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presents

Marketing Director

Upper House

Madison, WI

www.upperhouse.org

Upper House is a CENTER for Christian study and practice at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

VISION

We exist to ignite theological curiosity, shape Christian identity, and equip women and men to live out their faith for the life of the world. We offer hospitality to all who enter our doors.

MISSION

We exist to bring the gospel to bear on the life of the university and the Madison community at large by curating meaningful gatherings and creating thoughtful resources.

Think? [Be] Do! summarizes our mission

Think?

Truth matters, ideas are consequential. Building on a rich and living Christian intellectual tradition, we host generous conversations as means to engage the hard questions, deepen conviction, delight in the world, and gain wisdom.

[Be]

To flourish in the world, we must become fully formed selves. At Upper House this formation occurs when we adopt healthy spiritual practices, enter genuine community, and cultivate virtue.

Do!

We believe that healthy intellectual and spiritual formation prepares us to contribute to the life of the world, its healing, and its transformation. Made in the image of God, each of us possesses agency—the creativity to make and invent, the capacity to build and manage, and the ability to serve and lead.




OUR STORY

The Stephen & Laurel Brown Foundation was incorporated in 2013. The Foundation’s initiative, Upper House—a center for Christian study and practice located in the heart of the University of Wisconsin-Madison—was launched in January 2015. Since its inception, Upper House has welcomed nearly 425,000 in-person guests from all walks of life.

Based in University Square, Upper House provides multi-experiential space and programming expertise, where people, faith and values, ideas, and the arts come together in a dynamic environment that fosters vocational, intellectual, spiritual, and cultural formation.

In carrying out its mission, Upper House works in partnership with community leaders, nonprofit organizations, student-based ministries, and churches, along with university departments, centers, and institutes.

The Foundation also serves the larger Madison faith-based community by offering Dottie’s Ranch—its retreat center located approximately 15 miles outside of Madison—for reflection, team building, and leadership development purposes. To read about the impact Upper House has had on the community since it's beginnings check out this insightful report: Celebrating the First Seven Years.

Dottie's Ranch

Nationally, Upper House is part of the Consortium of Christian Study Centers, a network of peer organizations on university and college campuses. In collaborating on grants and initiatives, Upper House engages with other study centers advancing a vision for Christian formation and scholarship in secular environments. A recent example is Upper House’s leadership of a John Templeton Foundation grant (the Higher Pursuits Project) which yielded new programs as well as research and publication on the religious history of UW–Madison.

Founding Vision

Co-founder Steve Brown supported numerous campus initiatives at UW-Madison prior to launching Upper House. He participated in faith-based and inter-religious dialogue, served on the steering committee for the Lubar Institute for the Study of Abrahamic Religions, and funded a trilogy of courses on early Christian literature, the Pauline Epistles, and the Gospels.

Upper House is an extension of his desire to offer a place for Christian faith exploration and education. Of the foundation’s vision he says,

“We believe the Christian faith has a lot to contribute to the sifting and winnowing of great ideas, we want to challenge the campus, we want to engage the campus, and we want to support the campus through being a part of the vibrant conversation occurring at UW-Madison.”

Co-founder Laurel Brown adds,

“Even if we don’t know it, we all have a common goal—to better understand Christ and who we are as children of God. Providing this space—to gather, explore, and connect—is an important part of Upper House’s mission. We are trying to meet one of the most basic of human needs—to know Christ.”

THE TEAM

John Terrill, Executive Director

John guides the overarching vision and strategy for the Stephen & Laurel Brown Foundation, which includes Upper House and Dottie’s Ranch. He loves the entrepreneurial nature of his work and relishes the opportunity to build a healthy organizational culture.

John is a collaborative leader who works to build a healthy team culture with deep bench strength. He is committed to helping team members grow spiritually and professionally, and he ensures that there is alignment between job roles and team members’ vocational interests, skills, and giftings.

John is a graduate of Indiana University, holds an M.B.A. from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, as well as master’s degrees in theology and religion from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. from Seattle Pacific University in industrial and organizational psychology.

John is married to Vanja, and they live in Middleton, Wisconsin, with their six-year-old daughter, Elena.


Learn more about all the remarkable leaders at Upper House HERE.

WHAT WE DO


At Upper House...

we connect faith, ideas, and communities, within and across the University, City, and Church.

Located in the heart of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Upper House is a gathering place to study, gather, and explore life questions through creative programs.

