Career Center

JOB TITLE:

Director, Marketing and Communications

REPORTS TO:

Senior Vice President, Operations and Communications

NUMBER OF DIRECT REPORTS:

2

DEPARTMENT:

Communications

FUNCTION:

Advertising, Marketing, and Communications

LOCATION:

Washington, D.C. is preferred. Chicago, IL area will be considered.

DATE OF UPDATE:

2/8/2022

ABOUT PCA:

The Portland Cement Association (PCA), founded in 1916, is the premier policy, research, education, and market intelligence organization serving America's cement manufacturers. PCA supports sustainability, innovation, and safety while fostering continuous improvement in cement manufacturing, distribution, infrastructure, and economic growth.

REPORTING RELATIONSHIPS:

Reports to Senior Vice President, Operations and Communications. Works on a consistent collaborative basis with the Director, Media and Public Relations and the Director, Membership and Administrative Services.

SUMMARY:

The Director of Marketing and Communications is responsible for supporting the Senior Vice President, Operations and Communications across all PCA advertising, marketing, and communication platforms - including digital and social media channels, in-person, virtual, video, print, etc. In addition to managing the day-to-day, the Director, maintains and updates all performance measurements of PCA marketing and communications activities. The position has a lead role in curating and developing content from within PCA, across its member companies, as well as with other outside resources. The position also takes a leadership role in project management of event, product, and promotions.

The Director will articulate a clear vision for how to communicate the essence of PCA's mission, vision, and brand positioning by guiding the creation of compelling content across all communication channels. The Director will convey the passion and unique niche of the organization and deliver a cohesive sense of the organization's identity to both internal and external constituents.

The Director continues development strategically and tactically, of PCA's successful Shaped by Concrete campaign. The Director will also be a major contributor in the coordination of the PCA Roadmap to Carbon Neutrality. The Director will also serve as a strategic partner in executing relationships with PCA Communications Committee members, which is central to the organization's mission work in advancing the communication of the implementation for the Roadmap success measures.

The Director also collaborates with and manages third party vendors to ensure that networking infrastructure remains up-to-date and is aligned with PCA strategic business needs and actions, including the research and recommendation of new products and services.

The Director has a deep knowledge of all current marketing and communication platforms, in addition to best practices for effective and efficient integration of all campaign activities. The Director has the required skills to formulate internal and external strategies and tactics, inclusive of the association's branding, marketing, and communication goals. The Director also has a track record as an innovative and strategic thinker, who has previously directed and implemented integrated marketing and communications programs for the association and industry goals.

The Director leverages a variety of marketing, communication, and advertising mediums and distribution channels for the best possible exposure and impact; providing significant experience in leveraging emerging trends and new technologies, integrating targeted approaches to engage users.

KEY RESPONSILIBILTIES:

· The Director articulates a clear vision for how to communicate the essence of PCA's mission, vision, and brand by guiding the creation of compelling stories about the work of the organization and the industry via the Shaped by Concrete campaign, among other channels.

· A major focus of the Director is to effectively communicate updates and progress regarding the implementation of the PCA Roadmap to Carbon Neutrality.

· Works collaboratively with the Sr. VP, Operations and Communications to create integrated, strategic plans with corresponding goals reflecting the larger strategic and tactical goals of the association.

· Works closely with subject matter experts, senior staff, and association members to develop communication, marketing, promotion, and advertising strategies together with creative content to support objectives on the PCA websites, microsites, video, digital, social, and print media, among other channels.

· Supports the strategy and manage the execution of media, marketing, and campaign plans.

· Management of paid digital advertising and search-engine marketing programs.

· Researches, writes, edits, and publishes high quality communication content.

· Collaborates with the Director, Media, and Public Relations to establish high-level press releases and newsletters.

· Responsible for the development and oversight of all web copy, email marketing, social media posts, event programs, and promotional materials.

· Helps develop and implement PCA's content strategy and measures its performance.

· Maintains a content database and resource file, with ongoing benchmarks for measuring the performance of various department activities.

· Manages the relationship with third party consultants, agencies, and creative vendors.

· Handles all integrated creative design and development projects.

· Support execution, monitoring and measuring of social media activity, such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and other digital communication channels.

· Responsible for the Communications budget. Diligently reviews, analyzes, and considers budget issues regarding vendor recommendations, providing clever recommendations.

· Confers with staff to establish requirements for new systems or enhancements to processes.

