Museum Vision and Mission:

MOHAI is treasured locally and respected nationally as a vibrant resource where history inspires us to be our best. By collecting and preserving artifacts and stories of our diverse history, MOHAI highlights our regional tradition of innovation and imagination. Through compelling exhibits, scholarship, education, public programs, and community engagement, MOHAI bridges the past, present, and future.

Position Title: Marketing & Communications Director

Reports to: Chief Advancement Officer

Location: MOHAI McQuaid Resource Center at Georgetown

Classification: Exempt, Salaried, Full-time

Schedule: Monday – Friday, with occasional evenings and weekends

Rate of Pay: $90,000 – $100,000 per year

Benefits: Medical, dental, vision and life insurance and participation in a 403(b) savings plan

Position Description:

The Marketing & Communications Director is responsible for strategy, planning and implementation of museum public relations and marketing campaigns, internal and external communications programs, museum publications, and initiatives to increase public understanding of and support for the museum’s mission and goals. A new position in the organization, the Marketing & Communications Director will direct message platforms and communication channel strategies for internal, external, and online audiences and will have the opportunity to shape and build the marketing & communications function of the museum. This position will report to the Chief Advancement Officer (CAO) and will work closely with Executive Director (ED), Capital Campaign Director, and appropriate board-level committees. The Marketing & Communications Director is responsible for directing the institutional brand and graphic identity of MOHAI, supervision of five communications staff, and overseeing the effectiveness and tracking of marketing efforts to benefit the museum. This position is a member of the Advancement team.

Key Responsibilities:

• Develop, execute, and evaluate a marketing strategy applicable for leading a fast-moving, richly diverse menu of events, programs, and updates.
• Direct efforts to expand public access, develop new audiences, and multiply messaging opportunities using a variety of resources including integrated digital content such as blogs, social media, video, podcasts, ebooks, and other digital communications tools.
• Direct efforts to increase media coverage of MOHAI exhibitions, programming, and acquisitions in high-profile local, national, and international media.
• Direct all aspects of the MOHAI brand, including logos, ads, fundraising collateral, publications, building signage, videos, and digital assets (including website and social media platforms).
• Oversee development and maintenance of writing standards including tone, voice, and style. Implement, update, and oversee MOHAI’s style and editorial guides.
• Ensure that all interactions are culturally responsive, respectful, and based on a foundation of MOHAI’s commitment to inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility.
• Collaborate with other departments to acquire information to be used in support of various marketing projects. Support every department of the museum in promoting programs, exhibits, fundraising, and special events within budget and deadlines according to institutional priorities.
• Manage, monitor, and assess internal institutional messaging and appropriate vehicles to ensure internal audiences understand and have access to available channels of communication.
• Articulate key museum issues and positions in a range of communication channels.
• Direct media relations efforts and serve as spokesperson and/or media relations liaison during press previews and visits as necessary.
• Collaboratively create, manage, and implement public relations and advertising campaign strategies.
• Provide crisis communications counsel as needed.
• Provide editorial counsel and support for all print and electronic communications.
• Manage work with advertising and public relations agencies when necessary.
• Lead the Marketing & Communications team in creating awareness for the museum brand and offerings and developing marketing materials for programs, special events, and fundraising efforts.
• Employ current marketing techniques, including print and electronic media advertising campaigns and web-based promotional and sales techniques to attract a variety of diverse audiences. Steer the editorial direction, design and production of the museum’s media and advertising program to key target markets.
• Oversee the effectiveness and tracking of marketing efforts, with a strong emphasis on data analysis, reviews the results and provides strategic oversight accordingly.
• Work with Development Director and Donor Events Manager to strategize and help execute cultivation events for major donors and prospects. Be a visible presence at museum special events.
• Work collaboratively with museum leadership and department managers to deliver excellent service to the museum staff, volunteers, members, and visitors. Collaborate cross-departmentally on initiatives, projects, and goals.
• Assign, plan, and oversee the work of the communications staff. Establish and monitor staff performance and development goals, assign accountabilities, set objectives, establish priorities, and conduct annual performance appraisals.
• Ensure staff accountability for excellence and outcomes through clearly defined, collaboratively established, and measurable goals.
• Empower staff through active and inclusive communication and delegation. Measure progress and provide feedback and coaching in regular team and one-on-one meetings.
• In collaboration with the CAO, develop and manage the Marketing & Communications budget.
• Opportunity to serve on IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility) Committees.
• Attendance at museum-sponsored events may be required.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

• 7+ years in communications, public relations, media relations, or marketing.
• Bachelor’s degree in communications, marketing, PR, journalism or a related field or any equivalent combination of experience and/or education from which comparable knowledge, skills and abilities have been achieved.
• Proven experience creating and implementing successful, integrated marketing & communications plans.
• Clear, succinct, and positive verbal communication with excellent listening skills.
• Professional, enthusiastic, engaging spokesperson. Ability to communicate effectively to a wide range of target audiences including media contacts, donors, and vendors. Ability to inspire and creatively engage colleagues, senior management, and board members in achieving and supporting a strategic communications plan.
• Exemplary written communication skills. Adept at writing in a variety of voices and styles. Strong editing and proofreading skills. Strong attention to detail.
• Comfortable working both independently and collaboratively within a small, close-knit team and thrive in a fast-paced, deadline driven environment.
• Demonstrated excellence in the management, supervision, and professional development of staff.
• Excellent project management skills and ability to plan and organize multiple projects simultaneously.
• Demonstrated initiative, creativity, flexibility, resourcefulness, and calculated risk taking.
• Demonstrated diplomacy, judgment, initiative, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to create budgets and manage projects with budgets.
• Thorough knowledge of MS Office software including Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint and Teams. Strong competency with Zoom, CRM, and project management software.
• Willingness and ability to travel between museum locations occasionally as required.
• Bilingual and multilingual skills valued.
• Enthusiasm for MOHAI’s exhibits, programs, and mission.

Find yourself checking a lot of these boxes but doubting whether you should apply? If you meet some of the requirements and you share MOHAI’s values and support our mission, we encourage you to apply. As part of our ongoing commitment to a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace, we’re invested in building teams with a wide variety of backgrounds, identities, and experiences.

Museum Overview:

For 70 years, MOHAI has been dedicated to enriching lives by preserving, sharing, and teaching the diverse history of Seattle, the Puget Sound region, and the nation. With a collection of over 4 million artifacts, photographs, oral histories and archival items, and an expansive schedule of exhibits and programs, MOHAI is the region’s premier history center. MOHAI operates a dramatic and award-winning museum in Seattle’s vibrant South Lake Union neighborhood and a Resource Center in Seattle’s Georgetown neighborhood. MOHAI also hosts the Bezos Center for Innovation, focusing on the history and future of innovation in the Puget Sound region. MOHAI is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, and has been selected by USA Today as one of the Top Ten History Museums in the nation. For more information, please visit www.mohai.org.

To Apply:

Please email letter of interest, resume, and three references to human.resources@mohai.org.

No phone calls, please.

MOHAI is a 501(c)(3) organization and an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to building a team and an organizational culture that fosters inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility. We encourage candidates of color to apply.