Upper House is 16,500 square feet of light, comfort, and warmth, founded to serve students, faculty, and community members—a vibrant presence at a world-class university—where learning and new initiatives ignite change, and faith is transformative. From the Grand Hall to the Den, Steve’s Café, the Porch with its swings, and the various meeting rooms, Upper House exudes a warmth and comfort that permeates our community and transformative programs. The space is frequently used by various parachurch ministries and students, as well as faculty, public groups, and a church-in-residence.

Audiences, Programs & Pathways

Target Audiences

Positioned on a campus in a capitol city with a community of highly-engaged stakeholders, Upper House strategically employs resources to serve—

Students: As an R-1 university, UW-Madison annually enrolls 36,000 undergraduate and 10,000 graduate students. Through our Upper House Fellows Program we offer students an opportunity to explore theology, calling, the arts, and service for the common good. We also annually hire interns, who we train and mentor.

Faculty and University Staff: To support faculty and staff who are often isolated professionally and spiritually, we offer thoughtful, cutting-edge programming, and engage the big questions animating today’s academic landscape.

Pastors and Ministry Leaders: Bridging Christian traditions, we champion a healthy, better-connected church in Dane county by hosting conversations on issues at the nexus of faith, culture, and ideas. We serve area pastors and campus ministries through equipping programs, including our co-leadership of a Lilly Endowment grant.

Marketplace Leaders: Being in a capitol city with many impactful industries and start-ups, we serve as a resource to leaders as they integrate their faith and work and enlarge their vision for serving the common good in every professional discipline.

Artists: Makers and creators find a warm welcome at Upper House, where we believe rich, purposeful aesthetic experiences are essential to personal, social, and spiritual well-being. Our programming seeks to elevate the arts and makers, alike.

Programs

Upper House curates programs that speak to mind, heart, and spirit about topics relevant to individuals and institutions across the university, city, and church. These audience-centric programs range from large events to smaller (ongoing) learning cohorts, including:

Art Exhibitions, Book Launches, Community Dinners, Concerts, Conferences, Field Experiences, Interviews, Learning Cohorts, Lectures, Panel Discussions, Performances, Reading Groups, Retreats, Veritas Forums, and Workshops.

Upper House carries out its mission through the following channels:

    • Lumen Center: A center for research and the institutional transformation of UW-Madison
    • UH Academy: A curriculum for Christlikeness for the Madison university community and beyond
    • UH Commons: Programming bringing the best of Christian thought & practice to Madison and the surrounding region
    • UH Fellows: A community for the intellectual and spiritual formation of UW – Madison students
    • UH Media: Bringing the best of Christian thought & practice to the world

The Upper House Pathways

Just as we are strategic in defining our audiences, we are strategic about which foci we pursue in our programming. To this end, we defined the Upper House Pathways, acknowledging that we are uniquely positioned to interact with educators, scholars, artists, theologians, innovators, leaders, and entrepreneurs. In reality, humanity bears the burdens and outcomes of the decisions that leaders make in the lab, boardroom, and city square. Called to be stewards of culture, we need to understand and discern the meaning and implications of significant human endeavors unfolding in critical spheres. We seek wisdom at the junction of Christian faith and human reason, and practice humility, curiosity, and persistence as we learn and share knowledge more broadly.


CULTURE & CORE VALUES

THE CULTURE

Upper House has a comprehensive vision of transformation that integrates mind, body, and soul. We seek this vision for ourselves as well as our community at large. To that end, we work as a team that is highly collaborative and creative. We value the talent of good teammates, their giftings, and their unique image-bearing capacities. We work hard, taking time to celebrate important milestones along the way.

Ideation and innovation are core to how we work and think about serving our community. The culture at Upper House is highly entrepreneurial. Due to the rate at which culture is rapidly evolving, we are constantly adapting our programming and events to support the needs of students, faculty, staff, and church leaders.

CORE VALUES

Our values play a major role in the way we work and pursue our mission. Our five core values are:

