Manager, Internal Communications and Engagement

Organizational Overview

Founded in 1969, the National Council for Mental Wellbeing (National Council) is a membership organization that drives policy and social change on behalf of nearly 3,500 mental health and substance use treatment organizations and the more than 10 million children, adults and families they serve. The National Council is a 501(c)(3) association that advocates for policies that ensure people who have mental health and substance use challenges have access to comprehensive, high quality services. We also offer state-of-the-science education and practice improvement consulting and resources to ensure services are efficient and effective.

The National Council is an equal opportunity employer. We embrace diversity and commit ourselves to creating an inclusive environment for everyone.

Position Summary

The Marketing and Communications Department is central to the National Council’s goal of providing timely, meaningful communications and content to community mental health and substance use services organizations serving the health of our nation. The Manager, Internal Communications and Engagement will be a member of the Marketing and Communications Department reporting to the Assistant Vice President (AVP) of Communications and Public Relations.

The Manager will help promote a positive organizational culture and will be primarily responsible for creating and executing communications campaigns to foster internal employee engagement and Human Resources (HR) communications, as well as membership engagement. Ultimately, this role will elevate the employees’ and members’ experiences with communication strategies that support understanding, buy in and action.

This position will collaborate closely with the Membership team to drive awareness and engagement by creating initiatives that promote the key objectives of our organization. This position also assists in day-to-day activities related to the membership and internal communications efforts and the engagement of a growing staff (expected to exceed 200 by the end of 2021). The Manager will spend 50% of their efforts supporting the National Council’s talent management efforts and HR team, and 50% supporting the membership team, including member recruiting and retention efforts.

This position supports the Marketing and Communications department in developing the strategic direction of the full lifecycle of communications, including product management and cross-departmental collaboration within the framework of the National Council's developmental goals and priorities.

Responsibilities

• Assist Marketing and Communications, HR and Membership Departments in developing internal communications while ensuring consistent messaging and alignment to overall National Council goals.
• Act as a communications subject matter expert for the Membership and HR Departments, and staff.
• Prepare communications content for members, staff, leadership, and other internal stakeholders.
• Develop and implement communications plans; write and edit a variety of collateral materials to be disseminated via social media, email, the National Council’s intranet and other distribution channels.
• Support member engagement through the National Council’s member ListServe and interest groups.
• Independently write first draft of all member and staff communications.
• Coordinate and collaborate with internal staff on final copyediting and creative design needs.
• Establish an internal communications strategy in conjunction with senior managers.
• Ensure organizational initiatives and projects are successfully communicated to staff and stakeholders.
• Storyboard and/or translate ideas to the creative team of art directors and designers; plan layout design.
• Gather information on topics for member-focused and staff-focused communications.
• Assist in the launch of HR programs and initiatives; craft related messages; support HR on communicating significant organizational changes and appointments.
• Assess organizational climate through tactics including employee surveys and focus groups.
• Analyze information and identify potential workplace improvements and changes, if needed.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of employee relations programs through the use of metrics.
• Develop, drive and manage the rollout of an internal Speaker’s Bureau that identifies key spokespeople, locations, time/date, etc. to ensure no organizational overlap and to increase brand visibility of the National Council among key target audiences across the public health sector.
• Use the staff intranet (NERD) to communicate with staff internally; plan, edit and write content for a variety of internal communications mediums (including, but not limited to, intranet and email bulletins).
• Lead staff events, including but not limited to Lunch and Learns, to engage staff,
• Draft messages and scripts from senior executives for presentations to staff in written or spoken form.
• Ensure internal communications messages are consistent across mediums and departments.
• Ensure internal communication messages are consistent with external communication messages; respond to feedback from staff and adjust communications content accordingly.
• Manage internal communications in response to crisis situations that affect organizational perception and reputation.
• Regularly advise Executive Leadership Team of developments throughout the organization, either face-to-face or through written communication.
• Attend and participate in relevant Communications Department meetings.
• Keep clients informed of progress and answer their questions; work with colleagues to ensure projects are tracked and completed within strict deadlines.
• Maintain relationships with members, staff, leaders and other key stakeholders; serve as a collaborator and connector who is committed to sparking team synergy and organizational enthusiasm.
• Other duties as required.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Journalism, Communications, English or related field.
• 4-6 years of relevant internal communications experience in a large organization is required.
• High level of expertise in writing for a wide variety of audiences is preferred.
• General journalism and/or marketing experience is a plus.
• Prior management of complex projects and project management experience preferred; experience advising senior managers is a plus.

Knowledge Skills and Abilities

• Exceptional written, oral, presentation, interpersonal, organizational and relationship-building skills; able to translate messages to specific and varied audiences.
• Strong internal-facing communication skills.
• Excellent research and writing skills; strong technical and persuasive writing skills; strong discovery skills.
• Extraordinary storyteller who can rally employees and members around products, events and the National Council’s mission.
• Compelling relationship builder and dynamic public speaker.
• Interpersonal problem solver.
• Committed to inspiring and empowering employees.
• Excellent project management and planning skills.
• Familiarity and comfort with social media marketing platforms.
• Strong collaboration skills and aptitude; comfortable communicating and partnering with internal and external stakeholders at all levels.
• Exceptional understanding of and implementation of strategy; must be a self-starter and able to work autonomously with little or no direction while still maintaining first-rate communications deliverables.
• Strong independent contributor who shows creativity in developing innovative ideas; able to brainstorm, review data, work within metrics, etc.
• Extremely organized and excellent project management skills.
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Strong analytical skills.
• Successful previous experience in a fast-paced professional environment with multiple and simultaneous projects; ability to change direction quickly and easily.
• Ability to prioritize time, projects, deliverables, etc.
• High level of proficiency in Microsoft Office (i.e., Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook).
• Adept at learning new technologies and tools to facilitate strong and successful communications with members and staff. Experience with Asana a plus.

Competencies

• Communication
• Teamwork
• Problem-solving
• Initiative
• Flexibility
• Results-oriented

National Council is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer – All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or protected Veteran status.

National Council uses E-Verify to confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please contact the Department of Homeland Security at 888-897-7781 or visitwww.dhs.gov/everify.