Digital Communications Manager

Responsibilities

The Digital Communications Manager is responsible for planning, producing, and publishing content across social media, websites, and email platforms to promote the school's activities. They also track performance metrics, identify trends, and collaborate with faculty and staff to ensure brand alignment and effective storytelling.

Requirements

Candidates must have a bachelor's degree or equivalent experience and at least two years of professional experience in marketing or communications. Proficiency in social media, email marketing, web content management, and strong communication skills are required.

Skills

• Social media management
• Email marketing
• Content management system
• Digital communications
• Website maintenance
• Graphic design
• Copywriting
• Data analytics
• SEO
• Accessibility compliance
• Project management
• Customer service
• Photography
• Video production
• Marketing strategy
• Communication

Benefits

• Benefits-eligible

About this role

The Shepherd School of Music, one of the nation’s leading music schools, is
seeking a Digital Communications Manager to raise awareness of its students and
distinguished alumni, faculty members, performance activities, programs, and
enrollment efforts. 

The Digital Communications Manager serves as the primary staff member
responsible for planning, producing, publishing, and measuring the performance
of content on social media platforms, the website, and through email
communications. The position tracks metrics, identifies trends, recommends
responses, and devises digital communications strategies to address assigned
topics. The Digital Communications Manager collaborates with constituents of the
Shepherd School to ensure that the school’s stories and priorities are reflected
across its digital channels. 

The ideal candidate for the Digital Communications Manager at the Shepherd
School of Music is a creative, organized, and motivated self-starter who thrives
in a collaborative environment. They are passionate about celebrating the
achievements of students, faculty, and alumni at one of the nation’s premier
music schools. With strong experience in digital communications, the candidate
excels at producing, publishing, and analyzing content across social media,
websites, and email platforms. They are adept at crafting engaging and
compelling digital content that raises awareness of the school’s performances,
programs, and enrollment efforts. 

Special Instructions to Applicants: All interested applicants should attach a
cover letter and a resume or curriculum vitae with application materials to the
Supporting Documents section of the application. We suggest the documents be in
a PDF format to avoid formatting issues.

Workplace Requirements

This position is primarily in an in-person work environment. Ability to work
flexible hours with some night and weekend hours at performances and events.
Per Rice policy 440 [https://policy.rice.edu/440], work arrangements may be
subject to change.

Hiring Range

This is a full-time, benefits-eligible position, with a proposed salary range of
$65,000 to $70,000 annually, depending on qualifications and experience. Exempt
(salaried) positions under FLSA
[https://knowledgecafe.rice.edu/fair-labor-standards-act-flsa] are not eligible
for overtime.

Minimum Requirements

* Bachelor’s Degree
* In lieu of the education requirement, additional related experience above
and beyond what is required may be substituted on an equivalent
year-for-year basis. 
* 2+ years of professional experience on a marketing or communications team
working with social media content, email communications, design, and web.
* In lieu of the experience requirement, additional related education, above
and beyond what is required, may be substituted on an equivalent
year-for-year basis. 

Skills: 

* Strong verbal and written communication skills. 
* Organized, creative, and able to take direction and work to meet expected
deadlines and schedules. 
* Proven knowledge of social media/digital platforms, including current and
future trends. 
* Proven experience updating website information using a content management
system (CMS). 
* Proven experience in designing and deploying public-facing email
communications. 
* Demonstrated team player. 

Preferences

* 3 – 4 years of professional experience on a marketing or communications team
working with social media content, email communications, design, and web. 
* Bachelor's degree or higher in English, journalism, marketing, or related
communication fields. 
* Experience in a performing arts environment is preferred.
* Experience with digital media creation, analytics, and data tracking is a
plus.

Essential Functions

* Develops integrated digital communication plans with the Senior Director of
Marketing & Communications, and participates in school- and university-wide
cross-functional initiatives to promote the Shepherd School as a consistently
top-ranked school of music.
* Builds, tests, and deploys Shepherd School patron-facing emails related to
marketing, communications, and ticketing.
* Updates the Shepherd School’s website content, including faculty bios,
department pages, news items, and more. Ensures all content meets WCAG 2.1 AA
accessibility guidelines, optimizes page structures and metadata for both
traditional SEO and generative AI discovery, and safeguards visual and tonal
brand alignment across all digital touchpoints.
* Serves as the primary staff member responsible for establishing, developing,
monitoring, and maintaining the Shepherd School of Music’s social media
presence. Generates copy and graphics for posts, and executes deployment.
Monitors trends to inform content generation. Provides customer service to
followers across all platforms.
* Curates dynamic content, including photography and video, for the Shepherd
School’s website and social media channels. Designs and develops graphics for
digital communications. Writes short news articles to showcase on the
Shepherd School website.
* Collaborates with students, faculty, and staff to tell the stories of the
Shepherd School, creating processes to gather and share information in a
timely manner.
* Compiles data, analyzes, and reports on website, social media, and email
efforts to measure their effectiveness.
* Performs other duties as assigned.

Additional Functions

* Promotes Shepherd School events by creating and updating listings on the Rice
University events calendar and other Houston online calendars.
* Coordinates and executes cross-promotional marketing and communications
efforts with other Rice schools/departments and community partners.
* Coordinates with Rice Public Affairs and external vendors as needed on
photography, videography, and communications efforts.
* Assists with the execution of paid marketing plans.
* Supports the ...

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