Institute Contemporary Art Director of Communications and Public Engagement

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Unit: Institute for Contemporary Art MBU

Department: Institute for Contemporary Art

Department Summary: Designed by Steven Holl Architects and located at the corner of Broad and Belvidere, the Institute for Contemporary Art (ICA) at VCU presents the art of our time and provides an open forum for dialogue and collaboration across the region and throughout the world. With free admission, the ICA is a major resource for VCU, Richmond, and beyond.

The ICA’s visible program includes exhibitions, film screenings, talks and discussions, outdoor activations, publications and performances and serves a broad public. In 2020, in partnership with VPM, the VPM+ICA Community Media Center was launched, which presents the annual Levels Up Academy podcasting forum, and the Resonate podcast festival. The Director of Communications and Public Engagement will design and execute an integrated strategic marketing and communications plan for the ICA with focus on the following priorities:

• Enhancing the ICA’s mission and brand through digital engagement, storytelling editorial strategies and public relations

• Expanding awareness of the ICA’s local, regional and international reputation

• Engage audiences and publics in ways that embody the ICA’s mission to listen, create, and make art public

The Director of Communications and Public Engagement will work in close collaboration with other senior staff at the ICA, across VCU and with external consultants. They will lead and appropriately staff the communications team (Digital Strategist and Editor) in addition to project-specific graphic designers and part-time graduate student interns.

Reporting directly to the ICA’s Executive Director, the Director of Communications and Public Engagement is a member of the ICA’s managing staff. In addition, the Director of Communications and Public Engagement has a dotted supervisory line to the VCUarts Director of Communications and Marketing.

• Develop strategies that showcase the institute’s brand narrative.

• Devise, implement and maintain the overall marketing, communications and storytelling strategies of the ICA.

• Hone effective communication techniques for reaching and motivating the ICA’s audiences to drive visitorship, program attendance, and giving.

• Support the Digital Strategist in prioritizing innovative and effective digital engagement and storytelling content aligned with the mission and strategic goals of the ICA.

• Lead and coordinate the production process for various media and platforms, working with in-house and external freelance IT specialists, programmers, designers, and developers to execute projects.

• Establishing systems and procedures that map departmental priorities onto project-related tasks aligned with the ICA institutional priorities.

• Work with department heads to develop content for the ICA’s website and related digital products and initiatives. Evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of internal and external information; obtain feedback from the public and internal personnel through surveys, public opinion studies, and/or focus group meetings.

• Establish and maintain effective and cooperative working relationships with VCU and VCUarts communications teams, and other VCU faculty and staff, community leaders, donors, and representatives of communications media and governmental organizations.

• Analyze situations accurately, adopt an effective course of action, and maintain sound decision-making in all situations; exercise authority of the position with diplomacy, honesty, integrity, humor, and tact.

• Provide motivation, professional development support, and daily project management for the Communications Team, comprising the Creative Director, Designers, Social Strategist, Interns, freelance writers, etc.

• Bachelor’s degree plus three to five years of professional-level experience in marketing and communications, including experience of leading an agency or in-house creative team. Those who have a combination of professional training, experience, and education equivalent to a Bachelor’s…