RiverWorks Discovery (RWD) is a nationally recognized educational outreach effort of the National Rivers Hall of Fame located at the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium. RWD teaches people about the commerce, culture and conservation of America’s rivers and their watersheds.
The Marketing & Communications Specialist will lead the external and internal communications and marketing efforts of RiverWorks Discovery. This position will report to the Executive Director of RiverWorks Discovery and will work in close collaboration with RiverWorks Discovery’s Workforce Development and Education Manager, and the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium’s Marketing & Communications Manager, Digital Marketing Coordinator, and Creative Services Manager.
This is a full time, permanent position. Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience. Benefits include vacation time, sick time, paid holidays, medical, dental, flex plan, and 403b retirement plan.
The Dubuque County Historical Society and its properties, the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium and Mathias Ham Historic Site, are committed to embracing diversity, practicing equity, and ensuring accessibility and inclusion. We continually strive to achieve a welcoming environment in all our spaces, where our staff and community feel reflected and valued for their unique perspectives and backgrounds. DEAI values guide and impact all the decisions the museum makes, both internal and external.
Primary duties
Social Media
- Organize and schedule monthly social media posts
- Create engaging content for various social media platforms
- Manage photos for social media segments and edit video
content for Instagram, YouTube, etc.
- Plan daily posts from sponsors and followers that give
recognition where relevant
- Research topics to write about for Towboat Tuesday, National
Rivers Hall of Fame, Species Sunday, etc.
- Support positive cross-departmental collaboration and
communication
- Develop and implement strategies to direct the RWD mission toward target audiences
Public Relations
- Cultivate communications with sponsors and followers for
Mentor Monday segments
- Help the department develop a storytelling culture and
strategy to better share RWD’s impact while utilizing multiple traditional and
digital platforms
- Administer various offerings such as contests, surveys, and
addressing follow-up tasks
- Manage press requests and maintain a media database
- Actively engage, cultivate, and maintain media relationships
with local, regional, and national media to ensure awareness of our offerings,
initiatives, and mission-driven work
Communications and Collaboration
- Create quarterly newsletters for new and renewing sponsors
- Collaborate with other entities to create ads and
traditionally published media materials
- Write donor communications and create donation campaign
materials asking for support of RWD programming
- Contribute to updating mailing lists to manage messaging
with business and education relationships
- Work with marketing team as needed to facilitate projects
involving but not limited to signage, social media, and design needs
- Creating press release packets and after-event
communications between news outlets
- Log any exposure or media coverage of RiverWorks Discovery
programming
- Publicly represent the department, including but not limited
to appearances in print, radio, television, and other promotional
opportunities.
- This includes coordinating with the NMRMA marketing team to
ensure standards of communication are followed
Who Works the Rivers Events
- Develop an event checklist that serves as a communication
channel to inform of tasks underway in order to streamline duties for RWD
events
- Collect material from sponsors to create content to assist
in making of handouts, pamphlets, and other materials for use by educators and
potential job candidates
- Transform survey data into readable graphics for sponsors
- Create and distribute event communication designs such as
flyers
- Work closely with RWD’s Workforce Development and Education
Planning Manager to update number of students reached for each event
Qualifications
- A Bachelor’s Degree is required. Preference is given to
those with a degree in Communications, Marketing, Public Relations, Journalism,
or a related field
- 3-5 years of experience in marketing, public relations,
journalism, or a related field is preferred
- Superior writing, editing and verbal communication skills
- Experience with handling media
- Experience in project management, strategic thinking, and
results-driven work
- Knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite including Photoshop,
Premiere, After Effects, InDesign
- Must be able to read, write, and speak the English language
- Must be able to perform any physical demands of job duties, either with or without reasonable accommodation
- Final candidates will be subject to a reference and
background check