Director of Research and Marketing

 

The Memphis Regional Chamber is seeking a Director of Research and Marketing to manage the Chamber’s research program.  This position conceptualizes, plans, develops and implements the necessary information gathering, storage, maintenance, analysis, and delivery systems that support the Chamber’s membership, and economic and community development programs. 

 

Responsibilities:





 

Ensure that economic development, site selection surveys and proposal packages are completed within deadline and at the highest level of quality.  Conceptualize, plan, and implement the data storage and delivery systems needed for efficient collection, analysis, and communication of community information.

  Conceptualize, plan and budget for the production of the Chamber’s 30+ research publications including, but not limited to, the Memphis Data Book, Business Intelligence Store Industry Directories, Community “Fact Sheets�, and Industry-Specific one-page brochures.  Ensure publications are up-to-date in both content and design.

 

Develop custom proposals and presentations for economic and community development projects as needed.  Includes custom research; data gathering; message creation; copy writing; creation of charts, graphs, maps and other graphics; and, proposal lay-out and design.  Coordinate data gathering and graphic design needed for proposal.

 

Produce studies, position papers and white papers as needed.

 

Produce and track economic development benchmarking measurements.

 

Manage research personnel.  Provide ongoing training for Research Analysts and Interns.  Conduct mid-year and annual performance reviews.  Plan and develop research personnel annual goals and objectives.

 

Manage the research budget and purchase of research products and services.

 

Ensure Business Intelligence Store products and services create value for Chamber membership and meet non-dues revenue goals.

 

Stay abreast of socioeconomic changes locally and nationally; report to Chamber leadership on the impact those trends have on economic development strategies.

 

Speak at Chamber events and community functions on economic, demographic and industry trends.

 

Respond to local and national media requests for interviews & data regarding economic trends.

 

Maintain (collect, compile, update, etc.) community data in research “data warehouse� master database.

 

Respond to economic development site selection surveys as needed.

 

Prepare charts, graphs, maps, trend analysis, and presentations using various computer software tools.

 

Respond to internal and external requests for research information as needed.

 

Make necessary calls to local companies and organizations to collect/verify business information such as number of employees and number of locations.

 

Performs other duties as assigned.

 Requirements:

  Bachelor’s degree in Economics, Business, Marketing or a related field; Master’s degree preferred but not required.

 

Minimum 5 years work-related experience with two years management experience.

 





Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

 





Knowledge of economic development principles, business/ industrial location, market research and strategic planning.

 



Knowledge of the metro Memphis economy – its strengths and weaknesses – and industries important to region (e.g., biosciences, logistics and distribution, manufacturing, etc.).

  Knowledgeable about a wide range of industries and their location-selection requirements.  Ability to position Memphis to best advantage to meet those requirements.

 

Good understanding of research methods, data collection techniques, and spatial and statistical analysis.

 

Must be skilled at project management – especially attentive to detail and deadlines.

 

Ability to resolve problems and find answers through research, as well as the knowledge of methods and sources necessary to accomplish the task.

 

Ability to interact effectively with business prospects, media, Chamber members, elected officials, economic development partners, data providers, business leaders, the public, and internal Chamber staff.  

 

GIS skills/experience with the ability to manage GIS technicians and a GIS program.

 

Advanced knowledge of and high level of comfort with Microsoft Excel, Word, Access and PowerPoint.

 

Demonstrable experience and high level of comfort with HTML, Cascading Style Sheets and web-editing software such as FrontPage or Dreamweaver. 

 

Demonstrable experience and high level of comfort with desktop-publishing, basic graphic-design and publication lay-out; especially, experience with InDesign and the Adobe Design Suite.

 



Deadline for application is September 2, 2008.

 

E-mail resume, cover letter and salary requirement to:

     jobopportunities@memphischamber.com .

 

Visit our website at www.memphischamber.com for information about our company and current job listings.

 



The Memphis Regional Chamber is an Equal Opportunity  Employer.