Vice President, Marketing and Communications

The Chamber brings area businesses and civic leaders together to amplify the impact of business in the region, advocate for a competitive business climate and grow a vibrant and diverse business community in order to achieve our vision: The Greater Philadelphia Region is a top global destination for business and a leader in inclusive growth.

Primary Position Purpose

We are currently seeking a Vice President, Marketing and Communications who is responsible for leading all marketing and communications activity to members and regional, national and international audiences. This includes promoting, enhancing and protecting the organization’s reputation throughout the Greater Philadelphia region, shaping a narrative of business impact on the region’s growth, and enhancing the region’s brand reputation with national and international business and talent audiences. This role reports to the CEO.

This position provides oversight and direction to marketing and communications staff and vendors which includes print and digital, media and PR, social media, new media, events, bulk email, web-based, videography and graphic arts functions. This position has direct responsibility for marketing and communications outputs, including support for internal customers.

This body of work includes:

• Providing strategic direction and plan execution for the Chamber’s effort to increase the visibility and perception of the business community and Chamber’s impact in the region with key audiences including oversight of earned, owned, and paid channels.
• Leading all marketing and communications efforts to members, prospective members, the regional business community as well as local, regional, state and national elected officials
• Refining Greater Philadelphia’s position with national and international business and talent communities, developing and implementing messaging and content that motivates target customers to live, invest, and grow in the region, often in collaboration with other organizations.
• Stitching issue-based advocacy messaging into organization’s communication plan.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

Promote the Greater Philadelphia region to attract and grow business, investment and talent.

• Partner with Economic Competitiveness team to refine Greater Philadelphia’s position in the national and international business and talent communities, developing and implementing messaging and content that motivates target customers to live, invest, and grow in the region.
• Work with regional partners to ensure branding and go-to-market approaches that will enable campaigns to succeed are in place.
• Generate talent attraction and retention marketing campaigns targeting specific talent profiles needed to fill critical jobs required for industries both in-demand and poised for growth.
• Ensure that stakeholders and funders understand the impact of the work that the Chamber is undertaking and are equipped to incorporate Chamber-generated messaging and assets into their marketing and business development efforts.

Tell story of business community impact and communicate advocacy priorities.

• Partner with the advocacy team and resources, to shape the narrative around key regional issues and integrate issue-based messaging into Chamber’s marketing and communications.
• Facilitate a culture and capacity for digital and visual storytelling at scale across the Chamber teams that connects people to the Chamber’s advocacy priorities. Build a story and information pipeline that facilitates the dissemination of stories and information to key audiences.

Develop marketing and communications strategies that grow memberships and engagement.

• Create and implement effective communications with members to illustrate the work of the Chamber, provide value to members and extend relationships.
• Develop integrated marketing plans across paid, owned, earned and shared channels for the organization brand, driving awareness and understanding of the Chamber’s impact for current and prospective investors.
• Manage relationships with key stakeholders, including media outlets, partners’ communications teams, and key vendors.

Reintroduce the organization within the region.

• Develop communication strategies, messaging and tools necessary for both internal and external audiences to effectively understand, articulate and champion the Chamber and the impact of Chamber members in the region.
• Ensure use of marketing and communications strategies and techniques to cultivate and enhance meaningful relationships with targeted, high-level audiences, including public sector leaders, business decision makers, members and funders, media and other key influencers. This includes increasing the visibility of initiatives and programs across key stakeholder audiences and maintaining brand identity.

Team leadership.

• Recruit, develop and retain team members.
• Plan and organize marketing functions and operations. Provide supervisory guidance to team members and ensure workflow and alignment of staff and other resources. Responsible for the operational efficiency of the department and for identifying, designing, and implementing departmental policies and procedures that ensure quality control, effectiveness and timely delivery of products.
• Execute leadership/CEO communications strategy, vehicles and topics.
• Create innovative approaches to communicating the work of the Chamber including marketing and public relations campaigns for initiatives to cultivate and enhance meaningful relationships with targeted, high-level external audiences, including the media and key influencers. Proactively identify forums like third-party conferences, podcasts, and blogs to spotlight the Chamber’s work and market the region’s assets.
• Track impact of work, including KPIs and metrics as well as tracking reputation of the business community and Chamber among key audiences

Job Specifications

• Bachelor’s degree or comparable experience in marketing, communications, English, or related field.
• Minimum of fifteen years of experience working in a marketing role; economic development marketing experience a plus.
• Proven track record utilizing knowledge of current marketing, public relations, social and other digital campaign best practices.
• Experience building and managing a large internal team and a variety of vendors.
• Demonstrable experience in developing efficient and effective strategies and plans across aspects of marketing and communications.
• Experience in strategic communications and issues management.
• Experience in brand development and implementation.
• Experience in evaluating, building and nurturing a high-performing team.
• Experience in supporting leadership/executive communications.
• Ability to manage multiple complex workstreams while evaluating and improving body of work.
• Proficiencies in MS Office, including Outlook, Word and Excel as well as marketing software including CRM, project management and analytics platforms.

Working Style

• Client-focused with a collaborative approach to developing content.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills (verbal and written)
• A self-starter who can work both independently and as part of a team.
• Organizational ability and attention to detail.
• Diligence in meeting deadlines and ability to work independently and under pressure.
• Ability to navigate a complex and fast-paced marketing and communications landscape often defined by competing priorities, nuanced messaging and a diverse set of audiences.
• Proactive, strategic, and innovative thinker that can serve as a thought and execution partner across internal teams to amplify initiative efforts, business development priorities, and ongoing board engagement, among other topics.
• Commitment to the Greater Philadelphia Region.
• Successful manager with the ability to assess, design, and build high-performing teams, and bring out the best in individuals.

Benefits

The Chamber provides all the benefits of working for a mid-size business combined with the values and mission focus of a nonprofit. As part of a leading organization in the region’s business community, team members have access to a wide array of resources, connections, and opportunities throughout their career with the Chamber. With 65 employees, the Chamber is right-sized for new team members to have the support of their talented colleagues, opportunities to lead, and room for personal and professional growth. The Chamber offers its employees a dynamic, fast-paced environment with competitive salaries and an excellent benefits package. Learn more about Chamber culture and benefits.

Work Conditions

The Chamber is currently working in a hybrid work environment that allows for a flexible work schedule, while requiring employees to work in-person at least three days each week. When in the offices, this individual will work in a typical office environment. On a standard workday, the majority of time is spent sitting at a desk, using the computer and speaking on the phone. However, at times, this role will be required to attend Chamber events or related outside meetings/events on behalf of the Chamber. These meetings/events may take place outside of regular business hours and outside of center city Philadelphia.

Application Instructions

Qualified candidates should submit a cover letter, resume and writing samples/portfolio (writing samples should consist of examples of marketing materials, social media posts, and white papers/reports/blog content), and the names/contact info of three professional references to upload with the application. Applications that fail to fulfill this requirement will not be considered.

The Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia is an Equal Opportunity Employer that is committed to building a culturally diverse staff. We strongly encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds.