Marketing & Communications Manager

Date	January 7, 2016
Organization Overview:	The Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness (CREC) is a national 501(c)3 nonprofit that is organized to provide research, technical assistance, and training to municipal, state, and regional economic and workforce development agencies on innovative approaches to addressing state growth and development challenges. We manage four membership networks that have individual missions that align with our long-term goals—the Council for Community and Economic Research, Labor Market Information Institute, Projections Managing Partnership, and Association of Public Data Users. We are a mission-oriented organization that focuses on helping state and regional economic development agencies enhance their programs through evidence-based decision making. We also have worked with economic development leaders in nearly every state.
Position Summary:	The purpose of the Marketing function is to “build and maintain the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness’ brand.” Our vision is to help regions compete. We seek to achieve this by helping our clients develop a data-driven appreciation of state or regional economies; working directly with clients to articulate and address the economic forces that affect their regions; helping each client gain insight into their successes and challenges; and building client capacity so that each can create their own effective workforce and economic development plans (leaving our clients better off than before we worked with them). We invest heavily in measuring and evaluating what we do for our clients, and the Marketing role is specifically designed to replicate many of the same philosophies we apply to client relations to our internal processes so that the business runs more effectively and sustainably.
Responsibilities:	CREC is searching for a Marketing Manager with a strong technical aptitude who is focused on helping leadership build visibility for CREC as a resource for federal agencies, states, regional organizations, and foundations to help improve the prospects for a state or region’s economic potential. CREC is a highly regarded “go-to” resource for public policymakers, and the candidate’s role is to help create and reinforce that image for the organization. The role is heavily focused on guiding senior leadership and supporting CREC staffers and external stakeholders on specific initiatives underway, but also on helping frame communications about our work in a way that demonstrates CREC’s capacity and capability. A key aspect of this work will be maintaining a complete customer feedback loop, benchmarking and tracking the success of our existing marketing activities, determining budget trade-offs for those activities, as well as devising alternative approaches to framing the work that we do for existing and prospective clients. The candidate will take the lead on all CREC digital properties to ensure that the design and messages contribute positively to the desired visibility and reputation. The candidate will collaborate with staff to develop appropriate and current content for those digital properties. One aspect of the position will focus on supporting CREC business-development efforts. To that end, the candidate will conduct an assessment of the market conditions for certain CREC products and advise the Senior VP for product development on the product portfolio. In this capacity, the candidate will work with staff and others to develop strategies and internal priorities that promote programs and projects among existing and new partners. The candidate will also develop materials that can be used to promote, sell, and assist in the integration of CREC’s program services to a larger array of potential clients.
Qualifications:	Bachelor’s Degree (Masters preferred) 5-7+ years Marketing experience Experience working with cross-functional teams Demonstrated track record of success in your career Ability to prioritize and manage a variety of tasks in a fast paced, nonprofit or governmental environment Ability to develop and lead a high-performance team Strategic and creative thinker with advanced problem-solving skills “Doer” attitude, capable and willing to play a key role in the day-to-day aspects of the business, as well as work alongside of the team Highly ambitious, self-motivated / takes initiative

Apply Now:

Please send a well-written cover letter and a resume to Sean McNamera at sam@crec.net.

Due to the high volume of applications we receive, it is not possible to respond directly to all applicants, only to those whose candidacy is being pursued.