Practical Farmers of Iowa is Hiring a Communications Manager

Position Title:                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Communications Manager 

Duties:

• Oversee day-to-day operations of communications and marketing team (35% of duties).
o Lead weekly communications and marketing team meetings.
o Identify training and professional development opportunities.
o Track team member performance, provide feedback, resolve issues and manage team
changes to optimize performance.
o Manage, track and review team schedule, work and grant deliverables and budget.
o Filter and route internal and external media and communications requests.
• Manage digital and print publications (30% of duties).
o Gather and synthesize input from internal and external stakeholders.
o Create publication schedules and assign roles and responsibilities.
o Lead brainstorming, editorial, kickoff, progress and retrospective meetings.
o Track, review and report on publication and project progress, and ensure deadlines
and desired outcomes are met.
o Manage digital assets and information systems for communications and marketing
team.
• Manage full-time and part-time staff and contractors working for the communications
and marketing team (20% of duties).
o Supervise three full-time staff members, including the editor and publications.
coordinator, graphic design and photography coordinator and digital media
coordinator.
o Supervise part-time staff and interns as needed.
o Manage relationships and deliverables with independent contractors working on
communications and marketing-related projects.
• Gather and use data to measure and report impact of communications and marketing
work across various channels and publications to internal and external stakeholders
(10% of duties)
o Monitor and report on impact of team’s work on media landscape using media
monitoring software.

o Develop and maintain performance indication dashboards for easy reporting and
decision-making.
o Develop and execute strategies for incorporating results into future work for
continuous improvement.
• Write and edit content for digital and print publications (5% of duties).
o Participate in communications internal review process as late-stage editor of major
digital and print publications.
o As needed, draft content for publications and outreach.

Qualifications and Characteristics:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience that demonstrates strong writing and critical
thinking skills required; master’s degree in nonprofit, business or public administration or
communication and marketing-related field preferred
• Three years of work experience in an office setting required; two years of management
(including supervision) experience preferred
• Ability to manage multiple concurrent projects in a fast-paced team environment
• Ability to anticipate bottlenecks and workflow issues and take preventive action
• Ability to meet deadlines
• Ability to listen and understand people’s needs and concerns
• Ability to prioritize work and time based on desired outcomes
• Meticulous attention to detail and high organizational ability
• Demonstrated knowledge of communications and public relations best practices, or
demonstrated ability to learn quickly in a fast-paced work environment
• Demonstrated knowledge of Midwest agriculture, environmental issues and rural culture
preferred
• Excellent meeting facilitation skills
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills
• Excellent writing and editing skills
• Experience with Microsoft Word and Excel required
• Experience conceptualizing and using dashboards or other data visualization tools preferred
• Experience with print and digital publications management preferred
• Experience with media monitoring software preferred
• Experience in budgeting and budget management preferred
• Patient, flexible and adaptable
• Analytical, and data- and process-oriented
• Ability to persuade and lead a team