Department: External Affairs & Marketing
Reports To: Sr. Director, Public Relations
Status: Full-time, Exempt
 
SUMMARY

The Assistant Director of Communications will work directly with the Senior Director of Public Relations and Senior Vice President of External Affairs and Marketing to vigorously advance Shedd’s mission by identifying, securing and promoting opportunities to build the aquarium’s sphere of influence and institutional reputation. This includes supporting the aquarium’s leadership team and experts to expand awareness of the work of Shedd in meaningful and influential spaces. This role also helps build a more informed and engaged staff through strategic internal communications and the development of key institutional narrative resources.   

The Assistant Director of Communications should be a strong writer and creative thinker who will help develop strong, emotive, and relevant narratives, brand and leadership elevation recommendations and digital communications that exemplify Shedd’s mission and vision for the future. At the enterprise level, the role will lead efforts to clarify and articulate the organization’s voice through strategic institutional external affairs, public relations and communications initiatives; elevate the visibility of its executive and senior team members; lead and implement internal communications strategies that advance the organization’s One Shedd culture; and bolster important civic and cultural relationships on behalf of the aquarium locally, regionally and nationally.  
 

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following. Other duties may be assigned. To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

• Demonstrate commitment to Shedd’s vision, mission and values.  

Institutional Positioning and Leadership Elevation 

• Establish and execute communications plans to bolster the aquarium’s external sphere of influence and institutional reputation that will include: 
• A thought leadership platform strategy 
• Institutional message narratives and frameworks to be updated annually 
• External leadership visibility plans  
• Work with partners including Shedd’s Government Affairs and Policy team to build, manage and foster important, strategic relationships with civic leaders, cultural organizations and community forums on behalf of the aquarium.  
• Identify and pursue opportunities and appointments that expand and elevate the visibility of Shedd leadership, increase influence and build awareness of Shedd’s mission.  
• Establish, monitor, and report on metrics associated with leadership elevation and institutional positioning communications. 
• Vet, secure and manage appropriate external partnerships that help position Shedd Aquarium as a meaningful contributor to mission-critical work including aquatic species conservation, public education, community engagement, sustainability and more.  
• Support leaders, ensuring they are equipped with relevant, coherent, and consistent messages and proof points. Provides coaching and media training, as necessary. 
• Proactively identify and secure speaking opportunities, awards, recognitions, and nominations opportunities for the organization and its leaders.  
• On behalf of aquarium leadership, draft POVs, opinion editorials, presentations, speeches, talking points, digital copy, supporting visual assets, and more.  

Internal Communications  

• Own the development and implementation of internal communications strategies and tactics to share mission and operations-focused information with aquarium staff at all levels.   
• Manage a process to collect important updates across the aquarium to populate and disseminate a weekly internal newsletter. 
• Accountable for guiding the scheduling, agenda-setting, speaker preparation, presentation development and delivery of regular, all-staff Town Hall meetings, Shedd’s Annual Meeting and any additional One Shedd events.  
• Work with Shedd’s IT team to improve the use and efficacy of Shedd’s internal communications ecosystem.  
• Partner with Shedd’s Human Resources team to fuel an informative onboarding process for new hires, leveraging a library of Shedd-focused communication resources.  
• Establish, monitor, and report on metrics associated with internal communications. 

Narrative Building and Asset Development 

• Work with partner departments and aquarium leadership to Identify gaps in current institutional communications tools, narratives and POVs. 
• Draft and distribute internal framework narratives that convey key components of Shedd’s mission delivery, current operations and future ambitions.  
• Work with partners across the aquarium to build campaigns and narratives that highlight Shedd’s work for key audiences like government officials, civic leaders, major donors and more.  
• Help advance and promote Shedd’s commitments to diversity, equity, access, and inclusion through the lens of our mission. 

Lead Across Shedd 

• Assist and support Senior Director and Senior Vice President as assigned. 
• Other duties as assigned. 

QUALIFICATIONS

Minimum Experience:   

• 6 to 8 years of competitive experience in public relations, internal communications or other strategic communications field emphasizing writing and strategic planning.

Preferred Experience/Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in communications-related field emphasizing writing skills.
• Experience with a creative agency or communications firm, experience in a nonprofit and strong writing skills. 

ADDITIONAL SKILLS: 

• Ability to maintain confidentiality.  
• Strong writing skills, firm grasp of AP Style, and strong proofreading and editing skills.  
• Ability to effectively present information to and collaborate with all levels of employees. 
• Strong interpersonal skills to develop a cooperative work relationship with staff and public.  
• Detail-oriented and project management skills.  
• Ability to meet deadlines.  
• Strong work ethic and integrity. Goal and results oriented.  

OTHER CHARACTERISTICS AND AVAILABILITY  

• Must be able to work flexible hours including early mornings, nights and weekends as necessary,  
• Great attitude! Interest in conservation, zoo/aquarium, non-profit, cultural institutions and strong desire to excel in this industry.   

LANGUAGE SKILLS:  

• Ability to read, write, speak and comprehend English fluently. 
• Ability to read and comprehend basic instructions given from written and oral sources.   
• Ability to write professional business correspondence.  
• Ability to effectively present information to and collaborate with all levels of employees. 

MATHEMATICAL SKILLS: 

• Ability to understand basic mathematical relationships and formulas. 
• Ability to understand and employ intermediate level accounting mathematics. 

REASONING ABILITY: 

• Ability to work with little or no supervision. 
• Ability to work within a team environment.  
• Ability to use common sense techniques in solving problems. 
• Ability to solve complex logical problems. 
• Ability to use diplomacy and tact when dealing with problems. 
• Ability to identify problems and determine the best course of action for their resolution. 
• Ability to critically evaluate information for accuracy and usefulness in solving problems. 
• Ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in a variety of situations. 

COMPUTER SKILLS AND ABILITIES: 

• Computerized accounting system 
• Microsoft Office, including Microsoft Excel 

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:  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.  

• Lift up to 20 pounds  
• Sit 
• Walk & stand for extended periods of time
• Stoop

WORK ENVIRONMENT: The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.  

• Low noise 
• Moderate Noise 

BENEFITS WORKING AT SHEDD: We offer competitive compensation packages and opportunities for professional growth within our organization. 

• Medical Insurance 
• Vision and Dental Insurance 
• Accrued Paid Time Off 
• Paid Holidays 
• Life Insurance 
• Parental Leave 
• Employee Assistance Program 
• Employee discounts 

Reasonable Accommodations: 
Shedd Aquarium is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. If you need reasonable accommodations for any part of the employment process, please email us at jobs@sheddaquarium.org. 
We strongly encourage people of color, LGBTQ+ community, veterans and active duty military, parents, individuals with disabilities, and individuals from all cultural backgrounds to apply. Shedd Aquarium is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes everyone to our team.