Assistant Director for Marketing and Communications Job Chicago area,Illinois USA,Marketing / Advertising / PR

Location: Chicago, Illinois

Department: MED-NU-CATS Institute
Salary/Grade: EXS/8

The Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Sciences (NUCATS) Institute seeks a motivated and experienced Assistant Director for Marketing and Communications to lead a wide range of strategic communications and marketing initiatives. The Assistant Director will serve as a content production focal point for print and digital publications (e.g., monthly newsletter, weekly NUCATS Minute, annual Impact Report), NUCATS website (nucats.northwestern.edu), as well as social media outreach via X and Linked In.

In addition, the Assistant Director will serve as the primary liaison to collaborative initiatives with Chicagoland CTSA hubs and Northwestern Medicine partners. The position will develop, manage, evaluate, and continuously improve communication strategies and campaigns for high profile NUCATS initiatives, and will compile profiles from faculty and study team members supported by NUCATS resources for dissemination to our funding agency, clinical affiliates, FSM community, and internally to NUCATS staff.

NUCATS is committed to fostering a culture that values professional growth and work-life balance. This full-time position requires a minimum of two days per week on-site at the Chicago campus.

Specific Responsibilities

Design, implement, oversee, evaluate, and continuously improve the Institute-wide marketing and communications strategic plan, with a focus on both internal and external audiences. Collaborate with NUCATS leadership, Feinberg School of Medicine colleagues, and other University partners and clinical affiliates to develop, test, and implement a forward-thinking approach to research communications, enabling investigators and study team members to receive targeted information ("the right information at the right time") regarding relevant resources and services that maximize efficiency and translational impact.

Partner with NUCATS colleagues to develop Center/Program-level marketing and communications strategic plans, focusing both on long-term branding as well as program-specific needs (e.g., marketing a regional conference and master's programs to increase attendance). Develop multiple templates (e.g., flyers, email announcement, social media push) for NUCATS team members to utilize as needed. Represent NUCATS at CTSA meetings and help host information tables at selected trainings and resource fairs.

With limited oversight, write, edit, proof, format, and publish articles, stories, and announcements on a regular basis via email, social media, monthly NUCATS newsletter, Feinberg School of Medicine publications, and print media. Maintain and continually update the NUCATS website (using Cascade content management system), provide guidance to each NUCATS Center/Program on website content, and establish standardized marketing and communications guidelines for all dissemination materials.

Collaborate with the Feinberg School of Medicine's Communications team to maintain FSM website standards. Manage social media outlets by posting content (such as images and short videos) on X, Linked In, Bluesky etc. Create and distribute electronic and printed communications and marketing materials (e.g., flyers, brochures, newsletters, event signage, presentations, handouts), including selecting and resizing images. Organize and maintain photo and story archives.

Identify, develop, and lead strategic planning efforts for external communications with the goal of increasing participation in clinical trials, through marketing initiatives and publications. Communicate and collaborate with other related institutions (e.g., two Chicagoland CTSA hubs, the Institute for Translational Medicine and the UIC Center for Clinical and Translational Science), with a focus on developing strong relationships with key partners in the Chicagoland area, and broadly disseminate clinical research for the entire enterprise, including via the Science in Translation.

Schedule interviews and edit scripts for podcast episodes (working with vendor). Act as the primary liaison between NUCATS, Feinberg, and Northwestern Medicine communications…


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