Location: Chicago, IL or Washington, DC only

Position Summary:

The National Association of REALTORS® is seeking a Chief Communications Officer to set the vision, strategy, and long-term management approach for communications, branding, and marketing at NAR. Specifically, the successful candidate will be responsible for creating and executing a holistic, integrated plan that:

• Ensures consistency in all communications and marketing activities across the organization
• Promotes NAR’s brand among multiple audiences (members, consumers, media, government, digital, and influential members of the business community)
• Ensures that NAR’s message is distributed effectively across all channels (digital and traditional) and to targeted audiences
• Increases consumer and media awareness of the vital role that REALTORS® play in real estate transactions

The executive will report to the CEO and be a key member of the senior executive team. The executive will manage and provide strategic direction to a team of 50+ staff and oversee an annual budget of over $40 million.
 

Responsibilities:

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Strategic Communications and Execution

• In partnership with key stakeholders, design and execute an integrated, holistic, multi-channel communications strategy to enhance brand identity, deliver meaningful messaging, and achieve measurable results
  • Foster a cohesive organizational look, feel, and tone across all communications channels and initiatives. This includes ensuring consistency of design standards, quality, and tone.
  • Ensure that strategy includes creating and delivering communications around current affairs and positioning NAR’s messages to resonate with the broadest audiences possible
• Take a leadership role in identifying the organization’s communications and marketing related technology needs, then develop a roadmap, budget, and execution plan
• Provide regular updates on communication and marketing effectiveness and implementation of the strategy to the elected Leadership Team (LT) as required

• Lead and enhance a digital strategy that:
  • Optimizes NAR’s reach and presence
  • Delivers the right message to specific members at the optimal time on the right device
  • Drives deep member engagement
• Recommend additions and enhancement to NAR’s digital presence while balancing business initiative and technological capabilities
• Lead digital agencies as needed to drive technology roadmap

• Ensure that all corporate communication opportunities for the
• CEO and Leadership Team are fully vetted
• Provide thoughtful, strategic public relations/media relations counsel and advice to senior executives and members of the Leadership Team
• In partnership with the Chief Advocacy Officer, ensure incorporation of a broader public policy focus

Marketing / Brand / Reputation

• Partner with the senior management team to develop visionary brand strategy and identity that inspires internal and external stakeholders.
• Be the “owner” of the NAR brand, responsible for its written, visual, and experiential representations both internally and externally
• Ensure that the member’s brand experience is optimized, engaging, and seamless across all media and touchpoints
• Provide strategic counsel and direction in decisions that impact NAR’s brand expression
• Enhance and grow brand recognition to ensure greater understanding of NAR’s value proposition among key audiences
• Foster and develop the reputation of NAR as being the leader in delivering industry news

Innovation

• Maintain a strong understanding of best practices, key trends, target market needs, and industry changes to inform future communication and marketing strategies
• Identify emerging marcom technologies and assess NAR’s (and its target markets’) readiness for adoption; develop strategy and proceed accordingly to execute
• Continually evaluate new processes, technologies and innovations that could improve the reach and efficiencies of NAR’s communication and marketing efforts

Financial

• Oversee the Communications and Marketing budget 
• Deliver communication and marketing services within established budgets and identify opportunities to reduce spending or increase value at all times
• Provide sound business justification for new communications and marketing investments

Team Leadership

• Ensure that team is staffed and structured optimally to support and deliver on marcom strategies and tactics
  • Understand resource capability and successfully drive outcomes working with direct reports, dotted line, and /or internal or external resources
  • Develop clarity around roles and responsibilities among the members of the team to ensure optimum efficiency and application of skillsets.
• Manage and lead staff to support expanded team vision while fostering positive morale
• Continue to drive toward a culture of collaboration, accountability and respect when working with other NAR teams
• Ensure that staff is aware of and aligned on the group’s priorities

Relationship Development

• Partner with stakeholders across the organization to cultivate productive relationships and execute on communications and marketing priorities across internal teams
• Foster and maintain good relationships with agencies, program institutional partners and other key external stakeholders
• Interact with, gain the trust of, and serve as a strategic counselor to the elected Leadership Team (LT); advise the LT on the issues they should be addressing and oversee message development accordingly 
• Participate in executive outreach program. Stay abreast of members’ day-to-day business challenges and opportunities

Qualifications:

The ideal candidate will have business and communications and marketing acumen necessary to serve as a trusted advisor to the CEO and Leadership team; will have the leadership skills to empower and inspire a large, high-achieving team; and will have the collaborative instincts to partner with other areas of the Association to deliver results.

• Minimum 15 years’ demonstrated experience and leadership in a large, complex organization building and managing strategic integrated communications to advance mission.
• Minimum seven years’ experience leading multiple stakeholder groups and demonstrated work experience as an advisor to the CEO on communications and marketing related issues.
• Significant experience and expertise developing and executing multi-channel strategic communications plans (including print, social media, campaigns, media relations, TV, promotions) and other complex strategies.
• Strong understanding of new and emerging media (consumer and trade); deep experience overseeing digital technologies and major social media initiatives.
• Solid budget management experience, including creating and developing budgets, tracking expenses and revenue, forecasting results, assessing budget impact of institutional needs, adapting budgets to changing priorities, and achieving organizational and team goals within budget.
• Demonstrated success leading and motivating large teams in fast-paced environments with changing priorities and conflicting deadlines, including the ability to supervise and give direction to staff, contractors, and vendors.
• Executive-level verbal and written communication and presentation skills
• Ability to inspire trust and confidence, including experience selling ideas and influencing directly and indirectly. Experience working with organizational volunteers preferred.
• Well-established media relationships and the ability to build additional media, social media, industry, and other relationships on NAR’s behalf.
• Experience in change management efforts; the ability to support growth and change in both people and programs.
• Ability to travel up to 10%

How To Apply:

Please submit your cover letter and resume to Careers@nar.realtor with “Chief Communications Officer” in the subject line.

Organizational Overview:

The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) is a team of professionals dedicated to providing world-class service to over 1.5 million REALTORS® working in the United States and around the world. The real estate industry is fast-paced and fast-changing--each year, our members participate in the sale, lease, and management of billions of dollars in real estate. As in every industry, our members’ value proposition is constantly being challenged by innovation.

It is our mission to empower REALTORS® as they preserve, protect and advance the right to real property for all. We cannot do that without the ideas, passion, and commitment from our talented employees. As our greatest assets, employees are offered their pick of competitive benefits/perks and flexible work options. NAR is certified as a Great Place to Work®. Our most successful employees are committed to our Core Values, which are: