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Economic Growth Center
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Director of Communications - Economic Growth Center

Position Overview:

  • Supports the creation, management, and execution of communication plans and written outputs for synthesizing and communicating economics research-based insights for multiple audiences including the general public, policymakers and development practitioners, multilateral agencies and funders.
  • Effectively leads and coordinates the activities of the EGC Communications team, which includes a full-time Senior Communications Associate, and partial time of other Yale staff, consultants, and student interns.
  • Develops and manages strategic communications in traditional and new media—both externally and internally—in order to enhance the work of Yale Economic Growth Center and Yale Inclusion Economics and effectively communicate research and policy insights.
  • Leads on collaboration with researchers in creating compelling narratives for potential funders and related audiences, and in writing and editing grant applications and other written materials to support fundraising.
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Full Job Description

The Economic Growth Center (EGC) serves as Yale’s hub for economics research and teaching on issues relating to lower-income economies and the economic advancement of their populations. EGC is housed in the Yale Economics Department and hosts multiple research initiatives and programs. EGC is actively involved in policy outreach by utilizing communications and organizing events.

EGC is seeking a Director of Communications who will lead its communications activities and support affiliated faculty in making a public case for their work. The Director will play a key role building the external-facing presence of EGC, including through fostering engagement with donor audiences, building new relationships with funders and crafting compelling grant proposal narratives, along with leading collaborations on communications and events across Yale units including the Macmillan Center and other Economics Department centers.

This person will build EGC’s brand and establish an institutional tone and standard for public engagement in order to promote EGC initiatives and EGC affiliates’ research. They will work with EGC leadership, affiliated researchers and the Yale Development Office to identify institutions and individuals who are potential supporters of EGC’s work, and lead on pulling together compelling funding narratives, including grant applications. The individual will lead and coordinate the activities of the EGC Communications team, currently comprising a full-time Senior Communications Associate, partial time of other Yale staff and consultants (2-5), and interns (up to 6 concurrently). This team will collaborate with faculty and senior EGC staff and other counterparts to develop content (print, digital, virtual, live, audio and hybrid) intended for an external audience. The focus will be on disseminating insights from targeted research projects, engaging in global policy discussions, and enhancing the public visibility of EGC and Yale as a whole. The individual will lead the Communications team in creating and improving various communications channels including EGC’s website, social media, and Annual Report and securing placements in external media outlets. The Director of Communications is responsible for the design and management of the EGC Communications internship program, including intern recruitment, onboarding, assignments and mentorship.

Person Description:

The successful candidate will have extensive experience communicating complex economics issues to policymakers, to the media, and to the general public. They will need to demonstrate an ability to communicate and engage with policymakers at every level to make the case for research-policy engagement with our researchers. They will need to understand how to create a compelling narrative around our disparate research agendas, and how to prioritize across social media channels, websites, and print media to create widespread public and policymaker understanding of our evidence-based approaches to policy questions. They will need to demonstrate an ability to identify funding opportunities, create good working relationships with funding bodies, and work with busy academics to assemble multi-million dollar grant proposals. They will also need to show experience of effective team leadership, and an ability to show initiative in seeking out new policy collaborators, funders, and media partners, both within the University and outside.

 

Essential Duties

1. Manages relationships with external media sources. Pursues media coverage creatively and aggressively. Responds to inquiries from national and international news media, student media, the University community and the general public.

2. Enhances the overall quality of media relations for key stakeholders by preparing them for media interviews. Manages relationships with key campus stakeholders with a high degree of professionalism, judgment and understanding of stakeholder goals.

3. Creates compelling story ideas and narratives; produces content for both external and internal channels; writes copy and social media posts and manages content.

4. Plans social media strategies for key University communications and programs. Monitors University social media assets for negative comments or misinformation.

5. Supports short- and long-term communication planning with insights into audiences, channels and culture; coordinates with other communications professionals to achieve institutional goals; leads the communications process within developed standards and protocols.

6. Supports effective response strategies, often in crisis situations requiring 24/7 attention and intense media/public scrutiny, and articulates the University’s position via personal interviews or written responses.

7. Produces multimedia content and manages the work of graphic and web designers, student interns, printers, video producers and photographers.

8. Manages communication plans for all stakeholders by understanding the significance of campus initiatives and/or academic work; creates compelling stories and messages to translate the significance through language that is clear and accessible for public awareness.

9. Develops and maintains regular contact with media representatives in multiple disciplines.

10. Maintains the Yale brand and graphic identity standards; supports and maintains standard operating procedures; contributes to digital asset management.

11. May perform other duties as assigned.

Required Education and Experience:

Bachelor’s degree in English, Journalism, Communications or related field and five years of experience in public relations, journalism, television, corporate communications or agency work or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Demonstrated experience in developing communications for a range of media and working with creative professionals in design, photography or video.

 

Required Skills and Abilities:

Ability to be an independent worker and manager who shows initiative and dedication to the team with outstanding writing, time management and people management skills and ability to develop sharp content.

Demonstrated experience developing communications, writing for a range of media and transforming academic research into compelling narratives. Of particular interest are skills in public communications and the ability to translate theoretical and mathematical economic research into coherent and effective written materials for academic, donor, policy audiences.

Ability to think analytically, articulate ideas clearly, and write a wide range of copy. Skilled in authoring web content, news stories, newsletters, and other materials with exceptional attention to detail and context. Excellent editing, fact-checking, and proofreading skills.

Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to develop relationships with donors, leadership, faculty, staff and other stakeholders to develop content for distribution and/or publication, and translation of research insights into donor engagement or policy inputs.

Solid understanding of economics, as demonstrated by coursework, written outputs or other similar channels. Ability to utilize and adopt new technologies and processes. Demonstrated ability to develop, execute, and measure the success of comprehensive communication plans.

 

Preferred Education, Experience and Skills:

Master’s or higher degree in Economics, Public Policy, or equivalent working knowledge of economics; plus, five years related experience in communications, donor engagement, events, and written and designed publications for print and web. Experience would preferably include driving communications strategy for a policy-focused research organization in economics and managing its execution.

EEO Statement:

The University is committed to basing judgments concerning the admission, education, and employment of individuals upon their qualifications and abilities and seeks to attract to its faculty, staff, and student body qualified persons from a broad range of backgrounds and perspectives. In accordance with this policy and as delineated by federal and Connecticut law, Yale does not discriminate in admissions, educational programs, or employment against any individual on account of that individual’s sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, age, disability, status as a special disabled veteran, veteran of the Vietnam era or other covered veteran.

 

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