Assistant Director - Community and Content

WICHE

7d • $75,000 - $80,000

About The Position

Under the supervision of the
senior director, the assistant director of community and content is responsible for developing and disseminating knowledge about WCET, including member and community content, program information, membership, and projects, and for keeping members connected to the Cooperative. The assistant director develops and curates timely, relevant content and analysis; identifies opportunities; and produces content and materials to promote WCET and its programs through traditional media, social media, the WCET website, and related sites. This role coordinates with WICHE communications and other staff as needed to establish mutually beneficial contacts with national press in the higher education, policy, and technology arenas. This position is also responsible for overall management of the WCET MIX online community, including main administration of community management, and member engagement.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field.
• Minimum of five years recent work experience related to higher education and educational technologies.
• Minimum two years of experience with online community management.
• Familiarity with the organization and structures of higher education systems and institutions in the United States.
• Knowledge of higher education trends relevant to digital learning.
• Demonstrated ability to speak and write clearly in multiple formats, including print, email, and social media.
• Demonstrated ability to distill complex subject matter into concise descriptions in multiple formats.
• Ability to analyze problems, troubleshoot, and make well-reasoned, sound decisions, and to work independently.
• Demonstrated ability to establish and maintain effective, cooperative, and cordial working relationships internally and externally.
• Demonstrated ability to maintain appropriate confidentiality with materials and information.
• Practical understanding of accessibility requirements and UDL for digital design.
• Willingness to acquire additional related duties and responsibilities as necessary.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and be self-directed.

Nice To Haves

• Familiarity with website architecture, best practices in digital communications, and the use of social media for business communications and marketing.
• Experience working directly with higher education news media.
• Working understanding of WordPress, Canva, and Salesforce.
• Basic understanding of Google Analytics and willingness to learn.

Responsibilities

• COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT AND MEMBERSHIP ENGAGEMENT
• Featured members
• Spotlight WCET members to acknowledge the work they are doing to advance the practice and policy of digital learning;
• Membership community discussion management
• Develop, curate, and schedule posts, discussion questions, and the weekly newsletter to facilitate ongoing community engagement.
• Foster meaningful interactions among members, encourage participation in discussions, and build a sense of belonging.
• Implement community management and engagement plan with the help of WCET staff and Steering Committee members.
• CONTENT DEVELOPMENT AND STRATEGY
• Act as the main editor of the WCET blog, Frontiers (recruit and schedule new blog post authors and review, format, design, and publish weekly posts).
• Lead and/or provide oversight on the expansion of member-only communities and content on the WCET community platform, MIX.
• Stay informed of updates from the Community Management field to ensure that member engagement on MIX is robust.
• Work with the community platform vendor to understand platform development. Inform staff of changes and enhancements to the platform in order to take full advantage of the platform’s capabilities.
• Serve as the main author and publisher of the WCET Weekly Update and share content provided by SAN, Every Learner Everywhere, and the WCET Membership team members.
• In collaboration with SAN, Every Learner Everywhere, and WICHE Communications, direct information and communications release strategies to guide all outbound messaging, in collaboration with the WCET executive team, so that communications receive maximum attention from WCET’s well-established national media relationships.
• Work with staff on the design and distribution of WCET marketing materials, reports, press releases, and other digital content or print materials.
• Continuously develop skills and knowledge related to best practices in digital content. development and strategy, to keep WCET at the forefront of digital communications practices.
• Work collaboratively with WICHE communications staff. Coordinate with the WCET executive staff on news and communications intended for WICHE Commissioners and other WICHE communications.
• WCET OUTSTANDING WORKS AWARDS
• Lead the WCET Awards initiative by reviewing each award yearly and updating requirements and information if needed, maintaining the brand award and WCET brand integrity and reputation throughout the award process. This will include developing and sending calls for nominations and award announcements, collaborating with the WCET team on selected nominations, coordinating judges, communicating with all nominees, coordinating announcements with and for selected awardees, writing and leading the awards programming at the WCET conference each year, coordinating the award plaques, and writing and sending the press release announcing all winners after the annual meeting.
• WEBSITE
• Make content updates on WCET’s WordPress website to ensure webpages are up to date and accessible.
• Provide ongoing updates on website use data, including MIX, Frontiers, and the main WCET website.
• Work with external vendors, where appropriate, to ensure the functionality of the WCET website.
• ACCESSIBILITY
• Ensure that all WCET publications are accessible and meet WCAG 2.1 standards at a minimum.
• Coordinate with vendors to ensure that WCET webcasts and video recordings are accessible and meet WCAG 2.1 standards at a minimum.
• Work with WCET staff and external vendors to ensure that the WCET website is accessible and meets WCAG 2.1 standards at a minimum.
• SOCIAL MEDIA
• Develop WCET’s social media plan and provide recommendations for use of Blue Sky, TikTok, and LinkedIn.
• Stay informed about best practices for social media for nonprofit organizations.
• Coordinate with SAN and Every Learner Communications staff to maintain an active and engaged presence on relevant social media channels and evaluate their impact on promoting WCET’s virtual presence and reputation.[VD1]
• Coordinate with SAN and Every Learner Communications staff and WCET programs and events team to use social media effectively and strategically to drive attention to WCET events and programs.
• ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPORT
• Direct development and dissemination of new knowledge (i.e., publications, resources, infographics, white papers, blog posts, videos, webcasts, podcasts, etc.) that is timely and relevant for the WCET membership and tied to the WCET policy and practice areas.
• Coordinate with WCET’s programs staff to support and promote webcasts of high value to WCET and its members.
• With other staff, continually develop WCET’s brand guidelines and policies, especially related to accessible materials and content.
• Additional duties as agreed upon with the WCET executive team.

Benefits

• WICHE offers a competitive benefits package which includes medical insurance with generous employer contribution to health savings account (H.S.A.), dental, life, and disability insurance; flexible spending accounts (medical and dependent care); 403(b) retirement plan with employer match of 200% on employee contributions up to 5% after six full months of employment; and vacation accrual, paid family leave, sick leave, paid holidays, and personal leave time.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Number of Employees: 51-100 employees