Marketing & Communications Director

Starting Salary Range: $125,000 - $175,000 - depending on experience

Location: Lynnwood, WA

Classification: Exempt

Must be eligible to work in the U.S.

At UMC, our marketing and communications team is the heartbeat of our thriving design-build mechanical contracting company. Across all our lines of business, from mechanical and plumbing design and construction to energy services to offsite manufacturing, and more, we are the storytellers, the brand shapers, and the visionaries who craft compelling narratives that captivate our clients, markets, and future employees. Our mission is to leverage innovative branding and strategic communication to elevate UMC above the competition and capture the imagination of our target audiences.

Position Summary: Are you ready to lead a dynamic team that drives UMC's industry presence and customer and employee engagement to new heights? As the Marketing and Communications Director, you will be at the forefront of our efforts to promote UMC’s unique identity with authenticity and excellence. This role is your chance to make a significant impact by leading the development and implementation of marketing and communications strategies that resonate with our clients, employees, industry, and the communities we serve.

Key Responsibilities:

• Strategize and Execute: Partner with leadership to develop and execute comprehensive marketing and communication strategies that align with UMC’s brand vision and business goals. Lead branding initiatives to create a unified, compelling presence.

• Inspire and Lead: Lead, inspire, set priorities, and coach/mentor the marketing and communications team, fostering a culture of collaboration and creativity. Work closely with leadership, technical teams, and partners to align efforts with business goals and achieve shared objectives. Participate, strategize, and report at UMC leadership meetings.

• Drive the Messages: Oversee the pursuit and communications teams in the creation of marketing materials, proposals, campaigns, thought leadership, and content that effectively communicate UMC’s value proposition and differentiators across all channels.

• Maintain Quality & Integrity: Ensure the quality, integrity, and accuracy of all marketing efforts, maintaining professionalism, credibility, and trust with our audience.
• Collaborate and Support: Work closely with internal departments and leaders to support lines of business marketing, business development, prepositioning, pursuit activities, and client outreach campaigns. Develop and support internal communications and recruitment activities.
• Stay Ahead: Keep abreast of industry trends, technological advancements, AI innovations, and shifts in client behavior to adapt strategies with data-driven insights and intelligent automation. Maintain a strong understanding of UMC’s varied services and our value proposition. Bring ideas for optimizing team efficiency.
• Manage Resources: Monitor and analyze marketing performance metrics, presenting actionable insights to stakeholders and ROI to executive leadership. Create budgets and ensure efficient use of marketing resources and company dollars. Assess staff performance and goal achievement.

Secondary Responsibilities:

• UMC Representative: Represents UMC to clients, peer organizations, and business associates.

• Copy Editor: Assists communications team as needed with writing, editing and approvals.

• Pursuit & Communications Support: Assists pursuit team, communications team, and executive team as needed with messaging, workforce support, proposal writing/editing and QA/QC.

Supervisory functions:

• Lead & Mentor: Provides strong department leadership by offering guidance and support while effectively managing delegation and fostering a sense of ownership within the team.
• Talent Acquisition: Oversees the recruitment and hiring processes within the department.
• Coaching: Leads coaching sessions and performance evaluations, ensuring they are timely and constructive. Works with direct reports to set incentive compensation goals that align with department and growth strategies.
• Budgeting: Oversees the department’s budgeting process, ensuring alignment with financial goals and strategic priorities. Monitors expenses and provides guidance to stay within budget while supporting departmental needs and growth.

Desired Competencies:

• Visionary Thinker: Envisions long-term goals and strategies that align with the department's role in promoting brand differentiation and innovative communication.
• Leadership Excellence: Inspires, motivates, and leads a diverse team to achieve collective goals.
• Creative Mindset: Brings a creative mindset to evaluate and generate unique ideas, campaigns, and approaches.
• Curious Outlook: Open to new ideas, explorative, seeking understanding with an eagerness to learn, adapt, make informed decisions, build relationships, inspire others, and strategically navigate the future.
• Growth Mindset: Encourages growth, sets visionary goals, embraces challenges, fosters collaboration, and rewards creativity to drive innovation.
• Relationship Builder: Natural ability to build relationships with colleagues, clients, and partners, through open communication, listening, and understanding their needs.
• Adaptable Innovator: Stays ahead of industry trends and adapts strategies to keep UMC competitive and innovative.
• Excellent Communicator: Highly proficient in both written and verbal communication, capable of conveying the company's message effectively.
• Effective Delegator: Ability to delegate tasks effectively by understanding team strengths, setting objectives, providing support, and ensuring accountability.
• Quality-minded: Ensures that information produced by the department is of the highest quality.
• Financial Steward: Keeps the department’s financial health as a top consideration when making decisions.
  
  

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Marketing, Communications, or a related field.
• 7 years of proven experience in a senior marketing or communications role.
• Strong understanding of the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry, its trends, challenges, and opportunities.
• Exceptional writing, editing, and storytelling skills.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills.
• Proficiency with CRM systems, Adobe Creative Suite, Microsoft 365, AI platforms, and digital marketing tools.

Affirmative Action:

UMC is committed to a culture of inclusion and connectedness. The collective sum of the individual differences, life experiences, knowledge, innovation, self-expression, and talent that our employees invest in their work represents who we are as a company and what we believe in. In recruiting for our team, we welcome the unique contributions that you can bring in terms of their education, opinions, culture, ethnicity, race, sex, gender identity and expression, nation of origin, age, languages spoken, veteran’s status, color, religion, disability, sexual orientation and beliefs.

EEO Policy:

UMC's policy on equal employment opportunity prohibits discrimination based on race, color, sex, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, religion, presence of physical, sensory or mental disability, genetic information, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, honorably discharged veteran or military status, status as a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking, or any other status or characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. This policy applies to recruiting, hiring, transfers, promotions, terminations, compensation, benefits, and all other terms and conditions of employment. Retaliation against any employee who files a complaint regarding possible violations of this policy is not tolerated. UMC is also committed to taking affirmative steps to promote the employment of minorities, women, persons with disabilities, and covered veterans. Affirmative action plans are developed annually to support its commitment to equal employment opportunity, consistent with company policy and the company's obligations as a contractor to the United States government.