Communications and Engagement Manager

The Housatonic Valley Association (HVA) is seeking an enthusiastic and qualified communications and engagement professional to manage all aspects of our communication,
event planning and outreach program. The Communications and Engagement Manager is part of HVA’s Advancement Team and plays a pivotal role in expanding public outreach, strengthening the delivery of HVA’s mission, values and vision, and building our network of collaborators, advocates, supporters, members and donors. Applicants should be passionate about, and able to communicate effectively and visibly on behalf of, a healthy Housatonic Watershed with our partners and the public.

Core skills and competencies: The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skills, and/or abilities required:

• Evidence of superior communications skills (verbal, written and visual); presentation/public speaking and writing/editing skills, with a strong sense of narrative and storytelling; verbalizing in wide-ranging contexts—basic, unambiguous information-sharing; social media; persuasive or inspirational writing—and being able to communicate effectively with different “audiences.”
• Proficiency in Canva or other design software, Constant Contact, Office 365 and Meta management.
• Strong interpersonal skills to foster effective working relationships at all levels, inside and outside of the organization, and demonstrated ability to build rapport with collaborators, donors and members of the press.
• Strong ability to work independently, adhere to timelines, and adapt to changing goals and/or performance metrics.
• Ability to work evenings and weekends as needed for networking, tabling and events.
• Adept at developing audio visual and other digital files to produce program content (slides of auction items, videos of HVA work, for example) and sharing with appropriate vendors and partners at events, etc.
• Ability to design visual elements and perform basic design work such as lay-out, communication templates, membership materials, etc.
• Strategic-minded and self-starting; nimble ability to capitalize on communication needs and opportunities on short notice; detail-oriented; and a mindset for devising communications that drive to specific organizational goals.
• Pro-active with a demonstrated track record of achieving measurable results and meeting quantifiable objectives.
• Demonstrated initiative and ability to work effectively under frequent deadlines, respond quickly to unexpected challenges and shifting priorities, and follow through on time-sensitive tasks with minimal supervision, both autonomously and with a team.
• A valid driver’s license and access to a personal vehicle, with the ability to travel throughout the Housatonic Valley and beyond for events and meetings.

Duties: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily, including but not limited to:

• Planning and implementing events, such as the annual Auction for the Environment, recreational outings, summer celebrations, Dining for a Cause, and small information and education gatherings for members and for the public to promote HVA and our partners, and manage event systems such as QGIV for event management and revenue processing.
• Collaborating with other staff to conceive activities (events, meetings, etc.), taking responsibility for creating needed communications such as public remarks or
  presentations, audio/visuals, hand-outs, and other materials as needed.
• Keeping event planning documents updated and maintained, and available for comparison with future and past events (year over year results, for example).
• Maintaining and building a digital presence engaging donors and mission supporters on multiple platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, TikTok, and eblasts and web communications.
• Gathering content from other staff and establishing and managing a robust, up-to-date and dynamic online presence. This includes responsibility for managing the
  organization’s website, ensuring a strong presence on social networking and third-party sites as relevant, creating e-blasts, blogs and other distribution channels as appropriate, capitalizing on relevant stories, video and photos, and serving as the organization’s resource on communication and information technology including various applications such as Constant Contact.
• Executing against specific audience or program goals to achieve data collection and improved donor engagement. Examples include weekly digital activity, event support,
  press outreach, solicitation or informational mailings and eblasts designed for recipient engagement and donor growth.
• Building and maintaining a marketing toolkit/storybook of HVA’s on-going achievements, projects and history to be utilized in donor outreach including member
  renewal and new member and funder solicitations, reports to funders, grant support, public marketing materials, and press.
• Developing and maintaining a “library” of communication materials and other marketing tools and supplies. This includes visuals (photography, design work including logos), basic reference materials, etc.
• Safeguarding overall visual identity by establishing and monitoring consistent design elements, serving the guardian of visual branding and consistent design elements.
• Developing and implementing a regular press communications plan that is focused for each of the watershed’s 5 regions, including releases, notices, direct outreach, etc.
• Researching and building a resource on new funder prospects to support events, etc.
• Developing mail merges (with the team) for membership appeals and communications.
• Coordinating internal and external scheduling of outreach and attendance tracking for Board meetings including the Annual Meeting and Party.
• Coordinating regular HVA Board Advancement Committee meetings