Director of Communications

Director of Communications

Episcopal Dioceses of New Hampshire and Maine 

Concord NH and Portland ME 

Position Summary:

The Director of Communications for the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire and Maine is responsible for the management of a comprehensive and innovative communication program that increases the awareness of the vision, goals, and mission of the diocese and its bishop.

They oversee all public relations aspects of the Dioceses, and build and sustain our reputation for quality, reliability, and customer satisfaction. In addition, this position supports and assists churches and other diocesan groups by providing communication thought leadership, best practices training, and technical assistance.

Depending on the applicant, this position could be a higher level, joint full-time position or it could be a less than full time position in one or the other diocese. In either case, collaboration and shared work product across the two dioceses will be the goal. Position could be mainly remote with occasional in person requirements, or may be in-person based in one or the other diocese. 

Reporting to the Chief of Staff (for both dioceses) and under the authority and vision of the Bishops, the Director of Communications will work closely with other members of the diocesan office staff, volunteer leadership, and ministry groups, congregations of the diocese, the community, and media outlets.

The Director of Communications will:

• Provide communications leadership and management for all external/internal communications and marketing via electronic, print, and social media platforms.
• Manage the diocesan brands, with clear messaging and effective design in all print, electronic and multimedia communication.
• Audit and assess the content, design, and delivery of existing print and electronic communications and identify opportunities and resources to enhance and promote the effectiveness and access of diocesan communications to and with all audiences.
• Manage public/media relations, maintaining relationships with religious news organizations and secular news media, generating news releases, developing earned media, and sharing diocesan news and events with congregations, communities and beyond as appropriate.
• Serve as a communications consultant and resource to congregations and with groups/offices within the dioceses, working with them to establish communications strategies and best practices.
• Serve as the digital evangelist for the dioceses, leading efforts to build relationships, create community, and foster a positive and uplifting presence in the digital space.
• Collaborate with the communications team at the neighboring diocese of New Hampshire to look for ways to collaborate and combine communications strategies and tasks across the dioceses.
• Liaise with the Episcopal Communicators industry organization before and during the Episcopal Communicators Conference to be held in Portland, Maine, in April 2024.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Oversee all diocesan communication vehicles, including but not limited to the website, social media presence, email newsletters, brochures, flyers, publications, and documents.
• Develop marketing strategies and objectives for increased visibility for the Episcopal Diocese of Maine and New Hampshire. Develop contacts and build relationships with local secular media and write compelling press releases and pitch stories that promote the mission, vision and work of the diocese and its congregations.
• Ensure that digital and print templates (letterhead, business cards, PowerPoint, social media, banners) and other files used by the diocese sare consistent with the brand.
• Responsible for editorial direction, design, production and distribution of the online newsletters, brochures, bulletins and other digital and print communication vehicles.
• Responsible for overseeing the strategies and implementation of social media content creation and engagement. Engaging with existing content, such as by sharing, liking, retweeting, commenting, and replying to posts.
• Develop, manage and track effectiveness of diocesan social media, and create guidelines to encourage mission-driven social media use by parishes.
• Continually evaluate web technology issues for the churches of the diocese, serving as a resource for I.T., mobile, web, video and audio best practices.
• Serve as a resource to all the churches of the dioceses to encourage a unified communications message, support in design of their communications strategies, and promotion of best practices for all diocesan technology efforts.
• Manage outside consultants as needed.
• Work closely with other members of the staff to assist with events, including the annual convention of the Diocese of Maine and other special projects/events as required.
• Propose and develop new communication vehicles as appropriate.

Skills:

• Significant experience in content strategy and execution.
• Significant public relations, media, and community relations skills and experience.
• Highly proficient skills as related to website and social media platforms, and other marketing tools (Constant Contact, Basecamp, Zoom, WordPress, Hootsuite).
• Proficient in Microsoft Office and familiar with G-Suite (Google) applications (email, calendar).
• Excellent organizational, written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills for print and electronic media platforms.
• Demonstrated project management skills managing complex projects.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate multifaceted and politically sensitive ideas to a variety of audiences.
• Ability to work effectively both independently and in a team-oriented, collaborative environment meeting the communications needs of a network of advocates for an organization’s mission.
• Excellent supervisory and management skills.
• Video and audio editing skills a plus.

Qualifications, Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in communications, marketing, public relations, journalism, or related field or an equivalent combination of training and experience. Experience writing for both print and web platforms.
• 3+ years’ experience in social media management.
• Proven track record in marketing and communications.
• Experience in working with key executives and media professionals.
• Knowledge of the Episcopal Church is preferred.
• Experience in not-for-profit, academic, or religious institution preferred.