Head of Marketing & Communications

Position Summary: The Head of Marketing & Communication serves as the primary strategic leader for all marketing, communications, and community engagement initiatives for Kalamazoo Public Library. This position is responsible for developing and implementing comprehensive marketing strategies that enhance the library’s visibility, promote services and programs, and strengthen community relationships. The role requires a dynamic professional who can effectively communicate the library’s mission and values while supporting the library’s strategic goals and objectives. This position reports to the library director and serves as part of the library’s senior leadership team.

Duties and Responsibilities

Develops and leads a comprehensive, multi-platform marketing and communication strategy. develops budget and monitors expenditures; evaluates effectiveness of systems and workflow; manages, prioritizes and directs departmental workflow to ensure efficient and timely completion of content development, design and production requests from internal departments. Ensures all communication strategies are inclusive, accessible, and responsive to the preferences, languages, and cultural needs of the library’s diverse community.

Manages the library’s brand identity, ensuring consistent messaging, tone, and visual representation across all platforms.

Oversees content strategy and creation for public website and internal communication sites, annual report, quarterly “Prism” publications, email newsletters, press releases, social media and promotional materials.

Coordinates public relations efforts including media outreach, event promotion, and crisis communication; represents and speaks for library for media and other public relation events; solicits media coverage of the library services and programs; produces and distributes news releases.

Partners with internal departments to promote services, events, and resources that reflect community needs and priorities.

Conducts ongoing evaluation of engagement data and campaign performance; uses metrics to guide strategy.

Collaborates with community organizations, stakeholders, and library partners to enhance public awareness and support for the library.

Manages the selection, design, and purchasing of branded merchandise, promotional materials, and logo wear to support library marketing, staff visibility, and community outreach efforts.

Creates and supports an inclusive work environment that focuses on the personal and professional development of staff. Supervises librarians and support staff assigned to the Patron Services department; engages in selecting, training, counseling, and coaching; sets performance standards and maintains systems of accountability; conducts regular 1:1 meetings and performance evaluation of staff.

Performs library-wide administrative duties; participates in senior management team meetings and other library committees as assigned; works collaboratively with other department heads and staff on library-wide matters; attends regular meetings of the KPL Board of Trustees and represents Library in other community meetings as requested by the Library Director. Serves as administrator on-call.

Oversees KPL social media policy and strategy, coordinating with authorized contributors across the organization to ensure its effectiveness; encourages adoption of relevant social media techniques for promotion of library resources and services.

Designs and conducts surveys and marketing and public opinion research as part of the evaluation of library services, resources, and programming and measures of strategic plan goals and initiatives.

Oversees internal and external signage, wayfinding systems, and visual cues that help patrons navigate library spaces and digital platforms effectively

Plans and organizes library-wide public relations campaigns, special events, and fund development activities as assigned.

Advises departments and administration regarding public relations and communications needs; serves on relevant library committees. Identifies and manages external freelance resource pool, as needed, to meet all scheduled deliverables.

Performs special projects and other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Communications, Public Relations, Library Science, or related field
Minimum of five years of progressive experience in marketing and communications, preferably in a public sector or nonprofit environment.
3+ years proven record of successful staff supervision and leadership.

Physical demands and work environment

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Physical demands: While performing the duties of this job, the employee is required to travel independently within the office and patron areas of the library and in the communities served. In the work environments described below, the position requires frequent written and verbal communication with others. Regular computer usage and maintenance of stationary positions for desk work. May be required to move and transport loads up to 35 lbs.

Work environment: Work will be performed in an office environment, library spaces, and in the communities served. While performing the duties of this job outside of the library environment, the employee is exposed to weather conditions prevalent at the time. The noise level in the work environment is usually low to moderate.

Salary
$88,507 - $109,880 based on experience; Benefits include medical insurance, fully paid dental, vision, LTD, life insurance and defined contribution retirement plan.

Schedule
Full-time; 40+ hours weekly; exempt position
Evening and weekends as needed. This is not a remote position.

Application Procedure: Completed employment application, cover letter, resume and response to the following are required for consideration:

Kalamazoo Public Library serves a diverse community with varying communication preferences, including digital, print, and in-person engagement. Describe a marketing or communications campaign you led that successfully reached and resonated with a diverse audience. What was your strategy, how did you evaluate success, and what would you do differently next time? Please provide an example of this campaign. Examples can be sent to jobs@kpl.gov.

Deadline for applications
Monday, July 7, 2025 at 5 pm

PI899c1eae6240-25404-37928865

Kalamazoo Public Library

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Head of Marketing & Communications