A cover letter is required for consideration for this position and should be attached as the first page of your resume. The cover letter should address your specific interest in the position and outline skills and experience that directly relate to this position. If possible, please include a link to your electronic portfolio/dossier as part of your resume.
Michigan Publishing is the publishing arm of the University of Michigan. The Director of Sales, Marketing, and Outreach (SMO) is a key member of the senior leadership team. In addition to playing an important role in strategic planning, the position also works closely with product managers to implement agreed sales, advertising, and social media plans. The Director ensures that the organization maintains an effective web presence and supports digital marketing, publicity, and exhibit strategies.
With oversight and responsibility for the department’s marketing and sales budget, the Director provides leadership for a small and talented team. Internally, the position works across University of Michigan Press, Michigan Publishing Services, and Deep Blue Repository and Research Data Services. The position ensures that the marketing and communications strategy and implementation support Michigan Publishing’s priorities and helps achieve the overarching strategic goals, articulated on publishing.umich.edu.
Externally, the position works closely with the Press’s vendor partners, currently Chicago Distribution Center and University of Chicago Press (for North American sales, rights, and distribution), BiblioVault for digital asset management and distribution, Eurospan (for RoW sales and distribution), and LYRASIS (for direct sales of ebooks to libraries). The position also oversees internal sales and marketing systems and relationships with those vendors.
The new Director of SMO is joining Michigan Publishing at a particularly exciting time in our development. The Press is exploring new subject areas, business models, and modes of publishing. The open-access, peer-reviewed rap album i used to love to dream by A.D. Carson was recently named best e-product by the Association of American Publishers PROSE Awards. The Press was also recently recognized as a Benetech Global Certified Accessible™ publisher, the first academic press to do so. Our Publishing Services operation is increasing its revenue, bringing in new clients attracted by the open-source Fulcrum platform such as the ACLS Humanities E-Book Collection.
Michigan Publishing is a values-based, mission-driven publishing organization oriented toward open and community-led approaches. However, questions of financial sustainability and the needs for reinvestment are always at the forefront of our minds. We are looking for a commercially-savvy, data-driven leader who understands the market segments we serve, appreciates the importance of strong relationships with supply chain partners, and is always looking for opportunities to better showcase and distribute the outstanding products we produce and distribute.
Manage channels and partnerships in collaboration with product managers:
Maximize the performance of distribution and sales partners;
Manage relationships with wholesalers/retailers - for both print and ebook;
Manage metadata distribution and gathering of usage information;
Monitor distribution channels to ensure inventory availability and boost sales performance;
Manages platform strategy for the Press website and Publishing impact site (press.umich.edu and publishing.umich.edu).
Develop and oversee the implementation of sales and marketing plans:
Collaborate with product managers to set annual plans;
Set annual goals for department aligned with overall division directions;
Oversee market research, audience development, and engagement;
Monitor the market and provide recommendations to product managers regarding emerging opportunities;
Evolve brand and product marketing, ensuring alignment with appropriate U-M guidelines as needed.
Oversee annual sales and marketing budget:
Analyze size of markets and project annual sales;
Collaborate with product managers to set item pricing and discounts;
Oversee spending in a fiscally responsible way;
Seek ways of analyzing impact (e.g., usage) that extend beyond sales;
Coordinate regular sales reporting and analysis.
Recruit, train, supervise, and lead the sales, marketing, and outreach team:
Sets overall priorities and coordination across the 3-4 person core team;
Conduct annual individual work planning and performance reviews;
Encourage and facilitate professional development;
Promote teamwork, collaboration, and an inclusive work environment;
Oversee the hiring of student workers and new staff as needed.
Other Duties:
Collaborate with other MPub leaders in setting and implementing organizational strategy;
Work across U-M Library (the parent organization of Michigan Publishing) to support the achievement of larger strategic directions and objectives;
Dig in and engage with operational needs in this small, nimble organization.