  • Pursuing Wisdom: We invite wonder, curiosity, and learning in life and our work together. We seek wisdom through the witness of God’s Word and Creation, and through the insights of his people. The university, church, and city commons can all reflect God’s truth and beauty. “Get wisdom; get insight … do not forsake her … and she will guard you” (Prov 4:5-6).
  • Extending Hospitality: Flowing from generous, neighborly hearts, we extend hospitality in all we do. We want every guest and project partner to feel honored and loved. As Jesus taught, we should attend to the needs of others as if attending to Christ himself and his directive is straightforward: “…Love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12).
  • Cultivating Collaboration: We reflect the image of God more fully when we work together. Our diversity of gifts unites us for the benefit of the body of Christ and his purposes in the world. Our mutual collaboration generates wellsprings of relational, emotional, and intellectual strength. “Two are better than one … For if they fall, one will lift up the other...” (Eccl 4:9-10).
  • Exercising Stewardship: Individually and collectively we are stewards. From God’s first directive to care for creation, to the holy work of our many vocations, to the management of our financial resources for the benefit of others, we steward our gifts and talents for God’s greater glory. “Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established” (Prov 16:3).
  • Championing Creativity: We imagine a dynamic path for how we work together that finds expression in innovative processes, goals, and outcomes. Creative renewal comes to us in myriad ways, including encounters with God’s Spirit, God’s Word, and God’s people of diverse ethnicities and cultures. “So we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another” (Rom 12:5).

THE CHALLENGE & OPPORTUNITY

Upper House serves a spectrum of audiences with distinctive and unique personas and needs. This can lead to brand confusion. We need a more holistic and strategic approach to know where and how to prioritize and focus our creative efforts and resources for the most impact.

The greatest opportunity for this Director of Marketing will be to develop a coherent brand, marketing, and communications strategy that builds upon the strong foundation already established. This includes building on our ongoing work in audience “persona” development and message refinement, based on in-house quantitative and qualitative research and professional advice.

Additionally, this leader will need to be skilled and gifted in knowing how to equip and lead highly talented colleagues with deep expertise in the areas of writing, editing, data, graphic design, and storytelling.

The greatest challenge for this Director of Marketing relates to answering this question: How do we build a coherent brand as we serve so many diverse audiences with different needs—such as undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty, church leaders, artists, and marketplace/community leaders?

The Director of Marketing will need to be a... student of our audiences who actively builds relationships with them, solicits their feedback, and interprets the insights for our team in a way that can inform our programming and marketing.

The Director of Marketing will build a marketing strategy and lead initiatives that will make Upper House known as a center of hospitality, belonging, collaboration, and education. He/She will build trust within our team and key partners quickly and in doing so, will provide clear guidance and effective strategies to engage our core audiences in ways that uniquely serve their needs.

The Director of Marketing will add to our team culture, not just fit our culture. Their fresh approach to marketing strategy, unique gifts, and diverse experiences will change the temperature of the organization and elevate our marketing expertise and know-how.

NEXT SEASON OF LEADERSHIP

The Director of Marketing will be an enthusiastic contributor who loves doing their best work in a highly collaborative way.

A leader who has a/an...

  • Commitment to the Lordship of Jesus Christ that extends to all dimensions of life
  • High level of spiritual maturity and affirms the Upper House Statement of Faith
  • Demonstrated record of marketing experience in a creative brand-led organization or within a marketing/brand agency
  • Commitment to bridging the marketing, brand, and communication needs of the organization with its academic, theological, and marketplace commitments
  • Experience in leading and equipping a team of talented creators
  • Collaborative approach and experience in partnering with diverse stakeholder groups
  • Deep intellectual curiosity and passion for connecting Scripture and theology to the scholarly and professional pursuits of core audiences
  • Learning posture with an open mindset, on a journey of personal life transformation
  • Eye for design and cares about hospitality and being part of a welcoming culture
  • Passion for ecumenical community building and collaboration

FIRST-YEAR WINS

The Director of Marketing over the first year will have...

  • Developed a deep understanding for Upper House's brand voice and come to serve as the "keeper" of the brand, providing consistency in the execution of messaging and programs
  • Built a strategic marketing plan with clearly identified initiatives and tactics to provide clear and consistent messaging to the targeted audiences
  • Gained the trust of peers, consistently demonstrating that marketing activities will be executed in a timely manner and with a level of excellence
  • Engaged in conversations with core audiences, seeking and applying feedback to initiatives, while evolving and adjusting along the way
  • Leads and equips the marketing and communications team with humility, curiosity and kindness while providing clear strategic direction
  • Created new concepts and strategies, some of which worked and some of which didn't, learning and adapting along the way

Madison, WI

The Director of Marketing will work at the Upper House on the campus at UW-Madison in a beautiful office location with convenient access to local coffee shops and restaurants. Some limited travel is expected for this position as we extend our footprint regionally and participate in national Consortium of Christian Study Center events and conferences.

Madison, the State Capitol of Wisconsin, is known for its beautiful lakes and parks; bike paths, downtown isthmus; farmers markets; world-class university; exemplary healthcare; innovative businesses; and many top-notch museums and cultural venues.

