Digital Content Producer

Job title: Digital Content Producer

Reports to: Senior Director of Marketing & Communications

Location: Fort Collins, CO or remote within the U.S.

FLSA status: Non-exempt, full-time

Schedule: Monday-Friday 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Position Description

The Digital Content Producer is the organization’s lead digital storyteller, working to create compelling visual narratives that drive engagement, brand awareness, and marketing performance across multiple digital platforms. Utilizing footage captured and sent from the on-ship communications team, this individual edits, cuts, and produces numerous videos to add to the organization's overall marketing strategy and macro-departmental efforts. This position also supervises half of the on-board shipboard communications team; the Digital Content Producer assists with training and guides and ensures brand cohesiveness across all created media.

The ideal candidate will be experienced and skilled in short-form and long-form video editing, photo editing in Adobe Lightroom, creating and adapting media for use across multiple social and digital channels, and multimedia file management.

The successful candidate will be part of the team that develops and implements the organization’s overall marketing and communications strategy. They will be encouraged to bring their ideas and innovative solutions to the table and should be comfortable juggling multiple projects simultaneously. A successful candidate will be able to understand the voice of Semester at Sea and work closely with team members to maintain the brand integrity, its look and feel.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

The individual in this position must be able to perform the essential duties and responsibilities with or without reasonable accommodation:

Content Creation and Strategy

• Develop innovative video content strategies aligned with broader marketing objectives
• Adapt video and photo content for various platforms (e.g. Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, SnapChat, YouTube, LinkedIn, email marketing, and website content)
• Understand platform-specific video formats, aspect ratios, and engagement trends
• Create diverse content for social media including short- and long-form videos, alumni testimonials, immersive program experiences, etc.
• Hire, train, and support one member of the on-ship communications team for each voyage
• Lead the on-ship communication team in capturing footage and creating content highlighting immersive experiences such as voyager testimonials, behind-the-scenes stories, and highlights of donor-funded scholarship recipients, in addition to making recommendations for marketing projects to be filmed each semester
• Assist with interdepartmental needs, such as uploading video content to YouTube for private or segmented sharing
• Produce hands-on video and/or provide event photography for ISE home office (on occasion)
• Research study abroad and higher education industry trends, identifying audience engagement strategies, trending topics, and emerging video platforms/software
• Complete post-production on video projects from each semester using Adobe Suite products and coordinate posting across social media channels

Performance and Analytics

• Track audience growth, engagement metrics, and campaign performance on YouTube, reporting actionable insights to improve strategies
• Share monthly video marketing metrics in Marketing and Communications team meetings (views, engagements, subscribers, audience retention, etc.)
• Work with external contractors; develop A/B testing of video ads, if necessary

Project Management and Organization

• Experience using online media storage software (Dropbox) to maintain online media storage for the Marketing Department including collecting and organizing new photo and video assets from each voyage
• Review photo and video gear before and after each voyage and make purchasing recommendations
• Inventory, track, and maintain photo and video gear for each semester

Minimum Technical Qualifications and Skills

• Bachelor's degree in Film, Media Production, Digital Marketing, or a related field
• 3-5 years of professional experience (excluding internships) in video production and photography roles creating content aimed at advancing understanding and engagement with a specific brand or brands; experience working for a brand is highly desirable
• Fluency with social media storytelling approaches on social channels including Instagram Reels, TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and more
• Experience recruiting, hiring, supervising, and motivating full- or part-time staff
• Fluency with DSLR photo and video cameras and equipment (including wireless lavalier microphones, boom mics, tripods, and external lighting equipment)
• Strong portfolio demonstrating creative video storytelling
• Demonstrate efficient and organized file management and video editing timelines
• Expertise in Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, Lightroom, and Photoshop; proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite Products and working knowledge of the Adobe Creative Cloud platform (Certification in one of the programs is highly desirable.)
• Manage remote capture video tools for livestream and/or pre-recorded webinars or testimonials (i.e. Open Reel, Zoom, YouTube, Open Reel)
• Support multiple departments with photo and video requests, including creating new content, editing existing content, and navigating the media libraries
• Support the mission of ISE; reflecting ISE values, candidates are expected to have the ability to advance the SAS commitment to diversity and inclusion

Preferred Qualifications and Skills

• Experience working in higher education or education abroad settings, either at a university or third-party provider
• Familiarity with WordPress CMS and Media Library
• Familiarity with project management systems such as Monday.com, Trello, or Asana; ability to manage and track assigned projects in a timely and efficient manner
• General understanding or willingness to learn fundamentals of AI-powered content creation tools
• Certification in digital marketing, inbound marketing, SEO, and web analytics through Hubspot, Google, and/or other providers
• Understanding of Semester at Sea® and a desire to creatively express the value of the program through visual media

Established in 1963, the Institute for Shipboard Education (ISE) is a 501(c) non-profit organization. In collaboration with academic partner Colorado State University, ISE delivers the Semester at Sea® program, one of the longest operating higher education study abroad programs. Semester at Sea® provides its students a global comparative education through classroom and experiential learning in the field. The Semester at Sea® floating campus, the MV World Odyssey, carries around 550 students, plus faculty, staff, and others. The duration of the semester voyage is typically 105 days, including visits to 8-10 countries. ISE conducts two semester voyages annually. See semesteratsea.org for more information.

Organization Mission: Journeys of discovery that spark bold solutions to global challenges