Principal Director, Audience Engagement & Creative

Job Description

Job Description

Overview:

The Andrew Carnegie Foundation, originally established as Carnegie Corporation of New York, was founded in 1911 by Andrew Carnegie. Today, our funding supports the issues that Carnegie considered most important: education, democracy, and peace.

Our grantmaking is grounded in Andrew Carnegie’s vision to do “real and permanent good in the world.”

About the Job:

The Principal Director, Audience Engagement and Creative job is a senior-level position in a 12-member Communications department. The role has three direct reports, works closely with the Principal Director of Content and Dissemination, and reports to the Chief Communications Officer.

This position will be responsible for leading the Andrew Carnegie Foundation’s strategies for audience growth, marketing, and design to ensure consistency and engagement across all communications, and managing a team responsible for marketing metrics and analytics; website development and management; multimedia production; design; and social media strategies for growth and engagement. The position requires a strong background in integrated communications and marketing, including measurable success in reaching and growing audiences through issue-driven content and campaigns.

Responsibilities

• Define and implement a comprehensive audience engagement strategy to reach and grow our audiences in alignment with Communications’ content and dissemination goals, including issue-driven subjects such as the foundation’s overall theme of reducing political polarization and campaigns such as national service.
• Oversee all aspects of digital marketing, including social media, paid search, SEO, Google Analytics (GA4), newsletters, paid advertising, design, and multimedia, with a focus on measurable audience engagement and growth.
• Own the performance and user experience of Carnegie.org, including website maintenance and relationships with external vendors and agencies.
• Supervise the Web, Platform, and Analytics Manager to evaluate metrics, analytics, historical data, and performance trends; refine reporting to establish benchmarks, goals, and learnings; support data-driven decisions; and establish a regular reporting schedule for the team.
• Supervise the Designer, Multimedia and Visual Communication to ensure a consistent visual brand identity across multimedia, digital, and print deliverables, including the Carnegie Reporter magazine and a range of visual communications. Supervise the design production, printing, and mailing of the Carnegie Reporter and other print materials, such as reports.
• Supervise the Senior Social Media Strategy Lead in developing and executing engagement strategies for organic and paid social media, including paid advertising and audience targeting, ensuring alignment with visual, editorial, and content goals across multiple platforms.
• Manage multiple initiatives simultaneously, ensuring projects stay on time, on budget, and aligned with priorities; develop the annual budget; review contracts; track deliverables for quality and timeliness; and approve invoices.
• Continuously evaluate workflows, processes, and technologies, including AI, to improve efficiency, effectiveness, and organizational impact.
• Encourage a culture of high standards, accountability, and intellectual ownership. Manage and mentor the team to inspire growth, innovation, strong results, and continuous improvement.

Requirements

• Demonstrated success in developing audience engagement strategies for issue-driven subjects and campaigns using a range of content types, with experience working with nonprofit organizations.
• Proven results in audience engagement and growth, visual brand development and management, and integrated marketing initiatives.
• Strong understanding and experience with digital marketing techniques, including SEO, AEO (Answer Engine Optimization), SEM, email marketing, paid media, audience targeting, analytics, and performance measurement.
• Experience with audience targeting and tagging, including tools such as Google Tag Manager, and their implementation, reporting, and measurement.
• Exceptional writing and communications skills, consistent follow-through, and the ability to work in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
• Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator), WordPress CMS, HTML, Google Analytics (GA4), Google Ads, Meta advertising tools, Hootsuite, and email marketing software (Mailchimp or similar).
• Strong understanding of how to use AI tools such as Claude and ChatGPT, along with experience with AI-driven marketing tools and workflow automation platforms.
• A desire to keep pace with emerging industry trends, technologies, and topics.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications, or a related field preferred.
• 10+ years of experience in digital marketing.
• Strong interest in the foundation’s program areas of education, democracy, and international peace preferred.
• Solid people leadership experience, including mentoring.
• Exceptional organizational, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
• Strong analytical mindset with the ability to interpret performance data and translate insights into action.

Benefits:

• Employer-paid health insurance, including medical, dental, life, and short-term disability, plus a substantial contribution to a retirement plan account, robust wellness program, and a generous paid time off program.
• Corporate discounts.

Salary Range:

$180,000-$190,000/annual. New hires are typically brought into the organization between the minimum to midpoint of the salary hiring range posted depending on qualifications, experience, and internal equity.

The Andrew Carnegie Foundation is an equal opportunity employer committed to complying with all federal, state and local equal employment opportunity (“EEOC”) laws. The Andrew Carnegie Foundation strictly prohibits discrimination against any employee or applicant for employment because of the individual’s race, creed, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, sexual orientation, height and weight, disability, and any other characteristic protected by law. The Foundation abides by all applicable rules and regulations in its recruiting and employment practices including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and state disability laws.

Qualified candidates will be contacted for an interview.