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We are a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization and the leading provider of educational reporting, data exchange, verification, and research services. Serving the education, workforce and learner communities has been at the heart of our mission for over 30 years. Our work — performed in a trusted, secure, and private environment — provides numerous time- and cost-saving benefits to students, schools, administrators, and requestors. Education leaders rely on the Clearinghouse’s unique national student data resources to better understand student pathways and outcomes in order to help students succeed, and our research better informs practitioners and policymakers about student educational pathways and enables informed decision making.

About the Role:

The Senior Director, Marketing Operations is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the organizations marketing and branding efforts. They will be responsible for providing vision, thought leadership, and high-impact marketing, communications and media relations strategies that promote and strengthen the National Student Clearinghouse brand and reputation. They will act as the marketing partner for the sales team by equipping them with winning marketing plans, proof points, value propositions, impactful content, training, messaging, and resources. Through a deep understanding of our audiences (K12, higher education, learners, and workforce), the Senior Director leads the development and execution of communication strategies that align with the Clearinghouse’s mission and effectively advance our strategic goals to our B2B and B2B2C targets, resulting in increased brand awareness and satisfaction, usage, and growth.

Working closely with key internal functions and external marketing and ad agencies, the Senior Director of Marketing Operations creates a messaging framework that is consistent with and reinforces our brand positioning; strategic and measurable communications and marketing campaigns and programs; and integrated channel strategies that leverage the web, social and digital platforms, PR, multimedia, and events. The Senior Director is also responsible for establishing, tracking, and reporting regularly on KPIs and recommending and executing ongoing improvements to optimize performance and the end-to-end customer experience. Additionally, the Senior Director leads the company in establishing a standardized system to measure and improve customer satisfaction and visibility of brand.

The ideal candidate must thrive in a fast-paced environment and be a strategic driver with a demonstrable track record of success. The position comes with great responsibility, as this role is accountable for the public perception of a company. Managing this perception involves developing marketing and communication strategies, understanding the importance of timing and setting, responding to crises and setbacks, overseeing a team of diverse communications roles, and ensuring that information released is consistent with the strategy at large.

The position reports to the Vice President, Corporate, Strategy, Marketing Communications, and Customer Experience and is a member of the Senior Leadership Team.

Currently, this is a remote-first position, and this position may be required to periodically work on-site at our office and the frequency would depend on the department/division's requirements. Therefore, candidates must either reside within a reasonable distance to commute to our office or be willing to travel to our office in Herndon, when required.

Leadership Competencies:

• Demonstrate the Clearinghouse’s competencies, which align with our corporate values. The manager will provide more detail to candidates as needed.
  • Senior Leadership Competencies include: Balances Stakeholders, Cultivates Innovation, Drives Vision and Purpose, Strategic Mindset, and Understanding the Business.

Balances Stakeholders:

• Deal effectively with conflict, reach an agreement without damaging relationships, and find win-win solutions.
• Develop and foster a partnership relationship with a diverse group of stakeholders at all levels of the organization.
• Pragmatically and proactively partner with stakeholders, balance the needs of stakeholders without overcommitting and underdelivering, focusing on delivering value-added solutions and services.

Cultivates Innovation:

• Work closely, drive, and lead key internal resources to drive new business/solutions.
• Encourage and support creativity, ideation, and innovative thinking by staff and proof of concept work that is well thought out and grounded.? Views failures as an opportunity to learn.
• Moves beyond traditional ways of doing things and pushes past the status quo.

Drives Vision and Purpose:

• Lead by example with a high level of emotional intelligence and demonstrate a positive and intellectually curious demeanor about the Clearinghouse’s mission, vision, values, and opportunities for the Clearinghouse to provide value to the education community and learners.
• Communicate the vision and strategy to staff in a clear, relatable, and optimistic manner.
• Demonstrates and instills our cultural values and transparent communication philosophies.

Strategic Mindset:

• Review trends, anticipate future needs, and create a vision of possibilities for sustainable value and opportunities.
• Sees the big picture, constantly imagines future scenarios, and creates strategies to sustain competitive advantage.

Understanding the Business:

• Develop, maintain, and demonstrate a strong working knowledge of the Clearinghouse, its environment, including its mission, services, and key stakeholders, and how each organizational unit contributes to that mission.
• Actively seeks opportunities for efficiencies and cost-effective technologies that reduce costs and optimize investments.
• Expertly represent the Clearinghouse externally.

