United Way Worldwide is the largest funder of health and human services in the world, raising approximately $5 billion annually in support of those in need. Globally, the organization is focused on connecting individuals and families with the building blocks of stability through interventions in the areas of Income, Education and Health. With its partnering local organizations, United Way does what no single organization can do alone: bringing together leaders from government, corporations, health and human service and the community to develop innovative solutions to address local issues. Today, its work goes far beyond its historical role of funding strong nonprofit partners. Now it is strategically focused on large-scale change, mobilizing its assets –funding, legislative advocacy, technology, in-kind resources and corporate partnerships – toward that goal.
United Way Bay Area (UWBA) is part of the United Way Worldwide network of nearly 1,800 United Ways in 45 countries and territories. Locally, UWBA serves the eight-counties of the San Francisco Bay Area which includes Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Solano. UWBA is an independent 501(c)3 and is governed by a 38-member Board of Directors.
In 2016, United Way of the Bay Area merged with the United Way of Silicon Valley, creating the new United Way Bay Area. Today, United Way Bay Area represents one of the largest metropolitan areas in the country, a diverse community known not only for its great wealth, innovation and highly educated workforce, but also increasingly for growing wage inequality, skyrocketing housing costs and a steep skills gap. United Way Bay Area is uniquely positioned to work with community leaders, businesses, policymakers, nonprofits and individuals to affect change on a scale that no single organization can achieve on its own.
With one in four Bay Area residents living in poverty, in this next chapter, United Way Bay Area will continue to grow its efforts in improving income stability for residents across all eight counties.
The United Way Bay Area is characterized by a deep commitment to ensuring individuals and communities can thrive, making the Bay Area stronger. By leveraging its unique ability to convene cross-sector leaders to solve community problems, and by attracting both an influx of new revenue and continued diversification of existing revenue streams, UWBA is confident that it will open a new chapter in which it continues its drive toward lasting change.
For more information on the United Way Bay Area, please visit: https://uwba.org/.
The Opportunity
Reporting to the Chief Development Officer, the Vice President of Marketing & Communications will oversee the development and management of UWBA’s brand and marketing and communication efforts required to support the long term strategic direction of the organization. S/he ensures the integration of effective marketing and communication strategies, both internally and externally, across all functional areas of United Way and provides day-to-day leadership of the Marketing & Communications Department and manages a team of four marketing and design professionals.
As a key leader in the organization, this Vice President will provide business and marketing thought leadership to the organization and will collaborate with the Leadership Team to provide visionary leadership to all stakeholders in the organization’s operating model. This leader will develop strategies and implement initiatives to increase the number of individuals and organizations that donate to, advocate for and volunteer with the United Way to improve lives in the Bay Area and to deepen their engagement with the organization.
With an entrepreneurial spirit, s/he will oversee and manage the annual department budget. S/he will also manage partnerships with a variety of leading media outlets, corporate and nonprofit partner professionals and others to enhance UWBA’s marketing and promotional efforts.
The VP of Marketing & Communications will interact with personnel across the organization to define and manage marketing, communications and engagement programs.
More specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
- Building and sustaining a strong, compelling local brand identity consistent with UWBA’s mission and values and national United Way Worldwide standards;
- Working with marketing team leaders to ensue brand consistency in all UWBA communications and events;
- Identifying opportunities and supporting initiatives that build UWBA’s brand;
- Overseeing program branding to ensure UWBA visibility and brand consistency;
- Leading the strategic and day-to-day marketing efforts of the organization;
- Building digital marketing capabilities in collaboration with other United Ways collectively working on shared strategies and content;
- Leading the marketing team in an emphasis on data analytics to make strategic and data-driven decisions;
- Developing effective strategies for reaching diverse communities in the Bay Area;
- Evaluating and utilizing new and existing technologies to further the work of UWBA in relationship to marketing and brand awareness;
- Both hands on and oversight responsibility for the development of concept and copy for all high-level communication projects including speech writing, advertising, web-based tools and interactive communications such as social media;
- Planning, developing and directing social media strategies designed to optimize UWBA’s ability to reach and engage donors, key stakeholders and the general public;
- As delegated by the CDO, leading and managing Board subcommittees and task forces with an individual engagement or marketing mission; and
- Supporting the Leadership Team in internal/external communications about the vision and overall strategies of the organization.
Candidate Profile
The ideal candidate will have the following qualities, characteristics and skills:
Marketing & Communications Expertise
The Vice President of Marketing & Communications is an experienced leader in the field with a curious mindset and a high level of intellectual horsepower. S/he has demonstrated experience in setting and implementing innovative marketing and communications strategies in complex organizations and is capable of integrating disparate elements into a cohesive whole. S/he is analytical and data-driven, able to conceptualize and analyze both problems and solutions and identify key metrics that will help UWBA work towards its strategic objectives. S/he will champion the use of technology, including the Salesforce platform and other third-party plug-ins, and will be technologically proficient. S/he is a strong communicator able to interface with a variety of audiences, both internal and external, and will bring a strong customer service perspective to the role. S/he has extraordinary written and verbal communication and presentation skills and the ability and interest in generating high level content. S/he will both create content and oversee staff in the creation of content.
Strategic & Innovative Thought Leadership
The Vice President of Marketing & Communications is a strategic and results-oriented leader who can translate business and operations plans into marketing and communications strategies in UWBA’s complex landscape. S/he is a tactical and creative thinker who effectively and constructively will lead UWBA to consider new and innovative approaches to targeting and engaging new stakeholder groups, as well as branding and partnership development. S/he is a trusted collaborator who can serve the needs of internal stakeholders, effectively setting goals and providing oversight for the management of projects and expectations. S/he sets priorities and executes against them, while also seeing to immediate organizational needs. S/he is a strong problem solver with the ability to step into an unfamiliar situation and add immediate value. The Vice President of Marketing & Communications is a flexible, sensitive and adaptable learner who is comfortable with ambiguity and uncertainty, and can lead teams in a dynamic environment.
Building Relationships & Using Influence
The Vice President of Marketing & Communications is a charismatic, high-energy leader who can talk with all constituents and successfully convey UWBA’s objectives. S/he is a proven collaborator and influencer both internally and externally and has proven ability to ‘manage-up’. S/he builds and sustains relationships at multiple levels with varied constituencies including the Board of Directors, donors, Leadership Team, United Way Worldwide, corporate and community leaders, volunteers, as well as the Marketing & Communications team. S/he engages and partners with department heads to collectively accomplish organizational objectives. S/he assesses, supervises, leverages and mentors staff, develops talent and builds teams.
A Passion for the Mission
The Vice President of Marketing & Communications will have a passion for the United Way mission and a commitment to the Bay Area’s diverse communities and the people they serve. S/he will embrace UWBA’s culture, while continually innovating to help expand its brand and reach. The Vice President will be an empathic, charismatic leader who has strong faith in humanity and treats others with respect. S/he will be an individual of unquestioned integrity, ethics and values; someone who can be trusted without reservation.
A Bachelor’s degree is required; an advanced degree is preferred.
Contact
Koya Leadership Partners, a national retained executive search firm that works exclusively with mission-driven clients, has been exclusively retained for this search. To make recommendations or express interest in this role please email Alexandra Corvin at [email protected]. All inquiries and discussions will be considered strictly confidential.