ESS is hiring a Marketing Communications Designer!

JOB DESCRIPTION: MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS DESIGNER

NOTE: You may have noticed that the job descriptions for the Digital Marketing Coordinator and the Marketing Communications Designer are the same. This is because ESS has a core set of marketing goals, however we can see multiple paths to achieving them. To this end, we are trying a new approach to the job search process in which we to build the final job descriptions and hours per week around the skill-sets that come to us throughout this process, instead of trying to squeeze someone into a fixed idea of what the role should be. In short, if your skill sets align with all or part of the following job description, please apply!

Founded in 1986, Experimental Sound Studio (ESS) is a Chicago-based nonprofit organization dedicated to artistic evolution and the creative exploration of sound. As an international hub for sonic experimentation, ESS nurtures artists, heralds new works, and builds a broad, supportive community of makers, enthusiasts, and creative partners through production, presentation, education, and preservation.

Ongoing and often intertwined activities include:

  • Artist support: rehearsal space; artist residencies; fiscal sponsorship; public workshops/tutorials; recording studios.

  • Presentation in many formats from weekly concerts to site-specific installations throughout the city.

  • Documentation: Program recordings are archived in ESS’s Creative Audio Archive, which also stewards 7 additional collections.

Over the past year ESS has experienced radical growth in reach and scope, largely due to its creation of the  collaborative online streaming hub called The Quarantine Concerts in March 2020: e.g., in a year over year comparison between 2019 and 2020, ESS's YouTube channel saw a 668% increase in engagement, their website a 270% increase in traffic, Instagram a 135% increase in followers.

ESS is looking for new team members who can help us strategically continue the momentum we built in 2020 as we continue to experiment and innovate with new platforms and resources for the local, national, and international sonic arts  community. We know that arts and media organizations disproportionately alienate the most marginalized people in society — including BIpoc, disabled, and LGBTQ+ folx. We believe that these communities must be centered in the work we do. Thus, we strongly encourage applications from people with these identities or who are members of other marginalized communities.

This position will be between 8-20hrs per week, depending on how it is built out in response to the skill-sets that apply. Pay between $18-35/hr based on experience. This is a contract position, paid as a set salary bi-weekly.

Requirements

  • Degree or relevant experience in digital media and  marketing

  • Goal and timeline oriented

  • Able to work as the brand voice for the organization

  • Excited about sonic arts and experimental media

  • Comfortable working independently and collaborating on Slack


Responsibilities
8-20 hours weekly 

Copywriting

  • Proficient  writing long and short form content.

Website Management / Blog

  • Comfortable generating content  and making updates to our existing Squarespace website . 

  • Minimal web coding  knowledge needed.

Newsletter / CRM

  • Building, coordinating, and executing ongoing content for email distribution. 

  • Expand online Member platform.

Social Media

  • Enthusiastic about the engagement possibilities of social media! Make posts, respond to messages, and manage social pages with set strategy and goals.

Project Management

  • Ability to communicate in a timely and professional manner with artists, curators, graphic designers, and internal team to produce materials.

Graphic Design

  • Layout with Adobe Design Suite for basic digital and print needs. 

  • Adept at working with provided assets, maintaining brand guidelines, and working with type.


Skills

  • Ability to manage time and work efficiently

  • Communicate with team to ensure timelines are met

  • Comfortable in Adobe Photoshop & Illustrator

  • Bonus: shooting/editing photo/video [post-pandemic ]


Accessibility

ESS is committed to making this and all roles work for interested applicants with visible and invisible disabilities, and will work with the person hired for this role to make accessibility accommodations as necessary.


Please Provide

  • Resume and cover letter

  • Portfolio examples including a writing sample and design/layout sample if applicable

  • 3 References, name and contact information

Send all materials to Managing Director Adam Vida at info@experimentalsoundstudio.org with the subject line “Marketing Communications Designer - [your name].”

ESS is aiming to fill this position by mid-late February.

Olivia Junelljob posting