Madison is located in Central Wisconsin, on an isthmus, and is surrounded by five lakes—Lake Mendota, Lake Monona, Lake Wingra, Lake Kegonsa, and Lake Waubesa.

Read more about why Madison is one of the best cities to live in the U.S. here.

POSITION PROFILE

Director of Marketing

REPORTS TO:  Executive Director

LOCATION: Madison, Wisconsin at Upper House on campus of UW-Madison

COLLABORATES CLOSELY WITH:

  • Dan Johnson, Director of Technology and Digital Media
  • Melissa Shackelford, Director of Program Curation and Community Impact
  • Tony Bolos, Director of Continuing Education
  • Dan Hummel, Director of University Engagement

LEADS DIRECT REPORTS:

  • Susan Smetzer-Anderson, Senior Writer
  • Communications Intern
  • Graphic Designer
  • Videographer

RESPONSIBILITIES

The Director of Marketing will serve as the brand visionary/champion for the organization.

Working closely with the Executive Director and the team as a whole, this leader will inspire, embody, and translate the next horizon of Upper House’s brand and communication philosophy and strategy.

The Director of Marketing will bring brand, marketing, and communication leadership and oversight in four broad areas of the Foundation’s work:

  1. 1.Brand, Marketing, and Communications Innovation. He/She will inspire new ways of imagining the Upper House brand, marketing, and communications strategies, ensuring that they are integral to the organization’s identity and translate to improved program, service, communication, and experience design.
  2. 2.Brand, Marketing, and Communications Stewardship. He/She will be responsible for grounding all brand, marketing, and communications strategies in a deeply rooted understanding of organizational cultural processes and practices (theological, ecclesial, organizational, and practical) that ensure brand consistency, continuity, and flourishing.
  3. 3.Brand Ambassadorship. He/She will ensure a clear vision of articulating the brand narrative in all media, including being able to present the UH story through speaking and sharing in a wide variety of settings.
  4. 4.Brand and Communications Empowerment. He/She will both model and provide strong mentoring skills that engage effectively individual learning/development, collaboration, and creative communication processes across the entire team. The Director of Marketing is expected to build an excellent brand, marketing, and communications team that embodies Upper House’s values, serves the needs of external audiences, and collaborates well with both internal and external stakeholders.

In addition, the Director of Marketing will be responsible for the following activities:

  • Provide leadership and practical input into refining brand, marketing, communications, and design processes that reflect Upper House’s values and support its brand and communication vision.
  • Ideally, possess prior hands-on experience in one of the design-related disciplines (e.g. graphic/communication design, creative direction, copy, etc.).
  • In collaboration with the team, provide creative direction and decision-making to the design process across Upper House’s broad range of branded experiences.
  • Serve as an active member of Upper House teams—and work collaboratively with other Upper House Directors—to strengthen overall brand ontology and communications strategies.
  • Oversee audience research efforts to strengthen the organization’s brand, marketing, and communications efforts.
  • Oversee communications-related vendors and independent contractors.
  • Commit time to personal renewal through spiritual disciplines.
  • Attend professional conferences and other growth opportunities to strengthen and refine skills and competencies.

QUALIFICATIONS

The ideal candidate is someone who believes that ideas are better in collaboration and longs to be a part of a team passionate about putting something meaningful and beneficial into the world.

Will demonstrate...

  • Commitment to the Lordship of Jesus Christ that extends to all dimensions of life
  • High level of spiritual maturity, and agreement with the Upper House Statement of Faith.
  • Active dedication to the life of a local church.
  • Seasoned marketing experience in a creative brand-led organization or within a marketing/brand agency.
  • Commitment to bridging the marketing, brand, and communication needs of the organization with its academic, theological, and marketplace commitments.
  • Passion for ecumenical community building and collaboration.
  • Strong interpersonal, organizational, and leadership skills.
  • Strong teaching, mentoring, and discipleship skills.
  • Excellent writing, editing, and verbal communication skills.
  • Sincere commitment to working collaboratively with diverse stakeholder groups.
  • Appreciation and sensitivity toward design and an understanding of its cultural, theological, and commercial value.
  • Design experience/qualifications are desirable but not required.
  • Master’s degree preferred (bachelor’s required).
  • Evidence of deep intellectual curiosity and passion for connecting Scripture and theology to the scholarly and professional pursuits of core audiences (faculty and staff, graduate and undergraduate students, church and community members).

CONTACT

Ready to take the next step?

To find out more about Upper House, please review their website and learn more about this outstanding organization.

And if after a thorough review of this profile, you would like to explore this opportunity please contact:

Toni McEwan // [email protected]