VP, Membership, Marketing & Communications

The Vice President of Marketing, Communications and Membership (VP) reports to the Chief Operating Officer and serves as a key member of the Leadership Team.  The VP will work in close alignment with his or her peers leading the branding and marketing communications, as well as membership strategy, surrounding the organization to:

• Drive the overall brand awareness of the organization and its mission.
• Attract and engage members and other stakeholders with programming and services that excite their interests and deepens their loyalties.
• Increase visibility of the organization’s community work among various stakeholders.
• Create innovative ways to engage corporate and individual contributors.
• Directs all activities related to maintaining and establishing relationships with members, including recruitment and retention for all categories of membership.
• Build a culture where NHPCO teams collaborate and drive decisions informed by reliable market-tested data.
• Enhance member and partner knowledge of the organization’s public policy agenda and achievements.

The successful candidate will be a seasoned professional with demonstrated success leading a marketing, communications, and membership team in the nonprofit and/or corporate sectors.   S/he should believe in the organization’s mission and is motivated to enhance the position of the organization, the broader industry, and our affiliated members and stakeholders.

Strategic Leadership

The VP of Marketing, Communications and Membership plays a key strategic role in the organization’s brand, identity, positioning, and success.  This position is responsible for communicating the organization’s mission, vision and community work to membership and various other stakeholders and plays a creative and strategic role in shaping marketing, positioning, communications, and membership strategy. Specifically, the VP will be expected to:

• Develop strategic marketing plans to support the organization's mission, goals, and objectives, including positioning, and market and competitive analysis.
• Lead and oversee the organization’s marketing, branding, media and public relations, campaign promotion, market research, issues management, crisis communication, and marketing-related customer relationship and engagement activities, all essential to enhancing the organization’s membership experience, brand reputation, and community support.
• Create and execute innovative marketing and public relations strategies, including both traditional and social media, to guide leadership in cultivating and enhancing relationships with the organization’s key audiences.
• Develop and implement an integrated marketing and communications plan to advance brand identity, broaden and increase the visibility of its programs and build a strong public voice.
• Partner with the Leadership Team to develop and implement an internal communication and brand strategy across multiple channels and departments to ensure continuity.
• Work with the Chief Advocacy Officer and other staff to promote and leverage the organization’s public policy and advocacy agenda to accomplish regulatory and legislative change.
• Oversee all aspects of marketing and communications, including branding, public policy, advertising, special events, collateral materials, direct mail, email, sponsorship, and partner development, etc.
• Lead and oversee the organization’s website development (design and content), online and social media initiatives, and website analytics and usage.
• Oversee all aspects of public relations, including media, community, regulatory and legislative relations.
• Develop, execute, and track ROI of media campaigns and media/advertising buys.
• Act as Staff Liaison to the Board’s Marketing and Communications Committee.
• Prepare monthly statistical and descriptive reports on the Department’s goals and performance.
• Partner with the Vice President of Finance and Business Strategy to develop, implement and evaluate NHPCO’s membership business model(s).
• Create, implement, and direct the membership experience and lifecycle to recruit and retain members and non-member organizations that support a variety type of members and size.
• Direct activities related to membership acquisition, renewal, nurturing, and engagement.
• Directs the activities of staff and volunteers in maximizing marketing opportunities that positively position the organization as an industry leader. 

Team Leadership
The VP of Marketing, Communications and Membership actively manages, recruits, and develops staff (e.g., writers, graphic designers, production managers, and digital marketing professionals) as well as vendors to support and further extend the resource of the department.  The VP will be expected to judiciously source and manage the use of external vendors and contractors when required.  Specifically, the VP will be expected to:

• Recruit and manage a marketing and communications team that supports the development and implementation of an organization-wide communications and marketing strategic plan.
• Build organizational capability by identifying skills needed in the Department and recruit and develop staff in alignment with strategic priorities.
• Build talent by establishing and communicating performance standards and developing staff to meet those standards.
• Facilitate effective cross-functional teamwork with members of the organization and key internal and external stakeholders.
• Source and manage the use of external resources (e.g., public relations firms, advertising and marketing agencies, public policy experts, photographers, printers, digital media experts, graphic designers, among others) as needed to successfully execute on strategic initiatives.

Department Operations and Results-Driven Leadership
The VP will be responsible for all marketing and communications work generated by the Department.  The VP will also be expected to create and manage Department budgets and interface with other department leaders to effectively manage the Department’s administrative processes. Specifically, the VP will be expected to:

• Be responsible for the effective operations of the marketing, communications, and membership functions, including budgeting and planning.
• Manage and supervise Department staff, including writing performance evaluations and ensuring staff training and development.
• Direct market research activities to keep abreast of changing demographics and other relevant factors and to monitor emerging issues.