Job Role - Director of Membership, Marketing and Communications

Reporting

Responsible to:           Chief Operating Officer

Accountable to:           Chief Executive Officer

Job summary

Responsible for managing and leading the membership, marketing and communication functions, having oversight of all membership interactions and directing strategy for member engagement, communication and development projects.

The Director of Membership, Marketing and Communications provides strategic leadership for member services, identifying recruitment and retention opportunities or threats, delivering recruitment and retention campaigns, providing member intelligence and insight, overseeing the quality of membership services, and effectively managing membership, marketing and communication budgets.

The Director of Membership, Marketing and Communications contributes to and delivers strategic direction for the association, alongside other Directors.

Job context

Interest in [sector fields] has been an increasing professional and business opportunity for the association and it has opened up its membership criteria in recent years to reflect this. Engagement with a wider cross section of society working with [broader sector areas] is a strategic priority, as is retaining our current approx. [X thousand] membership base and ensuring the association is the leading voice on [sector fields].

This role will lead the high-performing Membership, Marketing and Communications Team, working closely with managers and directors, across teams and staff to ensure a co-ordinated delivery of the association’s strategic plan and business objectives.

All staff uphold the values of the association [Professional, Dynamic, Innovative] and represent the profession and the association to stakeholders.

Main duties & responsibilities

1. Set the strategic direction for and  effectively manage, develop and motivate the Membership, Marketing and Communications Team across the membership and communication functions, leading across member and volunteer engagement, database management, media engagement, and marketing communications across digital and print media.
2. Manage the membership, marketing and communications budgets ensuring membership subscription and commercial advertising income generation is achieved, new opportunities are identified and any potential threats are minimised. Contribute to the corporate financial health of the BDA.
3. Lead the successful development and delivery of new income generating and diversification ideas by the Membership, Marketing and Communications Team, in order to meet the association’s strategic plan and business objectives.
4. Devise and deliver membership recruitment and retention strategies and campaigns, ensuring new or existing categories of membership are effective and fit for purpose, whilst improving membership figure totals.
5. Identify membership recruitment and retention opportunities or threats within the sector, identifying new revenue generation streams, as well as maintaining an overview of best practice and innovation in member services.
6. Ensure detailed analysis of membership profiles and trends are available, and that ‘intelligence’ on member attitudes and views about the association overall are regularly obtained, analysed and up to date to reflect and direct member engagement strategy, workplans and the association’s wider strategic plan.
7. Ensure that high quality, tailored member services and communications are delivered to all parts of the membership, including management of and engagement with Groups and Branch volunteer committees, as part of a core service.
8. Provide direction as the key point of contact for the escalation of member queries or complaints, providing information and responding to members directly as appropriate.
9. Develop standards and procedures to ensure that high quality, regular and valued marketing communications are delivered to members, volunteers and to key external stakeholders including the public, media, and [associated professionals] across the association’s print, digital and social media channels to drive engagement with the association and to promote the dietetic profession.
10. Provide strategic leadership for the association’s communications function, including supporting development of the association’s Communication Strategy, setting objectives and targets across the association’s internal and external communication platforms including the association’s social media function, the association’s website, member e-newsletters, and the association’s media function, ensuring the association’s brand and reputation is upheld at all times.
11. Develop innovative and forward-thinking services to members using technology, marketing communication platforms and social media tools to provide effectiveness and efficiency.
12. Represent and uphold the integrity and reputation of the association’s brand to key external membership and communication stakeholders, suppliers and contacts, maintaining excellent working relationships and influencing decision making for the benefit of the wider organisation.
13. As part of the senior management team:
    1. Work collaboratively for the benefit of the association and share responsibility for the management of the association’s office.
    2. To lead or contribute to association’s office projects in support of the strategic plan or business objectives.
    3. Keep abreast of the internal and external developments of the association to ensure that these are reflected within the work of the teams.

Role dimensions

Direct Reports

• Communications Manager
• Digital Content Officer
• Data Development Officer
• Design Officer
• Volunteer Officer
• Communications Assistant

Budget Management

• Manages an annual budget of [amount] across membership, advertising, media, digital and groups and branches.

External contract management

• Manages external contracts across our communication, publishing, editorial and advertising, website and database, membership pack fulfilment, and print activities.

Knowledge for the role

Essential

• Strategic membership recruitment and retention activities and deliverables
• Membership engagement principles affecting membership bodies nation wide
• Business/marketing acumen
• Degree level qualification

Desirable

• Member of a relevant professional institute
• Marketing / Communications qualification
• Management qualification

Skills for the role

Essential

• Membership management and engagement
• Confident in presenting
• Diplomatic and tactful
• Prioritisation and managing busy workload
• Meeting flexible deadlines consistently and work well under pressure
• Work well within a team and wider setting
• Strong IT
• Project management
• Delivering project from concept to completion on-time
• Good attention to detail
• High level of creativity
• Strongly analytical
• Understands and translates complex information
• Leading change and transitions

Desirable

• Thorough understanding of strategy development

Attitudes for the role

• Must be highly pro-active and have a ‘can-do’ attitude
• Good attention to detail
• Personable and presentable manner

Experience of the role

Essential

• Senior membership management in a comparable role.
• Senior communications/marketing management in a comparable role.
• Working at a strategic level
• Managing budgets and staff
• Working in Not-for-profit/ membership organisations
• Formulating and implementing strategic plans
• Policy formulation
• Working in a professional association
• Working as part of a team
• Working using own initiative with demonstrable outcomes
• Working with Board and Committees

Desirable

• Experience in the health sector
• Commitment to one’s own professional development

Where a level of experience is indicated, this is a guideline only and represents the amount of time a candidate would usually be expected to accumulate the requisite level of experience. This does not preclude applications from candidates with more or less experience.

Changes

This is a description of the job as it is presently constituted. It is the practice of the association to examine job descriptions from time to time and to update them to ensure they relate to the job as then being performed, or to incorporate whatever changes are being proposed. This will be conducted in consultation with the job holder / candidate.

Performance standards

This job description is supported by annual objectives and performance standards to provide an indication of the level of performance expected from the role.