Jobs at Black Tech Nation

Job Description

We are looking for a career marketing professional to re-develop and expand //BTN’s marketing department in order to meet the needs of //BTN’s internal and external growth across its social media, membership, events, and external partnerships. The MCC will also coach and train current marketing department personnel (MDP) on the systems and strategies necessary to carry out developed marketing goals that align with //BTN’s overall short- and long-term business goals.

*Advanced technical skills are not required for this position.

General Information 

• Type: contractual; in phases 
• Length: 5-6 months (Aug - Dec 2022) 
• Hours: varies; as needed Days: 2-3 days per week 
• Starting Pay: negotiable; paid monthly by phase. 
• Location: remote 
• Start Date:8/1/22 
• Reports to: CEO; Marketing Coordinator 

*This is approximate; could vary depending on project phase, goals, and deadlines.

The Company 

Black Tech Nation (//BTN) is a multi-faceted tech organization building a #DigitalWakanda through education, digital media, employment, and funding for Black technologists and entrepreneurs. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA, //BTN serves as a dedicated space for Black technologists across America and beyond. Together, we are 850+ "Black Tech Unicorns" - tech professionals, entrepreneurs, investors, innovators, and enthusiasts - and over 800 allies, partners, and tech equity supporters. Our main work consists of uplifting Black technologists, educating and supporting our members, creating employment and funding opportunities, providing access to the "right people" in the industry, producing digital events and workshops, advocating for tech equity, and ultimately building generational wealth through innovation. Through our motto "Gather. Connect. Affect", we aim to work with company partners and //BTN members to create and grow a thriving 'Black Tech Nation' that focuses on the advancement of the Black community throughout our global tech economy. 

Furthermore, Black Tech Nation is quickly growing into a nationally recognized brand and platform thanks to the recent announcement of its sister-company - Black Tech Nation Ventures, a $50m VC fund dedicated to investing into Black and Diverse startups. Both companies are equally important to the //BTN ecosystem for Black techies and both are responsible for pushing forward the #DigitalWakanda brand. 

Over the remainder of 2022, //BTN plans to bring more partnerships, programs, and activities to our growing membership of Black Tech Unicorns. Some of our current partners include prominent institutions and companies like Carnegie Mellon University and Google, with many more in our partnership pipeline. In 2022, we are looking to quickly expand our team as more opportunities for growth continue to present themselves both digitally and physically in Pittsburgh and across the country.

The Project Summary

Black Tech Nation is at a point where we need to completely (re)define and (re)build our Marketing Department to meet the demands of our public image and growing membership. We expect even more growth over the next few years as we plan to potentially open up satellite hubs in cities like Philadelphia, Charlotte, and Baltimore. As we grow, we want to ensure that our brand stays consistent across all activities, programs, member-groups, social media, and locations. Essentially, we need a Marketing Department that not only meets the needs of today, but of tomorrow as well. 

We are seeking an experienced Marketing Consultant and Coach (MCC) to join our team to help us solidify our #DigitalWakanda brand across our local/national membership, social media, programs, events and partnerships. The ideal candidate will work directly with the CEO and current MDP to establish marketing goals that coincide with the short- and long- term business goals across //BTN’s brand, programs, partnerships, and overall public profile. Throughout the project, the MCC will be responsible for training current MDP on current industry standards, strategies, execution techniques, and metric tracking to effectively manage an expanded marketing department upon the MCC’s departure. 

The MCC will have significant experience building marketing systems, strategies, and teams for growing organizations along with a strong ability to train the current MDP on best practices and execution of developed marketing strategies.The MCC must have a keen ability to evaluate project specifications and determine the requirements necessary for project success (i.e. forecast deficiencies and unrealistic expectations while identifying solutions.) We are excited to have an MCC who is eager to become an integral part of //BTN’s evolution through an active, engaging, and highly competent contribution to our current and future marketing department.

Responsibilities & Duties

The responsibilities and duties of the MCC will evolve over several predetermined phases of the project. However, the following are key responsibilities that the MCC is expected to execute throughout the contract: 

• Develop a concise marketing and branding roadmap that utilizes proven marketing strategies across physical and digital touch-points to help //BTN reach its ultimate public awareness and engagement goals. 
• Work directly with the CEO to develop realistic and achievable short- and long-term marketing goals (1-3 years) based on an overall assessment of current business goals, marketing efforts, capacity, budget, etc. 
• Advise on and develop organic and paid marketing strategies for physical and digital marketing campaigns - social media marketing, print/digital advertising, traditional media, multi-channel marketing, and other marketing strategies. 
• Advise on and implement SEO, ROI, PPC, and other lead generation strategies. Advise on and implement social media campaigns and strategies (i.e. IG, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.). 
• Ensure that the //BTN brand and brand voice is clear across all marketing campaigns, events, online platforms, outreach strategies, programs, partnerships and social media. Construct and implement user feedback systems to inform the success of marketing campaigns, brand awareness, marketing, and engagement by //BTN members, followers, partners, and supporters. 
• Establish and execute SMART goals for coaching on chosen marketing strategies, systems, and activities for further growth upon MCC’s departure. Assist CEO and MDP with hiring, onboarding, and training of key personnel necessary to effectively execute an expanded marketing department. 
• Serve as point of contact for teams on assignments to ensure team actions remain in synergy with MCC’s overall plan of execution.

