Job Description

– Senior Communications Associate
The Role We are searching for a Senior Communications Associate for ISDM programs – a communication professional par excellence who will conceptualise, craft, and implement the communication and engagement strategies for ISDM’s Strategic Capacity Building programs. If you unequivocally believe in the universal human values of justice, courage, compassion & equity, are passionate about doing your part to make the world a better place, about utilising modern marketing & communications tools to do that, excited about creating something new, and eager to be part of the journey of building a first-of-its-kind institution in the world, then ISDM is the place for you. In addition, you will experience working in a dynamic environment, with room for experimentation & high sense of ownership & accountability. Your key responsibilities will be to:

• Conduct secondary research to build a strong understanding of target audience segmentation for communication, including their needs, receptivity to channels, the comparative landscape, etc.
• Develop and implement a communication and engagement plan to help achieve the program’s strategic goal, comprising the entire gamut of identifying core target audience characteristics, relevant messaging tracks, and delivering through community engagement strategies that include a combination of digital and social media, database marketing, PR, partnerships, and events
• Co-ordinate with the ISDM social media team to develop new or enhance existing marketing collaterals relevant to the program/s
• Create, run, and manage successful social media campaigns, across ISDM’s digital handles, targeted towards key stakeholders & target audiences of the program/s
• Work together with ISDM’s Digital Marketing partners to create and execute an effective paid marketing plan for the program/s
• Create and implement a database marketing plan for the program/s, including supporting the building of the database and communication collaterals
• Work together with the PR agency and events marketing to create and implement a PR, partnerships, and events calendar for the program/s, and support it with communication collaterals
• Ensure that all communication collaterals are on-equity, on-target, consistent with brand guidelines, effective and high quality
• Generate new ideas to build program profile, awareness, and enrolment
• Bring together the multi-functional team, including internal and external partners, to help deliver the communication plans
• Track and monitor communication strategy effectiveness and optimise to continue building more effective strategies

You must have:

• 6-8 years’ experience in marketing, communications and/ or engagement for the social impact sector or academic institutions
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in mass communications, journalism or management/ business administration
• Extensive experience in creating and implementing marketing & community engagement strategies
• Competent understanding of the digital marketing space
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Proven experience of working in complex projects involving multiple stakeholders, partners etc
• Demonstrated ability to take ownership, have accountability, work in a collaborative, multi-disciplinary team, and strong problem-solving skills

The Marketing & Communications Team The Marketing & Communications team is responsible for building the brand of ISDM, giving a voice and platform to the brilliant yet unheard work that is happening within ISDM and making it heard and understood across all stakeholder groups, thus raising the visibility and profile of ISDM. We do this by working with the teams within ISDM to understand and determine what needs to be communicated, and then using the appropriate physical, digital and social media platforms to communicate the message consistently and effectively.
About ISDM ISDM got seeded as an idea in early 2016 when its founders came together with a common vision to launch a first-of-its-kind educational institution that would develop and groom the next generation of professional leaders and managers for the development sector. ISDM envisions building Development Management (or Management for the Social Sectors) as a stand-alone domain and an aspirational choice for professionals in the development sector. The belief is that Development Management will significantly scale up the positive impacts on the lives of people in sustained ways. By 2025, ISDM aims to become the go-to management institute for top professionals wanting to transform the development sector for greater impact on people’s lives. Since launching its flagship (and India’s first) PGP in Development Management (equivalent of a one-year MBA) in 2017, the Institution has placed 200 young professionals on an accelerated path to build, manage and lead Social Purpose Organisations (SPOs). ISDM has successfully executed 46 short-term Open Programs across three cities inducting 142 development professionals from 49 SPOs as ISDM alumni who are now redefining what “impact at scale” means in the development sector. ISDM has created a national character for itself, attracting a diverse range of student and recruiting organisations from across the country. Over these years, ISDM has also built strong partnerships with leading philanthropists, academicians, advisors, and practitioners. ISDM has audacious ambitions to build a world class institution, become a global fountainhead of development management knowledge, and define the domain of development management for the Social Sectors. ISDM is entering a new phase of growth with a revamped program and renewed focus on establishing itself firmly as a preeminent institution in its domain. This requires strategic and energetic institutional leadership.