Manager, Communications and Audience Development

Company : The American Chemical Society
Location : Washington, DC
Closing Date : 31st July 2022
Website : https://jobs.acs.org/job-invite/5286/

Manager, Communications & Audience Development

Division and Unit Overview

The Global Marketing Department within the Publications Division of the American Chemical Society (ACS Publications) is responsible for developing marketing strategies, implementing outreach initiatives, delivering award winning creative and executing superior events to engage its global audience, all within an advanced technical and data-driven environment. Tasked with promoting a robust product line of over 75 journals, eBooks and a range of digital offerings, the Global Marketing Department is committed to facilitating for the larger scientific community a seamless online, purchasing and reading experience. Key constituents include researchers, authors, reviewers, editors, institutional/corporate librarians and administrators, funders, and ACS members. The teams within the Department work together to develop lasting community relationships and engagement that instigate positive brand sentiment, ultimately driving readership, authorship, and revenue. With a truly global research community as its audience, ACS Publications is continuously focused on expanding its footprint and influence.

Position Summary

The Manager, Communications & Audience Development leads communications and the implementation of audience growth strategies (organic and paid) for ACS Publications across all digital platforms. Employing strategic communications, public relations, content strategy, social strategy and industry partnerships, the ideal candidate will drive positive brand recall as well as article usage and citations for the whole of ACS Publications’ portfolio of products and services.

The incumbent will lead PR efforts to promote and build awareness. They will execute corporate communications to engage the Division’s range of stakeholders and inform the target audiences on important developments using a strategic mix of communications channels.

The individual will report to the Director, Marketing Communications & Community Development and will collaborate with the Society’s central communications team, as well as all departments within the Publications Division. They will work closely with these various teams to understand opportunities and priorities to provide proactive strategic oversight and to anticipate reactive communications ahead of major announcements and current events.

The incumbent will be expected to identify audience growth opportunities through partnerships with editorial publishers, new platforms, news stories, and paid marketing initiatives. Of particular importance is that the person is a solid writer who can ingest the fundamentals of a research article published in an ACS journal and translate that into a story that will capture both media attention and the heightened interest in the science by the greater research community. As a consequence, the Media & Audience Development Manager should have experience writing press releases and news pieces to this end. This person should be well versed in the digital media landscape and will regularly provide reports and presentations on content performance, publishing best practices, success or failure of partner initiatives and strategy recommendations.

Finally, the Manager, Communications & Audience Development should have a strong understanding of best practices for publishing and video content creation and formats across different social and online platforms, such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, and WeChat. They will be expected to shape our social media strategy and conceptualize unique and creative campaigns to drive traffic to the pubs.acs.org site and all other ACS Publications owned sites.

Position Accountabilities

  • Curate high quality content and communications materials to promote major initiatives and programs driven by ACS Publications.
  • Provide regular feedback to management and editorial teams on content analysis, engagement, and overall performance.
  • Lead all PR initiatives for the Publications Division, including writing and scheduling all press releases and awards submissions.
  • Identify opportunities for audience growth on new platforms and new formats.
  • Regularly contribute content for Axial.acs.org, conceptualize ideas for earned media opportunities, and oversee all paid media efforts.
  • Manage relationship with social networks (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc) and serve as the Publications Division’s social media expert, driving the strategy, overseeing the policy and facilitating regular trainings for administrators. Advise social teams on optimal publishing schedules and strategies.
  • Represent ACS and ACS Publications on industry-wide communications groups, initiatives, and projects.

Education/Experience/Technological Knowledge

  • A bachelor’s degree in communications, journalism, chemistry or closely related scientific field required; advanced/graduate degree preferred.
  • 10-12 years of related experience required, ideally within the scientific research landscape.
  • Demonstrated experience in writing for various audiences, including mass media, social media and other audiences. Excellent written and oral communication skills and ability to work well as part of a team. Familiarity with AP style is preferred.
  • Strong analytical background and ability to translate metrics into smart decisions.
  • Fluency in social media platforms and associated analytics tools, i.e. Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Hootsuite, Falcon.

Position Location

This position will be primarily based in the D.C.  office. However, ACS offers hybrid work arrangement of three days per week working in the office and two days per week working remotely. New employees are immediately eligible for this hybrid work arrangement. ACS offers relocation assistance, if applicable.

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