Marketing Specialist

Overview:
The Marketing Specialist is responsible for the research, development, coordination and promotion of marketing efforts for a defined area within the Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association (WUSA). The incumbent is responsible for developing, implementing and monitoring strategic marketing initiatives designed to maximize awareness of their areas, drive student engagement and ensure the objectives and goals of the Federation are achieved.

The Marketing Specialist will work closely with the Director of Marketing and Communications and other internal staff and students to develop, implement and measure the effectiveness of marketing plans and strategies. This also includes managing part time staff who create materials and promote organizational efforts to the campus community.

The Marketing Specialist must have the foresight to recommend progressive improvements and initiatives to keep our marketing strategies and promotions fresh and competitive.

**Responsibilities**:
Strategic planning and budgeting
- Develops annual marketing plans and termly promotions based marketing action plans to outline goals and strategies used to support growth towards reaching organizational priorities
- Integrates marketing strategies into all media, including social media, web and print communications
- Monitors and evaluate the effectiveness of these plans by designing and using instruments such as evaluation forms, questionnaires, surveys and focus groups
- Develops, maintains and provides training and brand guidelines to be used in the creation of all online and print communications
- Works with the Communications and Media Relations Manager and Web Design Specialist to determine web presence for areas of focus
- Produces and manages an annual marketing budget
- Reports on results from all marketing and operational efforts to measure effectiveness of all programs and spending
- Creates promotions that engage the entire university community
- Develops strategies for and oversees the purchasing and deployment of promotional merchandise

Project Execution
- Manages and oversees the implementation of the Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association’s marketing strategy for their defined areas
- Sets direction and supervises all design and copy for marketing and communications materials for their defined area, with final approval from Director of Marketing and Communications
- Works in collaboration with the Digital Media Specialist to proactively and reactively manage social media presence for their areas including assistance with content and promotional suggestions
- Co-manages the weekly WUSA Poster Run marketing service
- Executes large-scale marketing projects and campaigns aimed at various audiences on campus and in the community
- Completes market research, including identification, monitoring and data analysis of the undergraduate student population, marketing trends and satisfaction surrounding their areas of focus and share this data within the Federation with assistance from Data Analyst and Research and Policy Officer
- Develops and ensures consistent, reliable processes for marketing activities including writing post plan analysis reports containing team feedback for continuous improvement of all marketing initiatives
- Liaises with department staff and partners and ensures satisfaction at all stages of design implementation

Relationship Management and Collaboration
- Meets with internal staff, students and Executives to coordinate cross departmental marketing and communications initiatives
- Collaborates with fellow Marketing Specialists to co-manage part-time staff, schedule promotional efforts and division of resources, explore strategic alignment opportunities and co-promote WUSA initiatives
- Works with the Communications and Media Relations Manager and Digital Media Specialist to ensure integration of marketing and promotional plans with the Federation’s digital media strategies
- Negotiates strategic alliances with external companies and organizations acceptable to the Federation for promotions and other services
- Creates strong relationships with other key departments on campus to identify opportunities for collaboration to increase communication and enhance resources available to students on campus
- Collaborates with other marketing professionals on and off campus and to ensure best practice development

Staff Management and Development
- Hires, trains and manages a team of part time student staff to help with creation and distribution of marketing materials
- Implements an effective recruitment plan for part time staff, manage their payroll information and ensure appropriate levels of staff are available to respond to the Federation’s requests
- Creates opportunities for leadership and development whenever possible within the part time staff
- Executes termly staff evaluations and regular check-ins with staff to provide constructive feedback and allow for additional training and sharing