How You Contribute:

• Lead and develop the Corporate Communications function, including developing executive platforms, creating, and implementing PR strategies, drafting scripts, narratives and messaging, and other executive materials.
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders, ranging from operations to product to marketing, and global communications colleagues.
• Proven ability to lead through influence.
• Create and manage strategic multi-channel communications plans that continuously elevate the Clearinghouse brand, improve customer satisfaction, deepen audience engagement, and drive leads and usage.
• Develop and lead the strategy, planning, and execution of our crisis communications, reputational risk management, and client satisfaction programs.
• Develop and execute a media relations program, including writing articles, press releases, and handling media inquiries. Interview request, and social media monitoring.
• Research, develop and edit content for internal and external executive communications, including narratives, messaging, briefing docs, scripts/talk tracks, press releases, blog posts/op-eds, and more.
• Develop a robust thought leadership platform incorporating speaking engagements, events, and earned media.
• Increase the Clearinghouse’s positive share of voice by employing targeted media relations and social media tactics that deliver measurable results.
• Develop and execute innovative, proactive strategies, programs, tactics, and materials that effectively share the Clearinghouse vision, mission, and story while adhering to corporate brand guidelines and best practices.
• Reinforce and protect the Clearinghouse’s position as a trusted national leader amongst the education and workforce communities, learners, and the media.
• Produce digital and print communications materials and content that support our business, including writing and editing material as needed.
• Develop and social media strategy, that can be maintained and extended
• Ensure that agencies, consultants, and vendors used by the Corporate Communications team meet or exceed expectations for delivering and executing strategies, plans, and materials.
• Develop budgets and manage expenditures within the communications department budget.
• Establish relationships within the education community who can help promote the company through word of mouth or by providing positive coverage in the media.
• Serve as a spokesperson for the Clearinghouse, when asked.
• Leveraging available data points to measure effectiveness of marketing efforts in a B2B environment.

Workforce Management

• Build a team-based environment that aligns with company values, ways of working, and competencies.
• Recruit and select the best talent to help optimize skills and experiences and motivate and manage staff to maximize productivity and efficiency.
• Develop and manage career development and advancement opportunities at the Clearinghouse through MAPS conversations, developing and reporting on performance and goals, and defining and monitoring training and development plans to ensure job and career satisfaction.
• Ensure staff are adequately trained and provide guidance as needed.
• Monitor employee performance and conduct appraisals.
• Reward employees using formal and informal methods.

Position may be required to perform other duties as required. These essential functions are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the job. Reasonable accommodations will be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.

What You Bring to the Table:

• Bachelor’s degree and 10+ years of directly related experience, with a minimum of 10 years of strategic communications leadership. A combination of education and experience, including through military service, will also be considered.
• 10+ years of experience with:
  • Development, implementation, and management of integrated communication strategies and KPIs.
  • Stakeholder and Community engagements.
• 3+ years of experience managing a diverse team, including agency management.
• Experience in brand management to drive growth strategies and lead plans through B2C and B2B digital channels.
• You have a track record of success in developing compelling narratives and building and delivering impactful communications programs
• Strong media relationships with key educational, government, and business journalists.
• Demonstrated ability to:
  • Shape and control the flow of information to key constituencies.
  • Sustain positive and open lines of communication with internal and external stakeholders.
  • Conduct market research and present reports.
• Proven history creating successful demand-generation and pipeline-building campaigns drawing on analytics, market research, and competitive analysis to develop multi-platform outreach, including via marketing automation (preferably Pardot integrated with Salesforce).
• In-depth knowledge of traditional and online advertising, media relations, inbound marketing, social media, SEO/SEM, and Google Analytics to attract, convert, and retain target audiences.
• A creative thinker with an affinity for innovation, excellent problem solving, project and budget management, analytics, and strong business acumen.
• Excellent interpersonal and written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to coach, manage and lead staff and collaborate across the organization.
• You embody a values-led philosophy and are adept at turning change and challenge into opportunities.
• Expert level in Microsoft Office applications and proficient with other collaboration tools.
• Must be able to provide professional samples or portfolio (writing samples, blog posts, social media posts, collateral, infographics, etc.) if requested.
• Talented at the Management competencies:
  • Making complex decisions - A proven record focused on identifying creative solutions to existing issues and attempting to appeal to specific audiences’ needs.
  • Being flexible and adaptable - Demonstrated ability to work in a fast-paced working environment and work in a diplomatic and tactful manner with others.
  • Building collaborative relationships and optimizing diverse talent – Demonstrated ability to develop and lead a team in a positive and professional manner with a proven track record of facilitating cross-departmental issue identification, problem solving, and resolution.
  • Focusing on performance - A proven record of setting short terms goals that align with the Clearinghouses goals to encourage productivity and focus on the result.
• Must live within a commutable distance to Herndon, VA or in one of the Clearinghouse's approved States for hiring purposes. Refer to our HR Policies Page, located on our Careers site at https://www.studentclearinghouse.org/careers/human-resource-policies/, for more details.
• Must be at least 18 years old.

