Content Producer, Office of the Vice President for the Arts

Content Producer, Office of the Vice President for the Arts

Stanford University is one of the world’s premier academic and research institutions, devoting tremendous intellectual and physical resources toward the betterment of humanity. As a major Silicon Valley employer, Stanford seeks people committed to excellence and improving our world. The university is committed to supporting its employees as they develop their careers and enrich their lives. Stanford’s future success will be shaped by its diverse perspectives, unique experiences, and inclusive culture.

The Office of the Vice President for the Arts at Stanford University (VPA) elevates the arts in the university’s priorities and leads strategic planning for the university’s arts goals. Stanford’s non-departmental arts units fall under the auspices of the VPA, including Stanford Live (Bing Concert Hall and Frost Amphitheater), Anderson Collection at Stanford University, Cantor Arts Center, Stanford Arts Institute, and the Institute for Diversity in the Arts. In addition, the central Office of the Vice President for the Arts provides shared services and manages campus-wide arts opportunities, strategic partnerships, arts grant opportunities, and student support.

Stanford’s Office of the Vice President for the Arts is embarking on an exciting new chapter driven by the recognition that art is essential to advancing social justice, culture change, and wellbeing on the Stanford campus and in our communities. This belief serves to orient the VPA in its next phase – programmatically and operationally – through building equitable, inclusive, healthy organizational cultures that can bring meaningful artistic experiences to life.

JOB PURPOSE:

The Office of the VPA is seeking a multimedia content producer and social media expert who can craft and unleash the incredible stories of Stanford’s creative community in effective and compelling ways. The ideal candidate is a practitioner of “impact storytelling:” intentional, strategic storytelling designed to advance goals of social and cultural change. We are looking for someone who is adept in emotionally rooted and mindset-shifting storytelling across platforms, who can lift up the work of our students, faculty, staff, alums, visiting artists, arts organizations, and interdisciplinary initiatives – and connect this work to Stanford’s aspirations of purposeful impact beyond the campus.

This newly established role will bridge narrative strategy with hands-on execution of nimble and timely content – across video, photography, social media, text, and audio – that is able to reach and sustain audience attention. The work of the content producer will meet expressed needs such as: providing students with examples of alums charting successful creative paths; celebrating faculty artists for their creative projects and connecting such accomplishments to their home at Stanford; engaging the campus community of artists working at intersections with science, medicine, technology, policy, and other fields; building recognition for the Stanford-based research and practice of renowned visiting artists; connecting discrete arts activities into larger stories with lasting impact; and driving national narratives and momentum for the role arts education, participation, research, and practice can play in our community and society.

This role reports to the Assistant Vice President for the Arts, and will need to coordinate and operate effectively across a matrixed organization. The content producer will be responsible for maintaining strong working relationships with central University Communications (especially the Senior Director for Arts Communication), as well as programmatic and marketing/communications staff within VPA units.

In this role, you will:

• Identify campus, regional, and national narratives and sources of momentum and ways to connect Stanford arts stories to the cultural conversation.
• Plan and implement VPA’s content strategy to engage diverse audiences and the field; design specific content strategies (from research through execution and measurement/evaluation) to meet organizational objectives.
• Coordinate and manage the process of story collection, production, and distribution, playing a hands-on role in creating and sourcing video, photography, audio, copy, and other digital media assets.
• Actively manage @StanfordArts social media accounts toward increases in followers and engagement metrics, from editorial calendar planning to creating posts and publishing across platforms; identify and advocate for opportunities to produce or collaborate on arts content for other University social channels.
• Assess Stanford arts audiences, thinking about how to tailor content to specific audiences and what distribution channels will reach desired audiences at a meaningful scale.
• Assess the landscape of current and emerging social media platforms and recommend/execute optimal arts presence.
• Participate in regular meetings of VPA program managers to develop strategies and tactics for facilitating effective storytelling.
• Attend on-campus events and programs to create embedded, timely, accessible, and engaging content.
• Build and maintain relationships with campus communicators and external contractors when applicable, coordinating and leveraging activities where there are opportunities for collective impact.
• Identify and maintain professional relationships with key partners, policy influencers, and community leaders.
• Assist in developing strategies for brand management, reputation management, and issues management and stay responsive to conversations in the digital sphere.

