Communications and Partnership Manager

The position will be responsible for managing and supporting outreach, communication, and partnered programs for the Department of Art, Architecture and Design, both internally within the university and with external constituents including prospective students, alumni, media outlets, and the range of community, corporate, industry, and foundation partners with which the department is engaged. By expanding and strengthening the department's network of external relationships, the position will also be responsible for developing and managing internship programs and placements for current and graduating students of the department, to improve overall student outcomes. Reporting to the Department Chairperson, the position will involve regular travel off campus, and will oversee wage and work study students that support the role and scope of the position. The Lehigh community takes seriously our commitment to antiracism and The Principles of our Equitable Community. This is a two year term position.

1. Elevate Faculty Research and Creative practice through Outreach

•Serve as the primary liaison between the department and the college’s and university’s Communications units in sharing information about faculty research, creative practice, and initiate, grow, and maintain relationships with professional and industry publications, media platforms, writers, and publicists across the fields of art, architecture, and design, and leverage these relationships to promote the research, creative practice, and achievements of department faculty through increased marketing and communications.

•Identify professional, industry, and disciplinary awards and recognition for which faculty and department projects may be competitive, and work with faculty to help them submit their projects for awards.

•Attend industry, professional, and disciplinary conferences and events that offer opportunities for promoting faculty research, and provide support to faculty during these events.

2. Develop Internship Partnerships and Support Students Seeking Internships

•Develop, grow, and maintain relationships with prospective community, corporate, and foundation partners, both locally and regionally, who can be partners with the department to host student internships, and create structured internship relationships with them.

•Prepare and manage an online repository of internship opportunities for students, and develop a system for meeting with interested students individually, to help match them to internships in their subject areas, and for providing them with support for reviewing their application materials.

•Manage the department’s Summer Experiential Learning Fellowship and its application process, a need-based fellowship that offers funding to students who are relocating from their place of residence for unpaid or underpaid summer internships, intended to assist them with cost of living expenses during the internship period.

3. Outreach and Support of Current and Graduating Students

•Serve as the administrative liaison for the department for student chapters of professional organizations. Work with student professional chapters to facilitate chapter events and programs, including the booking of invited visiting speakers.

•Prepare and manage an online repository for graduating seniors to connect them to employment opportunities and graduate programs that they can pursue in their subject area after graduation, and develop a system for meeting with interested students individually, to help match them to these opportunities, and for providing them with support for reviewing their application materials.

•Meet with all graduating seniors individually, to debrief with them about their experience as students, and develop a system for collecting and storing information from these meetings, as well as permanent contact information for department records.

4. Outreach and Support for Prospective Students

•Plan, coordinate, and manage recruiting events for prospective students applying to the university who are interested in studying in the department, working together with the college’s Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs and the Office of Admissions.

•Represent the department and its programs at college and university recruiting events and major fairs, which may also take place outside business hours and on weekends, and recruiting events that may take place off campus and require travel.

•Schedule and staff individual visits by prospective students to the department, which may also take place outside business hours and on weekends.

5. Communications and Outreach with Alumni

•Working in a support role, assist the Department Chair and the office of Development and Alumni Relations in identifying alumni from the database for individual outreach, and help initiate, maintain, and strengthen relationships with department alumni generally, through individual personal meetings and contact with them, which may require travel, and may take place outside business hours and on weekends.

•Plan, coordinate, and manage alumni visits to the department, as well as off-campus visits for faculty and student visits with alumni. Where needed, accompany the Department Chair, faculty, and students during visits, which may require travel, and may take place outside business hours and on weekends.

•Plan, coordinate, and manage events for larger groups of alumni, both on and off campus, which may require travel, and may take place outside business hours and on weekends.

6. Manage Department’s Public and Digital Profile

•Prepare and write text materials about the department and its programs and activities, both for internal distribution within the university, and external distribution to partner organizations, alumni, and prospective students.

•Commission and collect visual documentation of the department and its programs and activities, for use in distributed materials, and recruit and oversee student wage staff and work study students to produce photographs and other visual materials in support of this.

•Manage the department’s social media accounts, including LinkedIn, Instagram, and others, hiring and overseeing student wage staff and work studies to develop content for them, and create text copy for postings on an ongoing basis as needed.