Overview

ABOUT STUDIO MUSEUM IN HARLEM

Founded in 1968, Studio Museum in Harlem (SMH) is a cultural leader that champions and preserves the prolific legacy of artists of African descent while simultaneously promoting critical thinking about art, culture, and community. Born out of an urgent need amid the political, social, and cultural ferment of the late 1960s, SMH was founded to create a new paradigm in which institutionally ignored artists of color would be seen, discussed, and made known to the public, and rewarded. Today, led by Director and Chief Curator Thelma Golden, the Studio Museum is the nexus for Black artists locally, nationally, and internationally, and for work inspired and influenced by Black culture.

POSITION SUMMARY

KEY RELATIONSHIPS

Reports to                            Chief Advancement Officer

Direct reports                      Digital Communications Manager
                                              Editor
                                              Corporate Partnerships Manager (TBH)
                                               
Other key relationships    Director and Chief Curator
                                            External Public Relations Firm
                                            External Website Design Firm
                                            External Brand and Identity Design Firm
                                            External Marketing Firm
                                            Museum Retail Team
                                            Museum Membership Team
                                            Curatorial and Learning and Engagement Teams
                                              
Status:                                New FTE, Exempt/Salary

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Overview
The Studio Museum in Harlem is seeking a passionate, strategic, and multi-faceted Director, Marketing and Communications who can help take the institution to its next level of growth in the local and global community. This expert will drive connection across all pillars of marketing: owned, paid, organic and partnerships. They will also drive and support revenue through attendance, membership, e-commerce, and events. Their role will be to amplify the vision, collection, and impact of the Studio Museum to engage existing audiences in new ways and define new audiences to lead the museum into its next chapter. 

The ideal candidate is a pragmatic visionary who understands the power of creativity and the arts without losing sight of the strong foundation that drives success. This individual celebrates diversity and diverse voices and can lead multicultural and multidisciplinary teams across multiple channels.

Not only does this individual embody the ambitions of the Studio Museum, but they also bring a deep expertise in marketing that will translate into impact for the Museum, for the art world and for the culture.

This individual is an expert synthesizer with strong operational capabilities, results-oriented, and a highly collaborative creative problem solver with a proven track record for increasing demand through successful marketing campaigns.

They will identify new opportunities that are aligned with the vision of the Studio Museum towards creating consistent, effective, and cohesive messaging that articulates a compelling story to elevate the brand across the broader community as well as specific target audiences. They will intuitively see connections and forge bonds in the community towards meaningful storytelling, partnerships, and bold endeavors across channels.

The most immediate priorities for this new position will be see to completion the Museum’s new website redesign and launch, work with the Membership team to design a local and national membership campaign as well as develop, and execute the Studio Museum’s inaugural local and national omni-channel marketing strategy that will lead to quantitative benchmarks across all owned/operated channels, including increased attendance growth and Museum retail sales.

They will oversee brand management and engagement for SMH.

  • Create rich and innovative content to connect the brand (who we are, what we stand for, where we fit into the world) with audiences in a way that is meaningful to them. 

  • Oversee the quality of every audience touchpoint, lead internal and external communication, and maintain the brand’s documented mission and vision.

  • Create communication plans for exhibitions, programs, events, and campaigns.

They will oversee the marketing strategy for SMH.

  • Design and drive the comprehensive strategic planning, development, and execution of all campaigns across brand and performance media. 

  • Build momentum and buzz by launching strategic go-to-market and omni-channel marketing plans that drive aggressive growth, increase awareness, and demand.

They will lead audience development for SMH.

  • Design and maintain frameworks and tools to define and continually understand SMH audiences. 

The Director, Marketing & Communications will own and manage the marketing budget, creating forecasts for strategies to meet SMH’s engagement and revenue goals, and resource allocation accordingly.

CANDIDATE PROFILE

IDEAL EXPERIENCE
Go-To-Market
Experience applying data and consumer insights research to creative briefs and brand narratives that inspire creativity. Strong agency management expertise – creative and media agencies.

Omni-Channel Marketing
Proficient setting the framework, and comprehensive strategic creative briefs to bring campaigns, content, and experiences to life in a seamless, and compelling omni experience across all audience facing channels. Highly attuned to both brand marketing and performance marketing objectives, able to balance the creative with the analytical.

Captivating Storytelling
Able to present words and ideas in a way that motivates, sells, inspires, and engages listeners’ emotions. A collaborative mindset with a passion for creative excellence and craft in storytelling through multiple media types and channels both emerging and traditional.

Earned Revenue Generation
Experience overseeing the ecommerce channel, managing agency and internal resources to create an engaging and high converting online shopping experience.

Team Leadership
Attracts, develops, and motives the talent needed for current and future organizational needs. Establishes high performance expectations by aligning individual goals with overall marketing and revenue objectives. Coaches team members to success and holds individuals accountable for achieving results.

CRITICAL LEADERSHIP CAPABILITIES
Driving Results
Drives audience development and earned revenue goal. Develops and meets all key performance metrics across creative, business, and operational functions. Balances urgent and effective action, commitment to excellence, taking initiative to resolve problems and work quality.

Stakeholder Management
Great interpersonal and communication (verbal & written) skills; a builder of bridges and relationships with internal and external partners to enable
collaborations. Strong communication skills, able to have tough conversations when needed and forthcoming with praise and encouragement.

Embraces Change (Adaptability)
Ability to navigate ambiguity and organizational dynamics in a fast paced and pressure filled environment, flexible and nimble to changes while also able to rally the team to work towards one goal. Inspires optimism and enthusiasm during times of ambiguity.

QUALIFICATIONS

  • 8+ years of work experience in Brand Marketing (agency or in-house) delivering integrated go-to-market campaigns supported by comms, media, and data strategy, with a robust portfolio of past campaigns, content, creative projects – across digital marketing, experiential, offline marketing, partnerships, and sponsorships.

 

  • 5+ Years in in leading, developing and managing teams.

 

  • Creative background in arts or related field preferred.

REQUIRED EDUCATION

  • An undergraduate degree is required. An advanced degree is desirable.

 

Interested applicants should send their resume and cover letter to jobs@studiomuseum.org. Be sure to include "Director, Marketing and Communication" in the subject line.

Please note that while careful consideration will be given to each submission, the Museum will only be able to contact those applicants whose knowledge, skills, and work experience best fit the requirements of the position.

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