Description

Purpose:

The purpose of all Chancery Offices in the Diocese of Saginaw is to foster effective evangelization, collaboration, and communication among the priests, deacons, religious, and lay faithful; leverage the collective gifts and talents of the local Church to proclaim the Gospel in word and deed; and share, under the guidance of the Bishop, the love of our Lord Jesus Christ in joyful expectation of a new Pentecost.

Core Values:

All ministerial team members serving in the diocesan offices give witness to the following in their daily service:

• Rooted in faith: prayerful, anchored in the Holy Spirit, nourished by the Eucharist; transformed in faith and love of the Lord
• Focused on relationships: trustworthy, considerate, empathetic; good follow-up and follow through
• Equipped to facilitate solutions: competent, collaborative; engaging
• Guided by proactive listening: responsive, open to feedback, reliable, observant
• Animated by shared mission: resilient, resourceful, focused, courageous, humble

Position Summary:

Reflecting a commitment to the Church’s overall mission of evangelization, the Director of Communications works to advance the ministries of the Church in the Diocese of Saginaw and support the pastoral priorities of its Bishop through an integrated approach to diocesan communications. The director fulfills this commitment based on the following key responsibilities.

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic Direction

• Serves as a member of the Bishop’s cabinet, regularly interacts with executive leadership, maintains trust and confidentiality and provides counsel and strategy on key messaging.
• Understands the pastoral priorities of the Bishop and coordinates the overall branding, marketing and communications objectives to support his ministerial objectives.
• Serves as an in-house marketing and communications expert for Diocesan departments; identifies opportunities to develop integrated marketing and communications programs for Diocesan ministries and events, provides strategic insight, direction, and execution for such programs. 
• Performs these duties according to the mission and values of the Catholic Church and the policies and procedures outlined in the Diocesan employee handbook.

Personnel Management

• Creates a workplace environment that values prayerful discernment, where staff members know they are valued, appreciated and encouraged to reach their full, God-given potential.
• Oversees full-time and freelance staff members by encouraging them to expand on their God-given strengths, helping them learn and grow in their professional skills and abilities, and supporting them in fulfilling their specific duties.
• Supervises staff members, overseeing the progress of their assigned projects and routine responsibilities through appropriate procedures, systems, and best practices.
• Collaborates with various departments within the Diocese, as well as with Catholic leadership throughout the Diocese, including priests, parish staff, Diocesan agencies, schools, Catholic apostolates and organizations.

Media Asset Management

• Oversees all media assets of the Diocese, including websites, publications, email ministry, and social media platforms, and uses these outlets to advance work of the Diocese and the priorities of the Bishop.
• Serves as editor of FAITH Saginaw (recently renamed Great Lakes Bay Catholic) magazine, overseeing all elements of magazine production from editorial planning to distribution.

Media Relations

• Diocesan spokesperson, handling all external communications and media relations including media statements, announcements and video messages.

Professional Skills and Acumen

• Demonstrates knowledge of the Catholic Church, including in-depth familiarity with its theology, structures, history and hierarchy, as well as a comprehensive understanding of major issues facing the Catholic Church in Michigan, the U.S. and the world.
• Demonstrates confidentiality, good judgment, independence, and sensitivity in the management of others, as well as an ability to bring people together to achieve shared goals.
• Exhibits superior written and oral communication skills and expresses ideas in a cogent, understandable, and compelling manner. 
• Provides insight and experience in media relations, with education to support this experience. Demonstrates competence in dealing with journalists from print, broadcast, or digital outlets; is experienced in coordinating news conferences, sharing news releases, statements and advisories.
• Respects tight deadlines and adapts to changing situations as they unfold.
• Travel primarily within diocese is required and evening and weekend work are necessary.

Requirements

Education and/or Experience Requirements:

Education and/or Experience:

• BA degree in Communications, Marketing, Public Relations or related discipline.
• Minimum of five (5) years professional experience in related discipline (i.e. communications, marketing, public relations or related experience) and leading communications team.
• Established media relations a plus.