.
• You’re comfortable with giving and receiving feedback in a manner that's respectful yet constructive whether in performance reviews or one-off conversations.
• You can light a spark in the dimmest of rooms with your energy and enthusiasm for the work you do.
• You have good judgment and trust yourself to make the right call when decisions are tough.
• You can adapt and pivot quickly without so much as feeling dizzy.
• You keep your priorities straight but also know when it's time to re-prioritize your work assignments based on business needs.
• You are proactive , self-motivated, and action-oriented when it comes to managing your workload.
• Your strong work ethic gets going when the going gets tough during late nights, early mornings or weekend assignments.
• You work well with others - stakeholders and colleagues alike would agree that you are the quintessential “Team Player ”
• Aun, es hasta mejor si puede crear contenido cautivador enespañol !
• You know your way around the Microsoft Windows operating systems and all its essential programs including Outlook, Word, and PowerPoint – Microsoft CRM and Adobe Creative Cloud are a plus.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS:

• Hiring Salary Range: $150,000-175,000 per year dependent on internal equity and a variety of job-related factors including, but not limited to, experience, training, education, and market demands. This position is bonus eligible.
• The benefits available for this position include medical, dental, vision, 403(b) plan, pension, life insurance coverage, disability benefits, paid holidays, paid time off, and car allowance.