· Assists PCA staff where necessary, with technical set up, in-office and at PCA meetings and conferences, where necessary.

· Recommends marketing and communications tactics and strategies to increase efficiency and enhance workflow.

· Works collaboratively with all PCA departments and member company communication teams.

· Works with Sr. VP with planning, analysis, development, and implementation of projects, design, and guidelines.

· This role consults with all PCA departments on a variety of marketing pieces and develops promotional collateral as needed.

· Conceives and implements innovative marketing and communication strategies across all media platforms to continue elevating PCA's brand awareness nationally.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE:

· Bachelor's degree in communications, marketing, advertising, journalism, or a related field is required. An advanced degree is a plus.

· A minimum of 7 to 10 years of experience in progressively responsible leadership positions in communications and marketing, preferably within the cement, concrete, or construction industry.

· Other relevant backgrounds will be considered.

· Expertise in marketing, communications, and content development for a variety of mediums.

· Depth of knowledge in digital, social media, and traditional media including marketing, and promotion.

· Demonstrated ability to provide management oversight, leadership, and direction with at least three to five years of significant supervisory experience, including experience creating and managing a budget.

· Experience managing online paid advertising programs on both websites and social media platforms, as well as search-engine marketing campaigns.

· Significant experience with in-person and virtual event management

· Exceptional attention to detail, with an eye for quality control and maintaining PCA branding, creative design, and content consistency in electronic, printed and digital deliverables.

· Expertise in visualizing and conveying complex information for audiences of varying levels of knowledge about cement, concrete and related industries.

· Exceptional writing and grammatical skills (following AP style). Successful writing experience with a variety of print, electronic, and online communications.

· Able to research and track down content, with a talent for translating complex issues for clear and compelling deliverables.

· Responsible for the strategic planning and implementation of brand management and communication, including broadcast development and distribution.

· Is a solutions-based leader who champions strategic, data-informed decision making, industry best practices, and an ethos of continuous improvement and transparency.

· The Director has experience supervising a staff as well as external, strategic consultants and agencies.

· Empowered to optimize the organizational design/functional alignment of the Communications team in consultation with the Sr. VP.

· Commitment to and passion for the mission and vision of PCA to communicate and generate excitement about its mission, history, vision, programs, and fundamental strengths of the cement and concrete industry.

· A strong record of recruiting and developing exceptional people and fostering a transparent work environment where collegiality is a key to success.

· Ability to effectively manage contractors and vendors.

· Demonstrated business acumen, including the ability to extract and analyze data to make effective, efficient decisions about strategy and process.

· Must work well on a team, effectively prioritize and track tasks for both his/her-self as well as the communications team, and consistently meets deadlines.

· Must have a keen understanding and constant desire to stay current on the latest effective communications tools used for producing, measuring, and delivering compelling content to target audiences.

· Knowledge, understanding, and hands-on experience with IT, new technologies, solutions, equipment---including hardware, software and digital components, a plus.

WORKING CONDITIONS

Travel estimate: 10%-20%. When not traveling, works from the Washington, D.C. office location. Weekend and evening work hours will be necessary on occasion.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

This Director, Marketing and Communications job description describes the general nature of the position responsibilities. The information provided herein does not necessarily cover all aspects of the position and is not intended to be a complete list of all expected tasks and accountabilities. Additional responsibilities and elements of the description may be added, changed, or deleted by management, at any time either in writing or verbally.

DESIRED SKILLS:

Proficient in computer software applications: Content Management Systems (Sitefinity, Sitecore, Wordpress or similar), CRM (Aptify, Salesforce, or similar), social media (Sprout Social, Hootsuite) Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Adobe Creative Suite, Mailchimp, Constant Contact, Media monitoring software (Cision, Meltwater, PR Newswire).

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

The candidate will be a dedicated, hard-working professional, unafraid of taking calculated risks, but with the understanding that all activities must be within reasonable expectations of PCA, its members, the communication staff, and its committee members.

The Director will also be a team player, having the appreciation, trust, and confidence in colleagues. The Director will also build a good working relationship with colleagues across department channels.

This Director, Marketing and Communications job description describes the general nature of the position responsibilities. The information provided herein does not necessarily cover all aspects of the position and is not intended to be a complete list of all expected tasks and accountabilities. Additional responsibilities and elements of the description may be added, changed, or deleted by management, at any time either in writing or verbally.