Marketing & Communications Project Manager - Extension, College of ACES

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign•Urbana, IL

4d•Onsite

About The Position

Manage the Illinois Extension marketing and communications project management systems, assigning work, setting priorities, deadlines, and tracking project progress and client relations end-to-end. Ensure consistent brand management across all 102 counties served, providing feedback and channeling questions to the appropriate colleagues in the organization. Supervise the Office Manager in collaboration with the Director of Communications.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in marketing, business administration, communications, public relations, or a closely related field.
Five (5) years of professional work experience in marketing, public relations, communications, brand management, or a related professional area.
Demonstrated project management experience in a multi-client, multi-project environment.
Knowledge of project management systems, basic knowledge of graphic design, marketing, and writing.
Strong attention to detail, timeliness, interpersonal skills, and teamwork.
Strong communication skills.
Skills in client relations and managing a broad portfolio of projects.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree in management, marketing, advertising, business administration, communications, public relations, web design, business analytics, or related field.
Experience in working in a higher ed environment.
Knowledge of purpose and mission of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences and University of Illinois Extension.

Responsibilities

Manage new request processing and assignment of projects within the team project management system, ensuring deadlines are tracked and projects are delivered on time.
Coordinate use of communications team staff time needed to support delivery of projects as outlined in project scope documentation.
Develop and maintain project management system organization and update and customize project intake forms, task templates, and rules to optimize project workflow and optimize team functionality.
Identify the need for systems, provide research and recommendations, and execute system development.
Provide client service and consistent communications to project requesters.
Supervise and oversee development, updates, and dissemination of formalized MarCom processes such as proofing, team file storage, project workflow, and merchandise checkouts from MarCom inventory.
Prepare, organize, and manage annual project schedules; determine deliverables and set deadlines; produce deliverables and coordinate with other staff or outside vendors to meet deadlines and deliver projects on time and on budget.
Assign projects and daily work to office manager both from field requests and in collaboration with the Director of Communications and Assistant Director of Workforce Development.
Provide direction and support to office manager for handling Extension email inbox communications, overseeing inventory for MarCom merchandise, and creating MarCom weekly marketing update email distributed widely to Extension staff.
Mentor and provide guidance to other members of the marketing and communications team regarding project progression, efficiencies, and managing client expectations.
Comply with all University of Illinois Extension Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity policies and guidelines.
Oversee Extension brand identity in relation to its use across all 27 Extension units, including monitoring adherence to brand guidelines provided by Extension and the University of Illinois.
Collaborate with Extension communications staff to Identify, design, and deliver professional development experiences for salaried and civil service staff located throughout the state with the goals of increasing staff efficiency and marketing and communications effectiveness.
Manage and execute a limited portfolio of marketing projects.