This role is considered hybrid, with a minimum of 3 days on-campus in Palo Alto. On-site attendance at certain events and programs will be required, including occasional evenings and weekends.

In order to be successful, you will bring:

• Bachelor’s degree and five years of relevant experience or combination of education and relevant experience.
• Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion; ability to work directly with people from a diversity of cultures, races and ethnicities, genders, political and religious beliefs, physical and learning differences, sexual orientations and identities, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
• Experience with multimedia storytelling and visual, audio, and video content creation; well-developed eye/ear for best practices in each.
• Strong writing, editing, and communication skills; capacity to synthesize materials and communicate information in an accessible and easily understood manner.
• Enthusiasm for cultural conversations, internet/media/technological trends, and the contemporary zeitgeist.
• Keen sense of newsworthiness (what makes a story interesting from the audience’s perspective); a differentiated point of view and compelling voice.
• Experience developing creative briefs and campaign plans.
• Understanding of story fundamentals (e.g., effective character, trajectory, hook, and calls-to-action); adeptness with a variety of story assets (text, images, audio, video) and how to combine them.
• Working knowledge of intermediate- to advanced-level equipment (DSLR camera, video, audio recorder, microphones).
• Comfort and experience using editing software (image, audio and video, post-production).
• Expertise with online platforms/distribution channels, content management systems, and analytics/monitoring tools for web and social media.
• Strong organizing and coordinating abilities; experience in community organizing or movement-building is a plus.

Don’t meet every single requirement? At the Vice Presidency for the Arts, we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyways. Let us know in your cover letter how your experience makes you a good fit for us. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles!

The expected pay range for this position is $104,000-120,000 per annum. Stanford University provides pay ranges representing its good faith estimate of what the university expects to pay for a position. The pay offered to a selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as (but not limited to) the scope of the responsibilities of the position, the qualifications of the selected candidate, departmental budget availability, internal equity, geographic market, and external market pay for comparable jobs.

APPLICATION DETAILS:

For priority consideration, applications should be submitted before June 30. The start date for this role is anticipated for September 2023.

Submit your application materials through Stanford Careers. Applications should include:

• Cover Letter
• Resume
• Link to digital portfolio showing at least one multimedia campaign or storytelling project that you created and deployed across multiple platforms. Please be clear about the project goals, what you oversaw and what you directly created, and the outcome/results.

Why Stanford is for You

Imagine a world without search engines or social platforms. Consider lives saved through first-ever organ transplants and research to cure illnesses. Stanford University has revolutionized the way we live and enrich the world. Supporting this mission is our diverse and dedicated 17,000 staff. We seek talent driven to impact the future of our legacy. Our culture and unique perks empower you with:

• Freedom to grow. We offer career development programs, tuition reimbursement, and opportunities to audit courses. Join a TedTalk, film screening, or listen to a renowned author or global leader speak.
• A caring culture. We provide superb retirement plans, generous time-off, and family care resources.
• A healthier you. Climb our rock wall, or choose from hundreds of health or fitness classes at our world-class exercise facilities. We also provide excellent health care benefits.
• Discovery and fun. Stroll through historic sculptures, trails, and museums.
• Enviable resources. Enjoy free commuter programs, ridesharing incentives, discounts, and more!

The job duties listed are typical examples of work performed by positions in this job classification and are not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, tasks, and responsibilities. Specific duties and responsibilities may vary depending on department or program needs without changing the general nature and scope of the job or level of responsibility. Employees may also perform other duties as assigned.

Consistent with its obligations under the law, the university will provide reasonable accommodation to any employee with a disability who requires accommodation to perform the essential functions of their job.

Stanford is an equal employment opportunity and affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.