Required Skills 

Here’s what we are looking for you to bring to the table. The ability to: 

• Assess existing marketing strategies and processes and identify areas for improvement. 
• Develop long- and short-term traditional and digital marketing plans, including setting targets for goals and milestones and adhering to deadlines with existing MDP. 
• Evaluate specifications to determine requirements necessary for project success (i.e. forecast deficiencies and unrealistic expectations while identifying solutions). 
• Make effective decisions when presented with multiple options for how to progress with the project/s. 
• Identify key brand elements and strategically bring them together under one cohesive brand plan (i.e. colors, tone, voice, etc.). 
• Construct comprehensive brand, social media, and content guides; develop tactics to effectively express a brand story. 
• Turn theoretical marketing concepts into profit-making funnels. 
• Effectively instruct and train others on processes and procedures; keep reports and monitor progress. 
• Delegate tasks on project/s as necessary to available employees best positioned to complete them. 
• Effectively assess the capabilities of existing and future MDP. 
• Execute multiple projects while still meeting deadlines. Prioritize in a nebulous, fast-paced environment.

Core Competencies 

• Extremely knowledgeable about key facets, systems, and strategies of a successful marketing department and the ability to implement them into an existing platform. 
• A comprehensive understanding of digital advertising strategies, testing, and tracking across multiple digital platforms (i.e. Google Ads, IG Ads, etc.). 
• A strong understanding of the various roles within a successful Marketing department, how each role achieves objectives, and an understanding of the skills/qualifications necessary for each role. 
• Strong knowledge of effective metric organization and tracking to monitor and report on the success of physical and digital multi-channel marketing campaigns. (I.e. SEO, ROI, PPC, multi-channel marketing, lead generation, etc.). 
• Knowledgeable about best marketing software and tools to be implemented within the marketing team; ability to train team at a high-level.
• A solid understanding of how business and marketing are intertwined within an organization. 
• Familiar with the tech industry, particularly regarding software development, entrepreneurship, and diversity and inclusion. 
• Experience talking to customers and drawing insights; a strong understanding of consumer behavior and customer psychology. 
• Possess a results-driven work ethic with the ability to track overall project progress. Strong and disciplined communication, prioritizing follow-up and goal-setting.
• Very timely; a strong importance placed on follow-up and follow through. 
• An out-of-the-box, creative thinker who isn’t afraid to take risks and try new concepts. Comfortable working with and adjusting to different communication styles. 
• Critical thinker and problem solver; team player with a focused attention to detail. Ability to provide patient and attentive mentoring.
• Ability to adapt and integrate new information.

Qualifications: 

• A Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing, Business, or relevant area of expertise preferred 5+ years experience working as a marketing leader, professional, or consultant
• A strong website, portfolio of previous clients, and active social media presence 
• Demonstrated experience scaling the marketing department of small member-based organizations 
• Proven experience coaching or teaching marketing concepts to junior level employees and managing a small team 
• High proficiency in data gathering/input via data programs such as MS Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook)
• Strong familiarity with Airtable and Zoom 
• Strong copywriting skills 
• Graphic design skills (preferred)
• 
  

About the Work Culture

We are a team of leaders and intrapreneurs. We are fully dedicated to the continued personal and professional growth of everyone from executive staff to interns; internal growth within the organization is of top priority from day one. //BTN is a majority digital team and we plan to keep it that way . There may be a few physical positions for our local projects in Pittsburgh (and other local markets), but the majority of our team will remain digital/location agnostic to serve our wider membership and audience. Although the team is spread out all over the country, we try very intentionally to make sure that our team is connected, always in communication, clear on expectations and roles, and comfortable with collaboration across programs and departments. We take a pretty flat approach where team members across projects work closely together with some roles and projects overlapping. It is important to us that we foster an environment where each team member can be their own entrepreneur within the organization while also feeling fully supported by their supervisor and co-captains. Within reason, we try to give our team members the freedom to lead projects, problem-solve independently, cultivate their own best practices, all while working together towards the ultimate success of building a Black Tech Nation.

If Black Tech Nation sounds like the place for you, please email work@blacktechnation.com with the subject line "Potential Hire: Marketing Consultant & Coach". In the body of the email, provide a brief paragraph detailing what you’d like to bring to the position, the link to your LinkedIn profile, your portfolio and/or website, your phone number, and several times that you are available over the next few days for an initial phone screening.

We look forward to working with you!