Additional Desired Requirements:

• Master’s degree.
• Experience:
  • Driving communication strategies within the B2B and B2B2C space.
  • At education institutions or commercial entities providing education-related services.
  • Working with Policy Makers in the education space
• Knowledge of the education industry is highly preferred.
• Knowledge of the features/benefits of National Student Clearinghouse services.

Physical Demands:

• Use of a computer for 8 or more hours a day.
• Use of a copy machine, and telephone.
• Frequently required to sit for 7 or more hours per day in close proximity to others in an open office environment.
• Occasionally required to use hands and fingers to operate, handle, and reach.
• Vision abilities include close vision and the ability to adjust focus.
• Must demonstrate freedom from color blindness.
• Must be flexible to do out-of-town assignments and travel via car, train, and/or airplane when needed (up to 10%).
• Must be flexible to work after business hours and on weekends when necessary.

Benefits and Related Information

The National Student Clearinghouse provides a robust benefit program designed to help meet the needs of each employee and their family, both now and in the future. We offer comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance, as well as life and disability insurance benefits, for employees and their qualified dependents. Health care, dependent care, and limited purpose flexible spending accounts, as well as a health savings account, are options available for employees to set aside pre-taxed dollars for certain qualifying expenses. We offer a very generous 401k matching contribution program with the opportunity to defer pre-tax and Roth contributions, as well as catch-up contributions for those who are eligible! We are proud to offer a competitive paid leave program consisting of vacation, sick, and personal time, as well as paid holidays and up to 3 weeks of paid parental leave during a 12-month period. Vacation time will accrue based on length of service, and new full-time hires can accrue up to 13 days of vacation and up to 10 days of sick time per year. On an annual basis, new employees may use up to 32 hours of accrued sick time as personal time. Additionally, the Clearinghouse observes at least 11 paid holidays per year.

Another perk is that employees have the option to get reimbursed for basic wholesale company and roadside assistance memberships (e.g., Costco and AAA) and to request a buy back on portions of unused accrued vacation based on tenure and certain other qualifications. Employees can further their education and professional development by using our Employee Education Assistance Program, which establishes reimbursement for qualified education expenses upon successful completion of the program, and leveraging the enterprise-wide LinkedIn Learning subscription. There are additional employee benefits too, including but not limited to, mental health and wellness benefits. To find out more, please request a copy of our Benefits at a Glance!

Additionally, we reasonably believe that the salary range for this position is between $175,000 and $200,000. Bonus eligible.

The requisition will be open for a minimum of three days, and applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.

Internal Candidates: If you feel that you qualify and meet the requirements of the job, we highly encourage you to apply and focus on preparing for the application process. Once the final candidates are selected, they can anticipate a review of the compensation prior to any offer made.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities: The National Student Clearinghouse is proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer that does not discriminate on the basis of actual or perceived race, creed, color, religion, alienage or national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, age, disability or handicap, sex, marital status, veteran status (or known to have a spousal, family, business, social or other relationship or association with a protected veteran), sexual orientation, genetic information, arrest record, natural hairstyle, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws. Our management team is dedicated to this policy with respect to recruitment, hiring, placement, promotion, transfer, training, compensation, benefits, employee activities and general treatment during employment.

Pay Transparency Notice: The National Student Clearinghouse is a federal contractor that abides by all applicable equal opportunity laws and regulations. Under these laws, companies doing business with the federal government must provide applicants and employees with certain policies, including the following information. The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)