Communications/Marketing Associate
Organization Profile:
Room to Read seeks to transform the lives of millions of children in developing countries by focusing on literacy and gender equality in education. Working in collaboration with local communities, partner organizations and governments, we develop literacy skills and a habit of reading among primary school children, and support girls to complete secondary school with the relevant life skills to succeed in school and beyond.
We are non-governmental, non-religious and work with many local NGOs and community based organizations to implement our programs. We currently work in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Laos, Nepal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and Zambia – countries with a desperate lack of resources to educate their children. Since our inception, Room to Read’s worldwide team has impacted over 5 million children by constructing more than 1,400 schools, establishing over 11,000 libraries, publishing 550 new children’s book titles in 22 local languages, and putting over 10,000 girls onto long-term, holistic scholarships.
Room to Read has an annual budget of approximately US$38 million and our global staff numbers over 420. Our global headquarters is located in San Francisco, and we have smaller fundraising offices in Delhi, New York, Hong Kong, London, Mumbai, Sydney, and Tokyo. We have an Asia Regional Office located in New Delhi, a Southern Africa Regional Office in Pretoria, and program offices in Colombo, Dhaka, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Kathmandu, Lusaka, New Delhi, Pretoria, Phnom Penh, Vientiane, and we are setting up operations and hiring staff for a new office in Tanzania.
Position Overview:
This position is part of the Communications unit which resides under the Development team and has the responsibility of managing the external messaging, promotion and image of Room to Read. The Communications/Marketing Associate is responsible for supporting the Communications unit in primarily its printed marketing and online social media functions while also assisting in PR needs when necessary. This position will support the production of all global office marketing materials – both printed and online. It will also be responsible for all content pushed out via online channels such as our blog, Twitter and Facebook. The position will be based in our San Francisco office and will report to the Senior PR Associate.
Duties & Responsibilities:
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Support Room to Read's international education programs by helping to maintain and improve the global image and marketability of Room to Read, which drives donations and volunteer support.
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Proactively coordinate with country teams, regional offices and global office staff to collect information from the field and creatively package print and visual storytelling pieces that support the work of Room to Read. Writing is primarily for the donor audience and for inclusion in marketing materials, website, and blog.
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Be a creative content producer. Write and post blog entries (1x per week) and produce and edit, from start to finish, multi-media and video stories in addition to written stories from collected material.
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Be responsible for scheduling and creating content for inclusion on social media platforms including blog, Facebook, You Tube and Twitter. Suggest new social media campaign ideas to drive marketing.
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In conjunction with the Online Strategy Manager (OSM), create concept and write copy for quarterly eNewsletter and work with OSM for distribution.
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With collaboration from other staff, write draft copy for two of the larger annual marketing pieces: Room to Read Annual Report and the Girls' Education Yearbook.
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Working with the Online Strategy Manager, maintain and update copy for Room to Read website on a regular basis. Initial work on this project will include a refresh of the Room to Read website.
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Track and maintain all marketing collateral in office; work closely with printers and development team to effectively re-print or update materials needed for mailings.
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Collaborate with other Development team members on other newsletters and campaigns.
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Develop a mechanism for distributing information internally to staff for increased collaboration and sharing of information.
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Generate proactive story ideas/topic angles and pitch to team for press and other purposes.
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As needed, support the PR efforts within the department including PR pitches and writing, specifically for ghost writing Q&A and op-eds from executive staff.
Qualifications:
Required:
- Minimum of 3+ years related work experience
- Excellence and passion for writing and creative storytelling with an attuned skill for English-language grammar
- Experience working and writing for audiences using multiple media platforms – online and printed materials as well as visual storytelling through video and photography
- Experience in creatively using social media to further marketing and promotional efforts, beginning with conceptualization through to production of final product
- Working knowledge of Creative Suite 5 is a must; familiarity with HTML preferred.
- Experience with movie-making and video-editing software is ideal
- Ability to work across diverse cultures and countries to develop and maintain relationships that encourage sharing of stories and information
- Ability to be flexible, proactive, organized, meet deadlines, and ensure accuracy
- Experience managing and working with external communications agencies
- Highly organized with excellent attention to detail and ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously
- Knowledge of best practices and ethics in journalism
- Prior success working closely and building relationships with diverse groups of people
- Legally eligible to work in the United States; no sponsorship provided
To be successful as a member of the Room to Read team, you will also:
- Have a passion for our mission and a strong desire to impact an up-and-coming nonprofit organization
- Be an innovative and creative thinker; you’re not afraid to try something new and inspire others to do so
- Have a very high level of personal and professional integrity and trustworthiness
- Have a strong work ethic and require minimal direction
- Work well independently as well as part of a team
- Thrive in a fast-paced and fun environment
Compensation:
Room to Read offers a competitive salary with excellent benefits. Benefits include health, dental, vision, long-term disability insurance, life insurance, and a 401K match. The non-monetary compensation includes a unique opportunity to be part of an innovative, meaningful, fun, and rapidly growing organization that is changing the world through the lifelong gift of education.
Application Procedure:
Please send a cover letter and resume by email, with “Communications Associate” in the subject line, (no letters, calls, faxes, or drop-ins) to hiring@roomtoread.org. Due to high applicant volume, we regret that we cannot send personalized responses to all applicants. Applications are accepted until the position is filled.
Room to Read is proud to be an equal opportunity employer committed to identifying and developing
the skills and leadership of people from diverse backgrounds.